When it comes to job hunting, a common concern is not having enough experience.
In tech, the fear riddling job seekers and holders alike is the opposite.
They worry they have too much experience.
Experience comes with age, and age is proving an issue in tech careers.
As many as68 percentof baby boomers dont apply for tech jobs for fear of being too old.
Meanwhile, a 2018 study found thatthree-quartersof professional developers are younger than 35.
Ageism is the elephant in the tech room.
As programmers progress, their years of experience increasingly become a poisoned chalice.
If the statistics are anything to go by, this problem is even more entrenched than you might imagine.
And this concern is not unfounded.
Worldwide, meanwhile, the average age of developers ranges between 22 and 29.
These statistics are telling.
They suggest that by the time a developer reaches their mid-40s, theyre likely to face career worries.
Either way, the numbers show that developers contend with an illicit age barrier in their career.
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Experience should be a factor that gives older people a competitive edge.
Yet experience seems to be hurting their applications, not helping.
So much so, in fact, that some people havestarted removingreferences to earlier experience from their job applications.
Why is this happening?
Clearly, its a poorly kept secret that the tech industry favors younger team members.
But when did experience become a bad thing?
One of the more obvious factors is money.
In general, older developers (and those with more experience) tend to warrant higher pay.
However, this is the case in many industries, and yet the problem isnot as rampantoutside of tech.
Innovation vs experience
Technology is future-focused.
Very little is the same as it was a decade ago.
With so much change and so much emphasis placed on the tech-infused future, looking back seems redundant.
And thats exactly what experience does: it looks back.
Employers (wrongly) assume that experience implies a stagnated skillset, or outdated expectations.
Things are a little more disruptive in tech.
So, recruiters looking on programming experience with a devaluing eye may be leading to discrimination against it.
Stereotypes and complacency
This view of the future feeds into typecasts.
While young people are often referred to as the future, the stereotype of the tech-illiterate older person pervades.
Its assumed that, because someone is older, they cant possibly know modern tech.
Its the classic fallacy: you cant teach an old dog new tricks.
Programmers need to beconstantly learning.
Skills can quickly become out-of-date or redundant.
The pace in tech is relentless, with long-standing languages rendered obsolete and new languages and methodologies lionized.
Unfortunately, this pace once again paves the way for ageism.
When developers are in the game for so long, the assumption is that theyve no doubt become complacent.
They might have lost the passion they once held, or fallen behind the times in terms of languages.
Older developers face concerns about the stability of the roles theyre in.
This can lead to heightened stress or evenimposter syndrome.
Ageism in tech also makes competing for new jobs an uphill struggle for older developers.
The result is a generation of developers facing a forced exit from their career.
And it isnt any better for young developers either.
The ageism in tech has also created an unhealthy attitude toward new, younger developers.
It also means that younger developers are being treated like consumables.
(Aka., older developers.)
For older developers, it can help to reduce the emphasis placed on your age.
So, if you are job hunting,age neutralizeyour resume or CV.
A good way to do this is by removing old or irrelevant experience from your software.
Instead, cherry-pick the most relevant and impressive examples of your experience.
Tailor your experience to the job youre after.
Whether youre old or young, never be discouraged enough to stop learning.
Continue to demonstrate your passion for the role.
Keep up-to-date with the newest trends, languages and other technology.
Its about proving that youre an asset now, not that you used to be.
To that end, remember that performance proves value.
(And that applies no matter how old you are.)
Finally, wherever you work now, however many winters youve seen, connection.
Build relationships, make yourself known.
Make friends and establish yourself as a valuableteam member.
So, when you reach the not-so-invisible age limit, youre just that little bit harder to let go.
The benefits of age-diversity
Ageism in tech isnt a problem that affects only candidates and employees.
Its damaging to the businesses that fall foul of it as well.
They miss out on the benefits that an age-diverse team can bring.
For example, older developers offer insight from experience.
Their time in the industry typically makes them better suited to senior roles than a fresh-faced programmer.
Younger developers, meanwhile, give fresh insight and are often more energetic.
They bring a new outlook to an old problem, making them great catalysts for finding new solutions.
They also benefit from a diverse team because they get a mentor that can help them learn and grow.
Evidence backs up the power of diversity in the workplace.
But what can businesses do to help remove the developer age limit?
If you have a young, super-motivated candidate with a hunger for code, then great.
If you have an older candidate with years of experience and up-to-date knowledge, then great.
Remember to check you arent falling foul of assumptions.
Recognize what the candidate is doing and can do now.
You should alsoencourage mentoring.
Developers of any age can share their experiences, their knowledge and their ideas, upwards and downwards.
A young programmer could show an older colleague a new way of looking at a problem.
An experienced developer could explain common approaches to a difficult problem.
The point is, experience and age arent adequate deal-breakers.
Use experience as a backdrop; not the be-all and end-all.
Break the barrier
Ageism in tech is a much bigger problem than it should be.
Regardless of the reasons behind it, we need to do something about it.
The only way we can break the age bias in technology is if everyone works towards that goal.
Developers need to keep learning and avoid complacency.
Companies need to stop letting age and experience be a barrier to tech jobs.
So, lets get on with it.
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