Developer's Age
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Ed.Poore wrote:
they have to keep the paper records for ISO9000 compliance
I'd hope they keep the paper for IEC 61508[^] compliance rather than ISO9000 (at least I think it's 61508 that applies to medical systems) - we have to do the paperwork for DO-178[^] compliance, but then, we do have these guys[^] auditting us regularly, checking we've dotted our i's and crossed our t's.
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I don't tell people my age. It's none of their business. I interview on the basis of my skills and experience. When I say I have 20 years experience, people sometimes ask my age... but I tend to respond by saying "how old do you think I am"... Ideally, you would have a mixture of younger and older people on your team. There are many examples where my intern has helped me, but many more examples of me helping him learn. Regardless, I need him to get the "grunt-work" done, while I focus on bigger issues. Employers who realise the benefit of that complimentary setup, will ignore age for the most part.
"Quality Software since 1983!"
http://www.smoothjazzy.com/ - see the "Programming" section for freeware tools and articles.Jasmine2501 wrote:
I don't tell people my age. It's none of their business.
In fact it is illegal to ask in most western societies. :doh:
Jasmine2501 wrote:
When I say I have 20 years experience, people sometimes ask my age... but I tend to respond by saying "how old do you think I am"...
I am surprised to hear that the interviewer would ask that question. That is one of the unspoken questions under the current legal climate in the US; along with race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, national origin, etc. :~ There is actually no need to ask how old you are and risk a discrimination lawsuit if you are not chosen for the job, for whatever reason. When you say you have 20 years experience there is no question as to your age! :rolleyes:
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopes -
I am 73. I have had three contract positions in the last two years, and am about to sign on to a permanent job writing code for embedded systems. I expect to keep working as long as my work is good enough that someone will pay me for it. Ideally, that will be until I die. You rest, you rot. JimT
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Jasmine2501 wrote:
I don't tell people my age. It's none of their business.
In fact it is illegal to ask in most western societies. :doh:
Jasmine2501 wrote:
When I say I have 20 years experience, people sometimes ask my age... but I tend to respond by saying "how old do you think I am"...
I am surprised to hear that the interviewer would ask that question. That is one of the unspoken questions under the current legal climate in the US; along with race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, national origin, etc. :~ There is actually no need to ask how old you are and risk a discrimination lawsuit if you are not chosen for the job, for whatever reason. When you say you have 20 years experience there is no question as to your age! :rolleyes:
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
Think inside the box! ProActive Secure Systems
I'm on-line therefore I am. JimmyRopesA long time ago I trimmed my resume so it only showed the last ten years of work. I've gone to a couple of interviews where they seemed taken aback by my grey hairs (those that are left, that is). I am sure I have also had interviews that wouldn't have happened if I said I had been writing code sonce 1962. Get the interview! That's the big step. How you do after that depends on how you sell yourself. I'm still working. JimT
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A long time ago I trimmed my resume so it only showed the last ten years of work. I've gone to a couple of interviews where they seemed taken aback by my grey hairs (those that are left, that is). I am sure I have also had interviews that wouldn't have happened if I said I had been writing code sonce 1962. Get the interview! That's the big step. How you do after that depends on how you sell yourself. I'm still working. JimT
Right. When I get in front of people I generally nail it. It's getting the interview that's the hard part, and too much experience can sometimes hurt you. I cut people some slack when they ask my age... they make a mental estimate of my age and figure I'm lying, but when I tell them how old I actually am, they realise I'm being honest about my experience. I mean... do I look old enough to have started in the 80s? http://www.smoothjazzy.com/photos.html[^]
"Quality Software since 1983!"
http://www.smoothjazzy.com/ - see the "Programming" section for freeware tools and articles. -
Maximilien wrote:
a serious employer will look at experience, and then look at what it will bring to the company.
I would say a talented employer will not rely on once history (how many years of experience an employee is having) to predict the future of him. Rather he/ she should currently evaluate the employee for a given period of time and should be able to predict his tomorrow's contribution to the company. I have seen people with lots of experience but not productive as a young one with lesser experience. It is not just the experience what matters.. I have a good example for this. In early days fighter jet missiles use to find and attack the jet based on the jet’s history. That is, the missile thrown on to the heat path of the jet and then by driving its direction through the heat path the missile find, hit and destroy the jet. That missile was not that accurate. Today they have improved the technology, where the missile evaluates the jet positioning by considering its present moving direction. At a time missile take the jet’s speed and direction and predict the future position by the time missile hit the jet. There the missile adjust its direction dynamically hence the accuracy of hitting its goal increase a lot. So the conclusion is that it is better not to rely on once history..
L.W.C. Nirosh. Colombo, Sri Lanka.
:suss:Hmmmm. How is it that you are knowing so much about surface-to-air missiles?
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:suss:Hmmmm. How is it that you are knowing so much about surface-to-air missiles?
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How important is it to employers? Is there an age where if an employer looks at your resume, will start considering if you're too old for the role? Is it better to work permanent then in the long term as opposed to contracting? Thanks.
I am a SysAdmin, I battle my own daemons.
as a 64 year old I can tell you that in Australia at least it is not easy to get work at that age, permanent or contract, what work I do get it entirely due to knowing people, it is very hard to get "new" work - I suspect the hirers, who are invariably younger, are nervous about being outgunned. Also folks cant understand why one is not a manager (damager) at that age. my advice - get out of IT when you're about 50, program as a hobby, and buy a boat building business or something. rgds pjd