[HECnet] Quiet lately....

[Mark Wickens]

Marc Chametzky wrote:
Also, came across this on Slashdot:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/28/silicon-valley%E2%80%99s-dark-secret-it%E2%80%99s-all-about-age/


How much is this true do you guys think?

I just turned 44 and it is something I worry about. I know my skills
are nowhere near as currently relevant as they once were when I was
fresh out of school. I've been working on the same product for the
past 15 years, so that has also limited my personal development. I've
been branching out a bit lately, but not as much as I could have when
I was in my teens or early twenties.

--Marc
Hi Marc,

Yes, me too - I'm 40+ and have lost some of the zeal for new tech in
recent years. However, on a positive note when I was looking around two
years ago for a developer position in bad economic times I had a couple
of good offers and now work for a company who hire people on merit
rather than age. I obviously don't know how long that will last, but so
far so good.

I think everyone, regardless of occupation, should always be mindful of
what they might do if their occupation becomes inviable. There also
appears to be less new talent coming up the ranks, well that's my
perception of the situation in the UK. For the past 15 years I have been
working with developers around the same age as me (give of take 5 years)
which might be explained by less talent coming on stream.

Mark.