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Will Millennials Be Forced Out of Tech Jobs When They Turn 40? (ieeeusa.org)
dcblogs shared an interesting article from IEEE-USA's "Insight" newsletter:
Millennials, which date from the 1980s to mid-2000s, are the largest generation. But what will happen to this generation's tech workers as they settle into middle age? Will the median age of tech firms rise as the Millennial generation grows older...? The median age range at Google, Facebook, SpaceX, LinkedIn, Amazon, Salesforce, Apple and Adobe, is 29 to 31, according to a study last year by PayScale, which analyzes self-reported data... Karen Panetta, the dean of graduate engineering education at Tufts University and the vice president of communications and public relations at the IEEE-USA, believes the outcome for tech will be Logan's Run-like, where age sets a career limit... Tech firms want people with the current skills sets and those "without those skills will be pressured to leave or see minimal career progression," said Panetta...
The idea that the tech industry may have an age bias is not scaring the new college grads away. "They see retirement so far off, so they are more interested in how to move up or onto new startup ventures or even business school," said Panetta. "The reality sets in when they have families and companies downsize and it's not so easy to just pick up and go on to another company," she said. None of this may be a foregone conclusion. Millennials may see the experience of today's older workers as a cautionary tale, and usher in cultural changes...
David Kurtz, a labor relations partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, suggests tech firms should be sharing age-related date about their workforce, adding "The more of a focus you place on an issue the more attention it gets and the more likely that change can happen. It's great to get the new hot shot who just graduated from college, but it's also important to have somebody with 40 years of experience who has seen all of the changes in the industry and can offer a different perspective."
The idea that the tech industry may have an age bias is not scaring the new college grads away. "They see retirement so far off, so they are more interested in how to move up or onto new startup ventures or even business school," said Panetta. "The reality sets in when they have families and companies downsize and it's not so easy to just pick up and go on to another company," she said. None of this may be a foregone conclusion. Millennials may see the experience of today's older workers as a cautionary tale, and usher in cultural changes...
David Kurtz, a labor relations partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, suggests tech firms should be sharing age-related date about their workforce, adding "The more of a focus you place on an issue the more attention it gets and the more likely that change can happen. It's great to get the new hot shot who just graduated from college, but it's also important to have somebody with 40 years of experience who has seen all of the changes in the industry and can offer a different perspective."
Every generation thinks it will be the exception. Gen-X techies were computer literate. We were around when the internet went mainstream. We were sure that Tech was going to grow up with us - but lots of Gen-X'ers found themselves on the wrong side of 40. Some got to hang around, but most moved on. The same will happen to the millennials, replaced with those born after 2000. Younger is cheaper.
Outside that shit hole of garbage where they want young people to shove in the meat grinder this maybe the case. Outside of SV, I've seen more senior people fought after because they don't make junior mistakes. SV loves young people because they'll work 90 hour weeks and not think twice. Older established folks want a normal work week but can put out a better product.
When the CEO of my company said in an all-hands meeting that the company would focus on hiring younger engineers, I decided to leave voluntarily, seeing that I would quickly become a target.
Sure enough, in the months since then, they've started forcing out the "old" guard though hostile working practices and punitive performance reviews.
I studied engineering because I loved the art, but our culture has destroyed the art of technology. I don't miss working in tech at all, but I do enjoy teaching high school math and science (my new career), and doing whatever I can to discourage students from pursuing a career in it.
I'm coming up to 40 and I've found that there are plenty of well paid jobs than ever for someone with my experience and skills. Then again this is the EU... Maybe the US has more age discrimination.
I too am approaching 40, but I am in the US (in the Midwest, specifically). My experience and observation is that while companies here certainly hire young talent (I teach an upper university class and most of my students with whom I stay connected end up with jobs in tech), the companies around here tend to value experience a great deal. It is reflected in the salaries for mid-level and senior-level developer jobs that are advertised. In fact, the salary I am able to command here (based on my experience) is no where close to what I would likely be able to get in SV (accounting for the significant cost of living different as well). The lifestyle I am able to enjoy is far and away from the lifestyle I would be able to enjoy in SV, even if I could find a job with a salary comparable to what I earn now that accounted for the differences in cost of living.
It still absolutely amazes me that people, especially in middle age, want that SV culture. I feel like I would have to give up everything that I value that I have now in return for nothing that I value. Plus as a middle aged worker I don't feel like I would be valued by a SV company.
That open plan bullshit is wasting billions. Let's pay people to think, and force them into a noisy fluorescent lit hellscape for the entire workday.
Advocates of open office need to wake up and smell the headphones.