[jarsin]

> The tech industry of 15 or 20 years ago was, again, dramatically different from tech today. I used to joke that if you knew which was was up on a keyboard, you could get a job in tech.

Nope, guys that started 20 years ago came into very brutal tech job markets. Dotcom bust / 911 / with the cherry on top, the GFC a few years later. Very worth listening to.

[mlhpdx]

And the 80s, and the 70s…

[jarsin]

The modern day tech career required two things to exist. A PC in every persons home/pocket and a connection to the internet.

Both of those things came together in the mid/late 90's and gave birth the the modern day tech career. Since then the modern day tech career has changed very little if at all.

Anything before that was not even comparable. Mostly academic researchers and labs.

[mixmastamyk]

A bit earlier I think. Most businesses had PCs and LANs by the late 80s. I specialized in Netware and PC repair in the early 90s. Some graphics/desktop publishing on the side for fun.

[moate]

The difference between the tech world in the late 80's (computers and software are common and important) and the rise of the smartphone/web eras is so massive as to be fundamentally different.

Yes, we had cars that existed in the 20's and 30s, but listening to those "oldheads" about what worked for them at that time if you were in the post-WW2 auto boom in the US wouldn't make sense. See also: aerospace pre/post jet propulsion.

[mixmastamyk]

Nah, my day is about the same. Sitting in front of a computer hacking and making better than average pay.

My time outside of work has changed substantially however.

[mlhpdx]

So your point is that youngsters are the only ones that understand “modern” software? Or economic crisis? Or both?

Stereotyping is fine as long as it’s understood to be fundamentally wrong and inefficient, and when applied to people cruel.

[moate]

What are you on about? Where did I say that?

My point was: Saying "this is what worked for me finding a job in the 80's/90's" isn't necessarily great advice, because it's not the 80's or 90's. If an oldhead says "this is what worked for me last year" sounds like he's giving useful advice.

Put succinctly: Oldhead advice is great when it's relevant, but oldheads need to understand that not all their war stories are useful. Feels like an extremely reasonable take, but strawman me some more if that's what gets you off.

Signed- An oldhead!

[jarsin]

I still remember the NetWare/PC guy coming to our house as a kid when I bricked one of my families early pc's. He said something like, "if you keep this up you will have my job some day."

We still didn't have the internet in our houses then, though.