Reply to: Contracting and age what age is too old?

[ContractorMike]

well this was interesting

[GreenerGrass]

Short of a catastrophic divorce, why would you want to contract after 60?

Currently 38 and plan to pay the mortgage off by 45 or thereabouts and spend the few years after that just aquiring property and stuffing a lot more money in my SIPP in case ageism starts becoming an issue as I nudge 50.
I'd be wary of any life plan that relies on you contracting fulltime until 65. After 50, certainly 55 maybe just the odd little stint to earn extra spending money. Call it semi retirement.

Team at current gig are nearly all well over 30, with quite a few in their mid and late 40s. No one over 50 though.

[rootsnall]

Have plans B and now C underway as I know that in another 4-5 years I won't be able to cut it at the highest level and don't want to work for peanuts.

We are not Premiership footballers ! You just need to be semi competent to plod along in this game and I reckon I could 'degenerate' considerably and still be able to do the job. Whizz kids cause more problems than they solve, producing whizzy over engineered code is usually not what is really required. Saying that I'd agree with an earlier post that the real oldie contractors ( touching 60 ) I've come across were usually pretty odd and probably past it.

[Lockhouse]

I reckon I technically peaked at around 36-40 although I didn't know it at the time. These days I can't code as long (I'm 47), nor take as much in as I used to but make up for it in common sense and experience. People come to me more to be reassured than technically dazzled these days.

Have plans B and now C underway as I know that in another 4-5 years I won't be able to cut it at the highest level and don't want to work for peanuts.

[Stan.goodvibes]

yeah me too, over 40 and still coining it. Without wanting to sound like a blowhard I am *definately* better at what i do than the permatozoa in the office and i work a hell of a lot harder than they do.

I'd say that I am a better 'all-rounder' than I was when I was a young coder, and I understand the business better.

Given that I keep seeing that clients want soft skills like good oral and written communication, common sense, knowledge of business processes etc I think being older and having done this now for 15 years I'm much better value than when i was starting off, even if I had leet VB skills back then.

And I'm a lot less likely to go large on the weekend (wed-sun) anymore drinking and clubbing and taking drugs and turning up on Monday (or Friday) with about 2 functioning neurons.

[singhr]

Me and most of my contractor buddies are all over 40 and still coining it. Generally we are too expensive to be let anywhere near the code as Bob Shawadiwadi has that all sown up but there is plenty of space for peeps to say 'Oi, you don't want to do it like that' etc. Interestingly, I am seeing hardly any young gun contract programmers any more - where did they all go?

[HairyArsedBloke]

I`ve worked with a few older contractors (55-57) and they were all a little strange in one way or another.One thinking he was god because of his age etc, had a lot of false confidence but lied to enforce it. Another was just bonkers. And another constantly fell asleep while us young folks laughed and threw things at him to get the git awake.

Sorry.

[SuperZ]

My dream is to have a small pension at about 70 and then carry on doing
a part time role until the end.

That`s a shi* dream, more like a nightmare. I think I`d be embarrassed and ashamed to be contracting even at 65 and definatley want to enjoy some of MY OWN time before I die. Then again, as I get older (and still skint) my view might change. I`m not even close to 40 yet but had an interesting experience recentlly when I met other candidates and they were all < 30. I`m not sure IT is a career for old age.

I`ve worked with a few older contractors (55-57) and they were all a little strange in one way or another.One thinking he was god because of his age etc, had a lot of false confidence but lied to enforce it. Another was just bonkers. And another constantly fell asleep while us young folks laughed and threw things at him to get the git awake.

[Brussels Slumdog]

It depends on your skill set and the job role

Talked to a couple of Agents about this. They said they believed if you
could do the job it didn't matter.

There are roles which are more suitable for older guys than younger guys.
Its a question of how to use YOUR age to your advantage
Old equals experience,leadership, communication and knowhow.
Young equals new latest technology,energy drive.

I don't currently have a problem in the SAP world as my area is accounting related. I even have a Perm interview this week. I admit Its always nice to see another contractor/perm older than you.
Most clients see age as experience so your age must reflect your experience.
After spending most of this year on the bench,retirement scares me.
My dream is to have a small pension at about 70 and then carry on doing
a part time role until the end.

[JoJoGabor]

WIth the risk of sounding Pc, age shouldn't matter, its the individual that matters. I worked for a financial consultancy in the city where the average age was 26, but 90% of the people there would sh!t all over the majority of anyoen else I have met in my career. Yes they needed some guidance on engineering techniques, but picked wverything up quickly and really were superb. Most of them now are high up in Tier1 banks.

I have met 40 year old contractors who are brilliant, some who are utter sh!te. Likewise I have met some sh!te 24 year olds and some utterly brilliant ones.

Unfortunately hiring managers and agents refuse to accept CVs for roles which show less than 5 years experience even if that candidate is the best person, its jsut the nature of the game. I had it in my younger years - "You're very young" then nailed the job if I could actually get in the door

[Paddy]

I asked why this was - a manager said that everyone they've ever taken on over 40 has been crap, so now they don't bother, although they would never admit this openly.

Ironic considering the vast majority of my time is taken up by fixing foul-ups made by young inexperienced people who will do a job in a couple of hours and then it takes weeks or months to undo the damage.

[TiroFijo]

Most guys at one of my clients are over 40.

If I was an HM I don't think I would hire a contractor under 35. Any younger than that they just don't have the experience for the most part in terms of contracting, maturity and life in general. Suppose it depends on the culture of the company also.

I don't see being over 40 being an issue either, not every one wants to be a PM or TA etc. If someone is interested in their chosen technology and enjoys what they are doing I would tend to think that they are going to be good at their job regardless of being 30, 40 or 50.

[threaded]

Most guys at one of my clients are over 40. They're proper engineers* like, and there don't seem to be that many young'uns coming through the edukashun system, i.e. they just can't get the staff.


proper engineers = several hp calculators to be seen on peeps desks.

[RichardCranium]

You've reminded me of someone I used to know who said that he likes young staff. "After they get to about 25 they wise up and start asking for proper money. Younger than that and they are stupid and are just thankful they have a job"

So which consultancy was that? KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, EDS, CSC, Deloitte, etc... All full of graduates gaining work experience, with the taxpayer paying £1,500 a day for the privilege.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Developers tend to peak at around the age of 24. If I was running a company, I'd get some fresh meat in after that.

You've reminded me of someone I used to know who said that he likes young staff. "After they get to about 25 they wise up and start asking for proper money. Younger than that and they are stupid and are just thankful they have a job"