I've been wanting to reply to this for some time now. I saw it months ago, and it really resonated with me. I was just a few months into a new job and for the first time in my life, I was the oldest one on the team at 48. I am surrounded by millennials, my director is barely 30. I don't care about their age - they are all passionate, brilliant, some of the best people I've ever worked with. But I felt they saw me as a relic. And I felt like a giant imposter. I have never felt like that before. I took responsibility for my thoughts and decided to make the best of it - not in a tolerating way, but to really kick ass on a daily basis, to be a contribution. It worked. I still feel like everyone's weird punk rock mom. I made peace with that, and continue to produce work I'm proud of. I revisited this video today and I don't feel the same way as I did the first time. I don't hear "age" as the factor anymore. I hear a workplace culture out of synch with an individual who has different goals and values. I know ageism exists. But we can be our own worst offenders. We convince ourselves that there is some defect within us, when really, we just want (and deserve) something else. And in this field, there are so many opportunities to be a contribution, I can't imagine I will ever be too old to make a difference. Jim, I hope you found another gig. You sound too thoughtful to spend your time in a turn & burn. The world needs people like us, and UX ain't stopping anytime soon.

@joenatoliUX

5 жыл бұрын

BRAVO, Kristin. Never, EVER let other people's short-sightedness inform your self-worth or the value of what you have to offer.

@othername333

5 жыл бұрын

Kristin I can't tell you how helpful your comment has been for me. Your words have echoed my biggest fears as I start the job application process. At 43 years old I'm just entering the UX field (in job application phase), applying for internships to get the experience needed to start my new career. I can't help thinking how weird it must be for the recruiters to receive an application for an internship from a 43 year old, then if I do get an internship how even weirder that would be for my team. Like you I don't care about their age, I enjoy working with young people, my fear is how they will see me - "the relic" as you dubbed it. But your advice and positive attitude will be my new focus - take responsibility for my thoughts and just try to be as kick ass as possible on a daily basis :) Thanks for your positive inspiration Kristin and Joe!

@kristinludlowUX

Жыл бұрын

@@othername333 How's it going for you so far? I now work as a Sr Product Designer on a team with age diversity (along with other diverse factors) .

I'm 49 and going strong in UX, been doing this for 10yrs+ and really started feeling close to what the question asked in this video, so last year I took some time off, a long time actually 6months, I mentally gave up on UX design. Then I asked myself some hard questions and came to a few decisions. The first was I asked myself what do I actually like/enjoy about UX design, where do I see myself in 2, 5, 10years if I remain in UX. The answers led me to a few decisions - 1. I decided to specify what I do - Information Architecture + Interaction Design only. 2. I upped my day rate (I'm a consultant/contractor) to weed out terrible roles. 3. I changed my mindset about interviews - I am interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me. 4. I changed my Portfolio and CV to reflect the decisions above, including stating the kind of roles I am looking for. 5. I committed to continual learning (books and refresher courses on LinkedIn learning). I completely agree with Joe about agencies, they have an agressive model that may be difficult to change if you are not the head of UX. From my experience you are more likely to find better UX processes from Startups or tech/internet companies. All the best folks and keep at it.

@joenatoliUX

5 жыл бұрын

Kudos to you for doing the hard work to put yourself on a better path!

Would even suggest, instead of finding a new job see if there are other avenues (projects, departments) you can transfer to. If your fortunate enough to work at a company where you can work on other things consider that too and ask your manager. I’m 20 years in this game and I experience this as well.

Thank you Joe!

Excellent points. I relate to the questions and your answers helped me understand how to handle this positively. Thank you!

@joenatoliUX

3 жыл бұрын

You are very welcome, Angeline! Thrilled to hear it was useful to you.

Great answer Joe, thanks!

Wow! This was so inspiring Joe! Thank you for sharing!

@joenatoliUX

6 жыл бұрын

Happy to hear it resonated, Lynn. I think this is a topic that isn't talked about enough lately, and the Mail I get tells me a lot of folks are in similar spots...

Jim, here's my 2 cents for you, for what they worth. these is the LESS POLITICALLY CORRECT answer, relatively to the ones Joe has given you. which are 100% correct and should be considered too !! there's this inherent flaw in the way things happen in the tech world. see lectures from "uncle bob" and such to understand it deeper, for example : kzread.info/dash/bejne/g3yirs-vdNuthLw.html the main thing is this : >50% of this industry are just too young and hardly competent. (I'll be talking about programming here but it's roughly the same in all the other fields of IT) and here's what you get : - most programmers are simply incompetent (yet). - most programmers never got to see the long term effects of their decisions. - most of them lack the maturity to see things long-term and require themselves to produce high quality product (or even know what high quality product IS at all !) - they hardly ever saw what's the right way to do things - they (selectively) hear about those great start-ups that get sold for 8-9 figure $$ and they want their share - those with the courage and with over-self-assurance start their own companies - their clients are either just like them or "old" enough not to understand a thing about current tech. and in all, you get a "market" that has a short vision and short-term considerations only. all it aims for is to create a "minimum viable product", sell it and run away from the consequences (with the money of course). my bet is - you're ~35 yr old, am I right ? you've seen better. you know that there's a right way to do things you even happen to know where lies the balance between doing things right and doing the right things :) and you're probably a "soul player" .. one that actually cares about what he does and is 100% committed to it . (I've just quoted my most influential mentor ever LOL :) so my advise to you is this : 1. learn what you can from this place, e.g. : - exposure to new tech - meet more people, some of them are really talented ! - try to see when your "doing things right" perception is incorrect (because sometimes it is wrong to do it) - learn HOW NOT TO do things .. the more incorrect patterns you recognize, the less mistakes you'll do by yourself. 2. DON'T LEAVE THIS PLACE JUST YET it's a good school (for the above reasons) and you probably need that income that's unless, of course, you don't depend on that income or just can't take another minute there. 3.TAKE THE TIME looking for the next position. what you're looking for is a place that has a more mature view of things. and such companies are harder to find. if you'll hurry up finding the next job, you're most likely to end up in the same situation. take the time and look for the right place. don't forget that it's your job to interview the work place !! if they don't pass the interview (in which you will ask the hard questions and test THEIR competence) then don't take the job Good luck :)

@joenatoliUX

6 жыл бұрын

Good advice here, Nir. Thank you for sharing it!

Good advice Joe !

@joenatoliUX

6 жыл бұрын

Happy you found it useful, Helder - thanks!

Thank you, Joe. This helps, more than words can say :-)

@joenatoliUX

6 жыл бұрын

Truly happy to hear that, Rich!

I am seeing this issue externally from not being in Tech Design. I am coming from a government design job trying to get into the Tech industry here in Austin but realizing the high demand and high expectations is an almost a closed door for many like me who are very successful in the current jobs we are in but are not aligned with this super focused, fast-paced tech turn around. I think the competitive demand for consumerism has caused this as a vicious cycle. Clients need the fast turnaround to compete against the fast-growing market and need this pace to stay relevant to other competitors. I read tons of employee reviews complaining about these same issues. The company promises work-life balance yet once the employee is hired things become not as promised and employees express discontent with the companies saying they work you like a mule. Anyone who knows design realizes creativity demands breathing room, time to think, to contemplate, to discover and more... Fast and quick only creates, stress and unfulfilled promises with a high chance of error. I too have contemplated moving away from design because this is the way the market is. Not good for employees moral at all and I consider myself a very hard worker with the clients best intentions in mind. But time off, spending time with family, working out, being social has allowed me to come back fully recharged and ready to tackle the next workday. Companies should realize decompressing is important. You are no good as an employee burnt out. This is the same story I hear with Wallstreet. A lot of burnout. High pace work is not healthy.

@joenatoliUX

6 жыл бұрын

Couldn't agree more, Javier - compromising on your mental health is a one-way ticket.

Why are these conversations forbidden in the workplace?

@joenatoliUX

8 ай бұрын

Not forbidden necessarily. But ageism is a very taboo subject in a lot of places. Hiring managers and HR reps - and even executives - often won't admit they have a bias toward younger employees. Older folks find themselves getting nudged out of conversations and meetings further into their careers, unless they're in positions of significant authority. People entering this industry over 40 yrs old will find that recruiters have even more of a bias. It's MUCH harder to even get a reply, much less land an interview or get hired. The truth, however, is that those older folks, in general, have. LOT more value to offer an organization than their 22-year old counterparts.

sounds like he's going through mid life crisis. hopefully he's in a better place now. but mid life crisis is definitely a thing when you're settling in life in general. it comes out eventually and sometimes career or relationships takes a hit.