Ask Slashdot: Will Older Programmers Always Have a Harder Time Getting a Job?

Theseuss writes "Given the strong youth culture associated with the modern day Silicon Valley startup scene, many times it falls to the 40-year-old programmer to prove that he can still use the newest up-and-coming technology. Yet the rate at which the tech sector is growing suggests that in 20 years there will be a an order of magnitude more 'old-hat' programmers in the industry. As such, do you think the cultural bias towards young programmers will change in the near future?"

Comments

Re:Experience Matters But So Does Price

[TsuruchiBrian]

I would say that 1 good programmer is probably worth more than 10 bad programmers. However I have not found that age translates directly to ability. There are plenty of 40 year old programmers who suck. I think this is the real reason it's hard to get a job as an old programmer. At least with a new grad, you expect them to suck, and you can mold them into what you want/need. Old programmers are stubborn, which can be a good thing, if they are also really good, but it's an expensive gamble.