Comment by random_user | Hacker News Reader

Comment by random_user | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

I have been dealing with with some of the consequences of this for the last three years. Details here:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6932327

The fact that most of my professional life was very publicly exposed online has now gotten in the way of me being able to land a job. Not because there's anything bad in there. Quite to the contrary. The issue is that you can't dumb-down or narrow your resume when a simple Google search reveals you are far more than the resume says.

Some people are scared (is he after my job?) others are protective (he just wants to get inside to learn the business and then become a competitor) and others think you are over qualified (he's going to get bored and leave in x months).

Short of legally changing your name there's no way to disconnect from your online fingerprint.

At fifty years of age I am in a situation where, after hundreds of resumes over three years I have come to the conclusion I am not employable. It seems my only path will have to be through entrepreneurship. Read my post for details.

Interesting. I'd never have thought of this downside without hearing your story so thanks for sharing.

You say in the other thread that your wife suggested a Bachelor's/Masters but what about MBA or PhD instead? I know of folks who've come into Systems PhDs with diverse backgrounds. I'm sure MBA programs might also look favourably on your experience (though that route probably costs more).

When Georgia Tech widely publicized their online CS Masters program AND they explicitly stated that they'd offer credit for relevant experience I jumped on it. I got in touch with them to learn more. Within days they rescinded their experience-based credit offer and went back to the standard credits-for-classes approach. The reason this was interesting to me (and I am sure lots of others) was that I could fast-track a Masters and then consider doing an MBA either online or in person. That, I reasoned, could possibly open some doors. Not sure. It just seemed that the low cost of the Georgia Tech program coupled with probably being able to pull it off in a year or two could have been worth the gamble.

In general terms, it is disappointing that there seem to be no reputable programs that recognize the value of people's life experience. I've shared some of my code with CS department heads in the process of exploring various options for admissions. A couple came back with praise for the range of work I had done and even went as far as saying they didn't understand half of it. Regrettably that was not enough to work out any deals.

The other aspect of engineering education I despise is the need for credits in non-engineering areas. I'm sorry, I'm fifty years old, I have almost no interest in taking a course in sociology, history, geography or English literature. My self-education was not limited to the technical domain. I've read most of the classics, dozens of business and marketing books and have had skin in the game at all levels for years. I can see asking a 19 year old to take an English composition class as part of the path towards an EE or CS degree. I can't see it as even remotely relevant for people at different stations in life. Just a pet peeve of mine.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com