On Friday 23 April 2004 3:18 pm, Ian Dexter R. Marquez wrote:

> Why not? The computing field *should* not be age-centric so long as one has
> the capability to assimilate knowledge. 

I tend to ignore irrelevant qualifications (gender, age, even required 
degrees) if i'm interested in a position.  I say, in general, if people are
interested, they should go ahead and apply.  If the company is doctrinaire
about their illogical qualifications, then they were probably not worth
working for anyway.  or working there would be a pain, and pain that
isn't directly due to work (but instead is due to personal or cultural
maladjustments in the work environment) is to be avoided.

I say, apply anyway.  If they let their idiot qualifications rule their hiring
decisions, then they will deserve what they get.

> Me, am 30 (and a :newbie: at that) and I wouldn't have any qualms 
> taking orders from a younger person if he/she happens to be my 
> boss (basta ba he/she doesn't ask me to do anything out of my 
> job description =D). 

yeah, but in the philippines there are a lot of people with cultural
hangups about that, or like that.  we're not going to change those 
hangups very quickly.  nor are we going to be able to force those people
to fix their buggy behavior until and unless a regulatory environment
exists that specifically targets and penalizes that kind of discrimination.
so we'll have to work individually, and within our own families and
organizations, to educate ourselves and others.

> I guess that's my peeve against companies that have age requirements: what
> happens to those who are "over-aged" but are just as competent? 

not their problem.  and the law says nothing about it.  the overaged will just
have to figure out a way to survive.  they could leverage their connections
and experience and build their own business.  or they could go somewhere
where discrimination is illegal.  or they could apply anyway, ignoring the
ignorant qualifications and maybe even get hired by someone enlightened 
enough to see their quality.

> I think we have the advantage here in IT to break that culture of
> 'age-centrism' and  base qualifications on merit (whatever happened 
> to that as a basic gauge for competence?).

i agree.  and IT is nice because it's much harder to fake competence here than
in other fields.  so it's actually possible to make a sort of rational hiring
decision.

tiger

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