Oh please. A Java shop could hire a C++ programmer - especially one with 20 years experience - and he'd be up to speed pretty quickly. In fact it would be a rounding error as he got familiar with the codebase anyway. It's pure ageism.
The C++ programmer who can't get a job is 47. He was unemployed for 10 months and is now considering taking a couse on Java.
I'm 46. I was just unemployed (voluntarily and happily) for 10 months. In that time I wrote an iPhone app, took a Rails course, and generally tried to upgrade skills that had been neglected over the last few years.
I'm employed now because I didn't spend 10 months sitting around in my dirty underwear (they were clean). I learned and I networked. He could have been learning Java while he was unemployed. Or Ruby. Or anything that would increase his job prospects. Maybe he did, but it doesn't sound like it.
I also missed out on a good job because I was a generation older than the rest of the company. They took one look at my gray beard and immediately looked to see if I was wearing socks with sandals. My modern accomplishments had no bearing. I was too old.
I also hit the "why isn't an old guy like you in management?" issue. They weren't convinced that I really like writing code.
So yes, ageism is real, but it's not the only issue. We old guys have to prove that we're keeping up. We need to leverage our vast amount of experience and show that it has some relevance.
Has anyone ever considered making a reverse-ageist start-up? I kniw it's not legal, but I'd love to know what a company of people who have seen a couple cycles go through comes up with. Though reading PG, thay answer seems to be "really hard stuff on the back-end".
Why is Hyena's comment being down-voted? It's 100% correct. You are your own brand and your own product. Staying up-to-date with current tech is your own responsibility. Crying about falling behind won't pay the bills.
I wouldn't go that far. My uncle, for example, is a wildly successful surgeon; he spends a lot of time keeping updated because it's important to him. I think keeping abreast of change is incumbent on all professionals, it's just also an important hiring point in technology.
This article is odd. The problem is certainly out there, but not for the reasons stated, nor for the people interviewed. The people in the article are just plain aren't very good at development: some of the most fun about it is the constant learning of better ways to do things.
And a C++ programmer who's afraid of Java? Come on.
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[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 24.1 ms ] threadI'm 46. I was just unemployed (voluntarily and happily) for 10 months. In that time I wrote an iPhone app, took a Rails course, and generally tried to upgrade skills that had been neglected over the last few years.
I'm employed now because I didn't spend 10 months sitting around in my dirty underwear (they were clean). I learned and I networked. He could have been learning Java while he was unemployed. Or Ruby. Or anything that would increase his job prospects. Maybe he did, but it doesn't sound like it.
I also missed out on a good job because I was a generation older than the rest of the company. They took one look at my gray beard and immediately looked to see if I was wearing socks with sandals. My modern accomplishments had no bearing. I was too old.
I also hit the "why isn't an old guy like you in management?" issue. They weren't convinced that I really like writing code.
So yes, ageism is real, but it's not the only issue. We old guys have to prove that we're keeping up. We need to leverage our vast amount of experience and show that it has some relevance.
And a C++ programmer who's afraid of Java? Come on.