> The first is if you have only six months of experience
doing something your pay is likely to reflect that.
My experience is building things has very little to do with the current frameworks and languages. Building a payroll system with a NoSQL back end and an AWS front end is "different" than building the same with an Xwindows client and an Oracle back end, but the things that may a payroll system "good" or "bad" often have nothing to do with the bricks and mortar and more to do with the kinds of things that typically go wrong or requirements that are left unstated. Someone with 20 years of experience writing programs will often know that part much better than someone who has yet to experience them.
> You can hire a twenty year old or a fifty year old.
They have the same experience with whatever the
latest thing is. The twenty year old has the energy
of youth. No wife or children. He may come in
hungover occasionally but with enough Red Bull
he'll bounce back by noon.
That however is what sounds like actual age discrimination, that might be like not hiring a woman because "Darn it she decides to have a kid and then what? Force me to pay maternity leave? No thank you!" or "Hire that blind guy? Really like we all we need around here is someone whose computer keyboard costs more than a Retina Macbook, No thank you!" or any number of people "not like you."
> Who do you think is going to be more productive?
Who's going to put in 16 hour days at crunch time?
That is a good question, but one where the answer might surprise you. One of them might not have to put in 16 hours a day a crunch time, and one of them might be more productive in 6 hours than the other is in 12.
But if you assume work performance based on age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation, you will always be doing it wrong.
Honestly I've found for the most part that those who work 6-9 hours get more done than those who work 10+. Usually those spending 10+ are playing catchup or learning a new technology at the same time.
I recently had an interesting experience interviewing with a startup (which shall remain nameless). During the interview process, we had a nice discussion about sustainable development practices, and I talked about my willingness to put in the occasional long day as needed. When we got to the point where they expected me to work 60+ hours a week for the next year, they cut me loose.
I could have probably done it, but really only 6-9 hours a day, like you say, would have been actually working on what they were paying me to work on. I'm still not sure how a schedule like that could ever have been considered sustainable for anyone who wants to have any of: a social life, family, or professional development time (going to meetups and such).
>That however is what sounds like actual age discrimination...
And? What is this article about? Do you think it's productive for older guys to cry about age discrimination when they can't find a job? All I'm saying is you play to your strengths when you're looking for a job, no matter what your situation is. And being an older guy with just a handful of years in a brand new technology is playing to your competition's strengths.
Companies that wouldn't hire an older guy as an Android programmer for $35/hr will shell out $300/hr for that same guy to teach an in-house six sigma class for two weeks. So be the six sigma guy. Does it make sense? No. Does that matter? Again, no.
>But if you assume work performance based on age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation, you will always be doing it wrong.
That's all very nice and totally irrelevant when you're the one looking for a job instead of the one doing the hiring.
But if you assume work performance based on age, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation, you will always be doing it wrong.