Internet Week April 5, 1999


Age Discrimination:  Are Oldies Still Goodies?


Is there widespread bias against hiring IT
professionals who are more than 40 years
old? This was the subject of a column I wrote
here a couple of weeks ago, and the
responses--in volume, in ages represented,
and in variety of opinion--were remarkable. I'd
like to share some excerpts and the thoughts each
triggered in my head. Because this topic seems to strike
such a deep chord with so many readers, we're offering a
couple of online features that delve more deeply into this
highly charged subject: For a more-comprehensive look at
the letters we received, go to InformationWeek Online at
www.informationweek.com/docs/feedback.htm. We've also
posted an instant poll on our home page that asks, "Do
older IT workers face job discrimination?" Please take a
moment to see what some of your peers are thinking and
saying--and also let us know what you think.


Here's one from a senior systems administrator: "People
straight out of college seem to be getting more and more
high-level IT jobs, including senior system administration,
network security, and even project-management positions.
This scares me, because the lack of practical experience
and people skills is quite evident. ... Unfortunately, the
basics aren't always there--things like arrogance and
unethical behavior offset any high-tech skills they
possess. ... A message to the post-X-genners in IT: The
world doesn't revolve around you--and neither will most
companies. ... I would love to see some older,
more-experienced IT professionals in my group. They
have practical project-management and budgeting skills
that many of the under-30 crowd are lacking. Ethical
behavior is the norm for many of them. I feel I can trust
them. Many of the older professionals don't play 'buzzword
bingo' or the 'certification game' to bloat their value--they
just sit down and get right to work. I can see why many of
them are upset with the state of IT recruitment." Sound
familiar? Yeah, it did to me too--except that the letter
writer is 29 years old!


My naivete exposed, I offer this one: "There is
clearly some truth to the idea that IT workers over 40
are less sought-after than those younger. Some of this
is outright discrimination, but most of it relates to
the real nature of all the IT jobs that are open. ...
[Many] jobs require the ability to hit the ground
running with the latest technologies. Employers are
willing to pay top dollar, but those with years of
experience in older technologies clearly don't fit
this need. As a 28-year-old consultant, I find myself
struggling to keep up, despite years of experience in
Visual Basic, SQL Server, Sybase, and some Web
development." Good grief, Charlie Brown--has the lower
boundary of "older workers" come down to 28- and
29-year-olds? Or is the real issue that these times of
relentless change are forcing all IT professionals to
become incessant students of new technology? Are we
moving toward a stage where constant learning is
indispensable?


Here's a grim perspective: "Last year I left an
unsatisfactory job and spent four months sending out
87 resumés without getting a single response. On the
advice of a career counselor, I trimmed 15 years off
my experience and eliminated references to any
technology older than 1990. I was called for three
interviews in the first week." This one got to me--do
we as an industry, or as a society, really feel so
uncomfortable about age and experience that we're
forcing professionals to hide them? Or does the
frenzy over new technology skills obscure any other
type of thinking?


This from a 38-year-old IT director: "If I'm hiring
for a specific talent, I'm looking for the best
candidates with that talent, regardless of age. The
biggest problem I see for someone becoming
'age-challenged' as you say is whether they've kept up
with the technology changes over the years." And more
from an IT manager at a midsize retailer: "Two-thirds
of our staff is 40 or older. ... I consider myself to
be lucky to be able to hire experienced individuals,
regardless of age. ... There is too much work to be
done, and too few really qualified applicants, to use
irrelevant criteria such as age in the employment
decision."


Some intriguing questions from a 50-year-old IT worker:
"So what does the older IT worker bring to the table? How
about an understanding of how computers really work?
How about a knowledge of the employer's business? How
about the ability to understand that the world doesn't
revolve around Microsoft technology? How about the
knowledge that REAL corporate data is kept safe on the
mainframe?"


And some thoughts from a 44-year-old software
consultant: "The bias is and always has been a skills bias.
... value was always the issue. ... As a businessperson, I
must prove to my clients every day that I provide them the
value they expect and deserve. To do less would be to
steal their money."


So you tell me: Is there age bias in IT? Check out our
survey at www.informationweek.com


Bob Evans
Editor-in-Chief
bevans@cmp.com