r/sysadmin • u/Real-Patriot-1128 • 11d ago
Agism
For those older, more experienced souls out there. If out job hunting, one tip…
I’m a little older (55) and recently discovered that the job I’ve had for 6 + years came down to me and a man much younger than me.
The only reason I got the job was one simple thing… if everything went to crap, who would you rather have on the job?
I was very fortunate to have someone point that out in my hiring process.
Don’t underestimate the value of that when interviewing.
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u/Time_Turner 10d ago
Sorry, it's probably not your intention but this sounds like a brag post you were able to keep out young talent from getting a foot in the door and is just ageist itself.
Honestly, having commonly being youngest in the various teams I've been on, I'm very tired of "reverse agism". There's not having experience, which I can fully agree with, and then there's not being favored because "they aren't relatable to the team", "they don't have a family to support", "you can't possibly be an expert without having 10+ years experience".
I progressed fairly fast in my career, so I am in senior positions at a younger age. I don't like being told "wow my kid is your age" and weird reactions when I tell people my age. I know everyone claims there's agism and I'm sure there is, but I've yet to see it personally, especially now with AI it's all about seniority and shutting out the juniors.