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Ducks in a Row: Ageism in Silicon Valley

by KG Charles-Harris

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nostri-imago/2854226061/Let me start by saying that I’m the CEO of a company that specifically seeks older developers – most of my team is over 40 years old.  In fact, my belief is that before professionals have at least 10 years of experience under their belt, it is rare that they have developed the deep experience and judgment I need, regardless of their field of endeavor.

Recently, there have been a number of articles describing vicious age discrimination in Silicon Valley.  I know firsthand that it’s real, but nothing is ever completely one-sided.

Along with ageism on the side of the young, there is a certain amount of self-sabotage on the other side—foremost because as people get older and more experienced they have expectations that are very different from those of younger developers.

As a pre-funded startup EMANIO follows the path of other software startups, i.e., build a working prototype and have some customers using it before seeking funding.  

This is a more involved process when building an enterprise product than one that focuses on consumers, because consumers seldom have IT departments and processes that slow or prevent our gathering of information.

Doing a software startup requires a development team willing to work for stock options and/or with minimal cash payments until we have accomplished building the prototype and having some customers using it.  If older programmers aren’t in a position or willing to do this, it is impossible for a pre-funded startup to hire them. 

This is a clear advantage that younger developers have – their expenses are generally lower as they haven’t yet bought homes, started families, etc.

Another thing that may come from age and experience is a certain annoyance in once again having to prove oneself—or learn new tricks. 

Many of the programming languages and methodologies that were popular have changed.  Agile methodologies and new languages abound and older programmers must take the initiatives to become familiar with them—usually on their own time.  Few young companies have the time or money to teach people these skills.

However, with the number of free, online classes available from places like MIT, Harvard and others, learning new languages and methodologies should be an easy task for those with the right attitude. Few, if any, companies care where or how programmers learn Ruby and other languages, as long as developers are proficient and productive.

On another note, in our present economy most job opportunities come from personal networks.  As such, being part of a team and proving oneself is absolutely necessary in order to be asked to be part of another team.  

Spending 3-6 months in a pre-funded startup is almost a prerequisite for being asked to join another team, regardless of whether the initial startup was successful or not.  

Older developers have to adjust to this change in the job market—and even when their skills are highly sought after they may need to adjust their expectations. 

This includes learning how to relate to very young and/or inexperienced team members and at times acting as a mentor, without seeming like a parent or overbearing or a fun-killer.

Everyone is searching for talent—cheap, productive talent is always welcome most places I know.  The cheap does not have to last for a long time; usually just long enough to get your foot in the door.

(See Entrepreneurs: the Shallowness of Youth and the Myth of Age for more information and links to other articles.)

Flickr image credit: Cliff

10 Responses to “Ducks in a Row: Ageism in Silicon Valley”
  1. MAPping Company Success Says:

    […] Ducks in a Row: Ageism in Silicon Valley […]

  2. Matthew Weeks Says:

    This is an excellent description that applies to all workers in fast-changing industry sectors and / or functional roles– far beyond just software developers.
    The piece that you touch on but resonates most for me is the absolute necessity of staying current with technologies, strategies, approaches and platforms in the ecosystem in which one plays.
    In my work with my good friend @markevans at converge labs and brand garage, and earlier at GeoLoco, SocialLoco and MobileLoco we noticed that the big (as in global) brand leaders were dominated by forty-something and fifty-something leaders that had now main attribute and habit in common– they embraced big chance, major shifts and disruptive events as a constant. They were consistently thirsty to learn about how to leverage what they already knew and had “mastered” with the new. They were comfortable in their not-knowing and eager to learn.
    What I often see are two unsuccessful patterns you allude to: a) “experienced” workers resenting having to be novices at first, and thus relegated to the category of “maintenance if old ways” or worse- simply being unqualified to contribute in the sector or role in which they built now-outdated skills (notice I did not say “expertise”)
    And b) arrogance and laziness of young people in lacking the good sense to understand the past -even if their goal is to disrupt it and take down inefficient or dysfunctional processes and infrastructure. It’s this arrogance that leads to big mistakes in direction, and to “avoidable” Mia-steps and can cripple or kill a product or project or even a startup.
    Being “expert” at yesterday’s code or approach or marketplace is invaluable if at the same time one has the good sense and humility to recognize that such expertise and experience is only helpful when used as foundation for new learning and being an empty vessel in the current world.
    You must be “intelligent enough” to be okay being a novice and a student at something else.
    The moment a person presents themselves as an “expert” and “having learned all they need to know about an area of business, technology or marketplace, I look for the exit door.
    We are only as “good” as our ability to learn new approaches (and that must include understanding of the historic road to the present state of things -for the impatient young people wanting so desperately to disrupt the stratus quo).
    Your point about the wealth of online learning sites about “new” code and Dev approaches is spot-on. But applies also to non-coders, across all functional categories. Find acwY to keep at the bleeding edge of your core discipline and industry. If you don’t do this, you’re cooked. This applies to 20-somethings AND forty and fifty-somethings. Study history. Even four years of it, in your sector. Otherwise your enthusiasm is dangerous and requires expensive review and supervision by others that do tKe the time and effort to be well informed.
    Great points. Thanks for the post.

  3. Matthew Weeks Says:

    Typos from my tiny keyboard

    Embrace great change
    Avoidable mis-steps
    Find a way to keep
    By others that take the time
    ;))
    M

  4. Miki Saxon Says:

    Matt, thanks for taking time to add your thoughts; insightful as always.

    I would add that both sides need to grow up!

    Managers aren’t hiring their parents and candidates aren’t going to work for their kids.

    They each need to learn to treat everyone with the same respect and professionalism that they want to be treated with.

  5. KG Says:

    Excellent points, Matt. Your work with large brands and the executives and managers at these organizations has been groundbreaking, and having attended GeoLoco, SocialLoco and MobileLoco you are completely correct that they display an unusual amount of humility and desire to learn.

    I believe that this is the essence – things are moving so quickly now that skills become quickly redundant as technology and business models advance. Working remotely was unusual 20 years ago; today it’s a necessary skill in a managers ability to lead a team. Similarly with technology skills.

    Asking young people to listen to the old has never really worked throughout history, and our advances are partially due to this. As are some of our major mistakes…

  6. Matt Weeks Says:

    KG
    I see your point that it takes years of experience to move quickly, and avoid the “avoidable mistakes” when possible. Yet again I wonder if our 40-something+ code guys should be “acting younger,” (more disruptive?) or whether our younger “young turks” just need a bit of seasoning and mentoring to be able to straddle both sides.
    On the matter of ageism being more about the ability to take risk (as defined by low wages/no wages and roller-coaster rides) it is an interesting dilemma.

    Almost by definition the startup teams must be young enough to have this profile, or be independently wealthy (or lucky enough to have had a bit of cash stacked-up to see them through the early stages of a startup). Either way, as Brad Feld @bfeld wrote in his book about Startup relationships, it’s usually more about the home situation (kids, mortgage, spouse) and the whole family’s tolerance for risk and ability to survive, than the core temperament of the worker.

    Bank accounts, credit ratings, marriages, relationships, even basic health are the big risks and predictable “costs” inherent in working in the startup world. It’s important to discover whether some of the apparent “age discrimination” can be mitigated by finding more gentle ways of engaging super-talented people “of a certain age” in creative ways, beyond stock comp.

    I have no direct answer to this yet, but I’d love to hear how people are managing this challenge. Could be two people share a task/role part time so “nights & weekends” add up to a full time contributor among 2 or even 3 people…. or maybe that’s just chaos.

    What do you think?

  7. Leah Says:

    In an increasingly fast-moving global marketplace, workers need to understand something. It’s not personal. There’s just too much competition out there, so it comes down to one thing. Attractiveness. This means being agile and creative and able to adapt to change (sometimes rapidly, as management switches gears). At the same time, for some companies, stability and no-nonsense mentalities, often found in older more experienced talent, is most desirable, alongside solid skills and abilities. I agree with your point about attitude, along with the availability of online classes for skill-building, being essential to the adaptation process. If only we can learn to respect what different age groups bring to the table and leverage that. Regardless of the age group you find yourself in, being reliable is universally attractive and opens the door to future partnerships and teamwork. It will always be survival of the fittest out there, so having a desire to compete is essential to success. Discrimination can knock us all down, for endless reasons, but only those who get back up will know the sweet taste of accomplishment and success.

  8. Tom Says:

    And that why older developers like me end up in I.T. departments developing enterprise software outside Silicon Valley. Many developers have had successful careers in this arena. However, this environment is more involved in trailing edge technology as you eventually do more support for “keeping the lights on”. Silicon Valley is like Hollywood, attracting those who wish to hit the big time, but eventually those who don’t make it can still have a good career in regional community theatre. It’s all relative.

  9. KG Says:

    Matt – there’s no question that family has a great influence on the ability to do what I suggest. When others depend on you for their sustenance, it is irresponsible to not earn an income. I’m just describing the realities in the market place – one has to be willing AND able to sacrifice. There’s no way around it.

    Leah – unfortunately no young person will ever respect the wisdom of the aged. Youth manage to do the impossible because they don’t know better, so let’s be grateful for their hubris. However, I believe (like you) that the ideal situation would be respect and power sharing between young and old, but we old ones rarely like to give up power to the young and ignorant.

    Tom – very good point. Excellent in fact. I believe that for the qualified, this is very true within the field of engineering. However, more than 3/4 of Silicon Valley are involved in other disciplines and have a much harder time finding jobs once discarded by the Valley.

  10. MAPping Company Success Says:

    […] couple of weeks ago KG wrote about ageism and attitude and I followed up by considering an often ignored basic fact about age and […]

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