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Comment by codr7 | Hacker News Reader

I'm 43, with 20 years of solid experience in most major languages out there, from backend to frontend.

I guess the virus is partly to blame, but I'm having a REALLY hard time finding work right now; and I'm applying all over Europe with a focus on Amsterdam & Copenhagen, remote or otherwise.

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I suggest switching to consultancy/freelance work. The interview process nowadays in Europe is just a time waster.

Before switching to consultancy, I've wasted almost half a year applying to various jobs. Multiple rounds of interviews, coding challenges, specialized resumes and everything in between. Average response time from recruiters was 2 days to 1 week.

Took me less than two weeks to get my first client as an independent contractor on a highly competitive freelance platform.

Also, don't hesitate to sign up with recruitment agencies. I was quite pleased with the quality of forwarded jobs from recruitment agencies.

Name of that highly competitive freelance platform?

I was referring to Upwork, but if you've got the will to go through an intensive interview process take a look at TopTal as well.

I do Upwork since 2008. And toptal is a BS actually

All these articles about the market forget to mention that tech jobs are hyper concentrated in a handful of city around the world (silicon valley, new york, london).

The rest of the world is struggling to get any job. It's not unheard of to have one hundred developers for one role outside of the major capitals.

>I'm applying all over Europe

that's might be the problem.

Peter Zeihan might be right about Europe. its aging population going to allowed American companies to hire older engineers for cheap.

Why would American companies hire older European developers when we aren't even certain that American companies have any appetite for older American developers?

Have you considered working in the US? Seems like we're perpetually in a shortage of good web devs (e.g. can do more than paste together frameworks and Wordpress sites)

Honestly, you are too old in European market. There are no influential technical companies in Europe, no place to accommodate old people like you and me. I am couple years younger than you, but still oldest after my manager in the department. I tried to write few applications before coronavirus, had couple interviews and saw, that many places hire only young guys with couple years experience. Remote work wasn’t even a topic back then.

Would you mind talking a bit via email?

Not at all, I'll send an email to your address.

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