Re:Do younger minds absorb quicker?
on
Ageism in IT?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
There are a few facts in this whole controversy that are being overlooked.
First for many years now employers have sought out young techies. The stereotype of the young man with an earing and a ponytail. That hasn't gone away. Been with us for close to a decade now.
Second IT burnout is a real issue. Especially with Microsoft products where what you learn changes with such frequency. So many of Microsoft's "initiatives" flop and are quickly replaced with yet another grand scheme of doing the same task. I've lost many months learning technologies that were never widely used.
Since moving into the Linux world I find that while there is constant change and growth, the change usually has a purpose to it and that I spend far more time enhancing my skills than relearning the same thing over and over again as I did in the Windows world. This has helped me stave off burnout. There are so many technologies out there. Some change quickly, some barely at all. COBOL programmers probably see the most static environment of all major IT positions. Still you have to deal with COBOL. That is probably punishment enough.
So it is not so much a question of young mind versus old mind. It is more a question of how many times can that same set of synapses be reconfigured to implement a logical task or to find a commonly used tool to configure something.
Thus for a Windows programmer age is very relevant. A twenty something Windows programmer hasn't been through Quick C, Quick Basic, Foxpro, Access (every version is completely different it seems), Visual Basic, Visual C (1.5 to 4.0 was almost like changing languages) J++, VB Script, Active X, DAO, ODBC direct, RDO, ADO, and all of the other million things that change every week.
DBA's however see far less change in their work environment. Age gives them little disadvantage while experience gives them huge advantages.
Factors that are platform and position independent include.
Younger programmers work for less.
They have not been Dilbertized by the Red tape and complete lack of common sense displayed in so many companies today. Young people often actually believe there is a purpose to what they are doing. That it will make a difference and earn them promotions based purely on merit.
So in my opinion the IT sub-category and platform are very relevant to the issue.
Many IT positions are high pressure high stress positions. Stressed animals of any sort exhibit poor learning skills. When a person works 60 hours a week, spends 10-20 commuting and still has to deal with normal life issues such as bills, friends and loved ones. There is only so long a person can do this before the efficiency starts to degrade. Before the love of technology becomes only a warm soft spot.
One thing that IT has in common with artistic endeavors is that you have to love what you are doing. Few make in our field that are in their job purely for a paycheck. Do you see factory workers building miniature factories in their homes? Do you see road workers building roads in their backyards? Do you see accountants setting up accounting systems at home for the pure joy of it?
Most IT workers go home and play with computers at home to a greater or lessor extent. IT is and art and a craft. When the love goes away you will be far less efficient. Just like a musician who plays on after the love for music is gone, an IT professional who is stuck in the field will produce far less than one that still loves what they do.
Anybody can learn how to play an instrument. Anybody can learn how to program. To do these well does take a certain knack. More importantly it requires a certain obsession. To be passionate enough at one point to live to learn the task. It takes that to be good at a craft or an art. Natural talent helps. Anybody can play guitar but thirty years of practice cannot produce Eddie Van Halen like solo's. Thirty ye
Slashdot Mirror
There are a few facts in this whole controversy that are being overlooked.
First for many years now employers have sought out young techies. The stereotype of the young
man with an earing and a ponytail. That hasn't gone away. Been with us for close to a decade
now.
Second IT burnout is a real issue. Especially with Microsoft products where what you learn
changes with such frequency. So many of Microsoft's "initiatives" flop and are quickly replaced
with yet another grand scheme of doing the same task. I've lost many months learning
technologies that were never widely used.
Since moving into the Linux world I find that while there is constant change and growth,
the change usually has a purpose to it and that I spend far more time enhancing my skills
than relearning the same thing over and over again as I did in the Windows world. This
has helped me stave off burnout. There are so many technologies out there. Some change
quickly, some barely at all. COBOL programmers probably see the most static environment
of all major IT positions. Still you have to deal with COBOL. That is probably
punishment enough.
So it is not so much a question of young mind versus old mind. It is more a question of
how many times can that same set of synapses be reconfigured to implement a logical task or to
find a commonly used tool to configure something.
Thus for a Windows programmer age is very relevant. A twenty something Windows programmer
hasn't been through Quick C, Quick Basic, Foxpro, Access (every version is completely
different it seems), Visual Basic, Visual C (1.5 to 4.0 was almost like changing
languages) J++, VB Script, Active X, DAO, ODBC direct, RDO, ADO, and all of the other
million things that change every week.
DBA's however see far less change in their work environment. Age gives them little
disadvantage while experience gives them huge advantages.
Factors that are platform and position independent include.
Younger programmers work for less.
They have not been Dilbertized by the Red tape and complete lack of common sense displayed
in so many companies today. Young people often actually believe there is a purpose to what
they are doing. That it will make a difference and earn them promotions based purely on merit.
So in my opinion the IT sub-category and platform are very relevant to the issue.
Many IT positions are high pressure high stress positions. Stressed animals of any
sort exhibit poor learning skills. When a person works 60 hours a week, spends 10-20 commuting
and still has to deal with normal life issues such as bills, friends and loved ones. There is
only so long a person can do this before the efficiency starts to degrade. Before the love
of technology becomes only a warm soft spot.
One thing that IT has in common with artistic endeavors is that you have to love what you are
doing. Few make in our field that are in their job purely for a paycheck. Do you see factory
workers building miniature factories in their homes? Do you see road workers building roads
in their backyards? Do you see accountants setting up accounting systems at home for the
pure joy of it?
Most IT workers go home and play with computers at home to a greater or lessor extent. IT is
and art and a craft. When the love goes away you will be far less efficient. Just like a
musician who plays on after the love for music is gone, an IT professional who is stuck in the
field will produce far less than one that still loves what they do.
Anybody can learn how to play an instrument. Anybody can learn how to program. To do these
well does take a certain knack. More importantly it requires a certain obsession. To be
passionate enough at one point to live to learn the task. It takes that to be good at a
craft or an art. Natural talent helps. Anybody can play guitar but thirty years of practice
cannot produce Eddie Van Halen like solo's. Thirty ye