Age Does Not Equal Experience

Keep this post to reread in 10-15 years. Once, probably further back than I care to admit, I was very similar to you. I worked for a great company filled with opportunity. Each opportunity I reached for led me to the same "age / experience" discussion. I was furious, and I couldn't wait to get older. I actually wanted some gray in my hair! I'm sure you are great now, but I can honestly tell you three things:

1) The experience you are gaining now, will make you better in the future. You will be a more compassionate & humble leader, a more understanding / open manager, and a more thought-provoking employee. While you have a lot to offer now, it increases exponentially with life experience. You may have a packed a lot into life experience to-date, but if you keep up the same rate, just think what will happen in two years?

2) You are correct, "age is not indicative of whether or not you know what you’re talking about", but how you present it is.

3) It is inevitable, life willing, you will get older.

It all balances out, just hang in there. Looking back, I know realize that I was hearing Age / Experience, but what they were saying was that I had potential and to keep working on skill X, Y, and Z development. Those who don't have potential, receive a completely different message. Be glad this is message you are receiving.

Thank you all for the feedback :)

To give some context, I wrote this after having discussions in the course of a day with two instructors. One has a Ph.D. and feels that educational titles are the only way to judge whether or not someone knows what he or she is talking about. The other, who has more than 20+ years of experience and no Ph.D., shared some of his thoughts on learning from his students. I took both of their words to heart and started thinking about how I've encountered difficulties because of my age, even though I have much experience to offer despite the fact I'm still finishing up my undergrad and master's degrees.

Interesting back and forth here.

On the one hand, as a 20-something who has tried and failed and succeeded at a lot of things, I understand Mandy's frustration about being treated as if our experience is somehow "cute" and marginal. I had more professional experience going into college than most have coming out, so it was a bitter pill to swallow when companies didn't give me interviews as a matter of policy because I was too young (except for one consulting firm, and they gave me the job). One of the things I love about Silicon Valley is how as long as you can get your foot in the door and show results, you can have pretty much any job you want.

On the other hand, I think Kathryn and Andrea touch on some important things, namely the difference between capability and wisdom, and between youthful optimism and exuberance, and time tested performance, sometimes as measured by the approval of standards keeping institutions (such as PhD committees at universities or Bar Associations).

I routinely find myself learning from my parents about things that I am technically more expert about because they are able to contextualize these things within a broader experience. Generally, I have come to really respect the things that come with time - I'm all for the fast-track career and doing things without a degree at 22 that people used to do at 30 with a degree, but there is something to be said for the temperance and wisdom that may come with the passage of time, with falling and getting up for a lot of years.

That said, there is a sort of "cult of experience" for which age serves as a proxy. A lot of people are invested in the idea that age or how long you've been "fighting battles" matters because they realize their actual skills are not defensible - younger and smarter or better prepared people might pick them up in half or a quarter the time. People who have experienced "office politics" and absurd barriers try to enforce them on others, securing their positions and justifying how slowly they progressed.

Part of it is also generational - for instance, we used to live with a work model where you stayed and progressed slowly with a company over decades and managers were recruited from the ranks. As I try to absorb my grandfather's wisdom, one thing we always clash on is career progression - he worked 20+ years to become a mid-level manager and thinks the idea of me doing it in four or five is absolutely preposterous - maybe it is.

Again, thank you so much for the feedback.

I like that this has generated a lot of discussion, and as Kevin noted, the post was very emotionally driven. However, I disagree on the point that I'm not happy with what I have. On the contrary, I am very happy with what I have accomplished, though I temper that with a desire to keep striving. Part of it may be my "youthful" ambition.

My frustration is mostly with the feeling that I'm considered less valid because of my physical age. When someone sees "student" they approach me in one way. When they see that I'm an "SEO specialist", they approach me in another. The fact is that I am both.

I also like the fact that Tariq brought up "office politics". I feel that it too has a place in this discussion. There are a lot of barriers that 20-somethings face when it comes to even engaging others on the subject of experiences and achievement.

If I had left out the information that I was a student, or any hint at my age, I have to wonder if this post might have been received differently. What if I were 35 dealing with an employee who was 50 who did not respect me because I was younger?

Age is just an estimate, and I understand your anger that it's being used almost exclusively as a measure of someone's worth. However, while yes, age does not ALWAYS equal experience, it almost nearly does. By living longer, you're more likely to have experienced more, and therefore, learned from it. Titles, such as "Ph.D" or "Bachelor's," are similar. Either tell someone how long you've worked towards a certain goal in the established institution of university or college. It's easier (and quicker) to judge someone on age and title rather than a more in-depth examination as to a young person's total life. It might not be fair, but it's expedient and traditional.

But again, both age and letters are only estimates, rules of thumb. Maybe try not to take judgment by age so seriously? Perhaps older generations feel somewhat disrespected by "youthful exuberance" and the lack of "cult of experience" that Tariq mentions above. Maybe they feel their experience pushed aside by new ideas brought in by younger employees. Also keep the economy in mind: more companies are laying off older, more experienced workers in order to bring in young ones who will work for less. Put yourself in a 50-ish employees shoes: what would you think of being replaced by a 20-something? What would you think if your experience in the company was traded for an employee who costs less?

Just some things to think about.

Here's another perspective. I've seen far too many companies burned by the "wunderkind". The sharp, brilliant, hard working, hard driving young person who has "superstar" stamped all over them. What happens to them? Either they leave to chase the next opportunity, they over-reach their skill and expertise and fail spectacularly, or they give the appearance that they gamed the system to get where they are, and the long knives of the people who were passed over and have been at it for a lot longer are VERY sharp. There are some that succeed, but not anywhere near as many that do one (or all) of these there.

Yet companies still court and recruit the "wunderkind." Why? Potential. They become dazzled by the potential of these people.

And, while age is just a number, it comes wrapped in experience, knowledge and connections. Things take time to learn, and since 95% of the knowledge and experience of any busines or industry is not written down anywhere, this is where experience trumps potential. Also, experience, in the minds of management, reduces the risk of failure. You've been there and have done that, and have an idea of what potholes are there in the road, and how to avoid them.

As Napoleon has said, "I love a brave soldier who has undergone, le baptéme du fer, whatever nation he may belong to."