Working a while
I’ve been in the computer business for a while now. Many people ask why us older types should be hired. Try some of these reason.
- First, let’s not call us older. Try more experienced. Sometimes a LOT more experienced. Experience counts as we will see.
- If you’ve been around for a while some other employer has previously paid for us more experienced types to make mistakes. A new employer gets the benefit and fewer mistakes. Mistakes cost money you know.
- Employers often complain about the fact that more experienced people want more money. True enough. We do. However, employers carry insurance too and for very good reasons. But that insurance comes at a premium. Consider that more experienced employees are a form of insurance. Further, us more experienced types tend to get more done in less time with less effort. Having been around a while we’ve learned how.
- Many people incorrectly think that learning new things is a problem for those of us who have been around for a while. Nothing could be further from the truth. After having been around a while many things start to look alike. If new ideas look a bit like older ideas then the “new” idea is already known really, it just needs a different name. This happens more often than you might think. Take programming for example. How many programming languages do you need to learn before the concepts all look the same. The semantics change but little as a rule. It’s just the syntax that changes a lot. And if something really new does come along, watch it get assimilated at light speed.
- And there is another reason to hire us more experienced types. After doing the job for so long, we’re good at it. Yes, you can hire a kid out of high school or college for less. But I’d hardly call them professionals just yet. You get what you pay for.
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Author: Chris Johnson
Version: 2.0.1