An Explanation of Agism that Makes Sense

[The Gorn]

When I was in my 20s it was in somebody's face.  It just wasn't my face that it was in.  I think the same is true for you.

When I was interviewing around and working at different places in the early 80s, I only ran into one anecdotal (and true) segment of unemployed technology worker in my travels: laid off aerospace workers in the Melbourne, FL (Cape Kennedy) area. I was interviewed at a company in that area by a senior engineer who took me out to lunch as part of the interview and told me about senior engineers losing their houses and long term unemployed then. This was associated with the post-Apollo space program and early 70s budget cuts.

Mid career and middled aged unemployment truly wasn't the mass phenomenon it was back then that exists today. It wasn't just my rose colored glasses.

[pxsant]

When I was interviewing around and working at different places in the early 80s, I only ran into one anecdotal (and true) segment of unemployed technology worker in my travels: laid off aerospace workers in the Melbourne, FL (Cape Kennedy) area. I was interviewed at a company in that area by a senior engineer who took me out to lunch as part of the interview and told me about senior engineers losing their houses and long term unemployed then. This was associated with the post-Apollo space program and early 70s budget cuts.

I worked at Cape Carnival way back then, actually way before then.  I go back far enough to have met the original 7.   I saw the pending cut backs early and got out just in time.

[choppedwood]

Here's the thing about corporate culture. Anyone or anything (a group, a project) that is judged to be not successful (regardless of reason, regardless of whether it's that person's or group's fault) is avoided like a corpse. What ageism is about is the (often unfair) negativity directed at people judged to have underperformed their age curve. In mainstream business, there's an expectation that a person will be in an informal leadership role no later than 32, be in an official leadership role (i.e. manager or executive) by 35, be a VP by 40, (S|E)VP by 45, and CxO by 50.

I feel like I'm posting the obvious but even a small corporation can have a few hundred employees.  At most they will have a small handful of VP's, usually not even 10.  This guy's scenario has a serious math problem.  Not that I don't believe it's the case in some places, it's just that the math doesn't work.  We don't all turn into Soylent Green in our 40's even if it's starting to feel like it at times.

Also, Walter kind of said the same thing, but with more art than I just did.

[TechTalk]

New companies MIGHT always have an age bias nowadays.  However, I think that lack of standardization in the industry has been just as big of a problem as age bias has been.  I think this explains why older experienced mainframe programmers were once hot items during the age of big iron that ended many years ago.

Traditionally the only social networking that took place is when a programmer blogs about say .NET or Java programming and then posts comments on other blogs that are blogging about the same programming language(s) and technologies.  Note: Article and book writers have been doing this for years.  Does doing this keep them employed throughout their career?  Is it worth the effort for most folks to emulate them?  I stopped reading blogs years ago, however, I am sure that there are still thousands of programming related blogs that never get read by anyone who has a similar background/interest as the person who blogging.  The hidden job market that exists in many fields is probably very small in the IT business software development industry.

[I D Shukhov]

I wonder if it's in human nature to want to have segments of society that you consider less than yourself, and that regardless of the law, some group will always functionally act as the underdog.

When I was in high school, I  bought my brother this book as a Christmas present.  I bought it at a long-defunct book store named Brentano's: 

 If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent Them:  http://www.amazon.com/There-Werent-Blacks-Would-Invent/dp/B0043KNHXU

[David Randolph]

Looking at the human aspect, the people who are clawing and scratching their way up the corporate ladder are very competitive. Think people stuck in hgh school sports mode. And in high school, what attitudes do the jocks have about their rivals and about the kids who are not active in sports?

I submit that these poor folks who have the money and power are to be pitied for their lack of soul. The famous picture of J.P.Morgan holding a chair rail, but the the shadows make it look like a knife was acclaimed because so many people saw that as a true picture of the man's heart.

For us, it is important to have other ways of getting affirmations than from bosses or managers. As we are comfortable in our own skins, then we can see the alternative ways through life that they can not.