March 8, 2023 • 18 mins
How do you think about your age? Are you old? Young? What if your age was JUST RIGHT?! I’m another year older and age is on my mind. Let’s dive into some of the preconceived notions about age and what our age really means.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You are listening to the You Are Techie podcast,
episode number 163.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the You Are Techie podcast, where it's
all about growing in your techso you can find the tech job of
your dreams.
And now your host technologylearning coach Ellen Tomi.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Hey moms, are you trying to break into tech?
Are you wondering what skillsyou really need to get hired and
how those skills can be worth$45an hour instead of the$25 an
hour you thought when you firststarted thinking about going
back to work?
If so, then the your techiemembership is for you.
Our combination of courses,coaching and community come with
(00:48):
the mentor support you need tokeep moving forward in your tech
career.
It's like no other membershipprogram available.
We have the exact skillsemployers are looking for.
You'll learn how to maximizeyour income with portfolio ready
skills that hiring managers areseeking.
Not to mention the steps you canskip so you don't find yourself
down that endless tech learningrabbit hole.
(01:09):
Join me as I walk you step bystep through the getting hired
process and tech signup@utechie.com.
That's Y O U A R E T E C Hy.com.
I can't wait to see you in ourmembership.
Welcome to this show where we'retalking about age.
(01:30):
So I have my birthday coming upnext week and I've been thinking
a lot about age and one of the,and I've been seeing age pop up
in my inbox, the topic of ageand ageism and how age affects
the sector we're in.
And then of course being intechnology and hearing the
(01:53):
constant drum of youth intechnology.
Everybody who's younger isbetter at technology.
So this has just been on myheart and on my mind and with my
birthday coming up, I think withmost of us when our birthday
comes up, there's this thoughtthat should be another year
wiser, right?
Like I've lived on this planetanother year, what exactly did I
(02:14):
learn in this last year?
And there's this, it cansometimes be a stressful thing
that we feel like we aren'tmeasuring up to some aspect of
who we're supposed to be and thetimeframe we're supposed to be
at or that age can somehowprevent us from accomplishing
certain goals.
So I've just been thinking a lotabout it.
(02:35):
You know, I wanna talk to you alittle bit about the concept of
age, which is multi-layered forlots of us.
So just real quick, check inwith yourself.
Check in with your body.
When I say the word age or myage or your birthday another
year older, do you notice anytension anywhere or any sickness
(02:56):
in your stomach?
Do you notice anything that isimpacting you emotionally in a
way where you're thinking, we'rejust talking about age.
And then when you think aboutyour actual age, so my
birthday's coming up, I'll beturning 44.
There could be thoughts aboutthat.
Some of you hearing that arethinking that you know exactly
(03:18):
what 44 means.
You think it's young, you thinkit's old, you think it's
different things based on whatyour age is.
But in my work I come across alot of differing opinions about
age and I wanna share some ofthem with you with no judgment.
I just want you to really lookat it from a perspective of look
(03:40):
at how we think about age.
And then also I think it'sinteresting to think about men
in age and do they have some ofthe same thoughts around it?
And sometimes they do, butsometimes they don't.
I know the discussion around agefeels like women talk about that
more.
That feels like that feels trueto me.
I don't know if that feels trueto you, but that's what feels
true in my experience.
But maybe I'm just drawn to it,especially again, like being in
(04:02):
this tech space where peoplehave these preconceived notions
that younger people are betterat tech.
And I wanna talk about thatbecause I just was listening to
a podcast the other day and thefounder was mentioning how she
does not believe that the babyboomer generation is not tech
(04:24):
savvy.
And I have to agree with her.
I mean when I think about whatmy mom and dad could do when I
was in high school and over theyears, like think about that.
I mean whether you're, you know,my age or give or take 10 years
that that's probably been somedramatic learning that your
parents have had.
We didn't have cell phones,right?
We didn't even have a cell phone.
(04:45):
And now I mean please my parentshave to tell them to get off
their phone.
They're on it all the time andmaking trades from their phone
and keeping in contact with oldfriends on their phone.
I mean, so anyway, I thought itwas really astute what this
founder was saying about thebaby boomer generation.
And I think it's reallyimportant for all of us to think
about that, think about thesepreconceived notions that people
(05:06):
who are younger are better attechnology.
And a lot of that has to do withexposure.
Well, they grew up with it, yes,but they grew up using it and
that doesn't always mean theyunderstand how it is created.
So think about the differencebetween created and using it.
If you're thinking that I'mgoing to give you like I'm a
year, another year older, so I'mgoing to talk about what I've
(05:28):
learned in my 44 years or thewisdom that I've gained in the
last year, I'm not going to dothat.
Maybe that's the wisdom I'vegained is that I, you know, I
share a lot of things that Ilearn talking to amazing women,
working to break into tech,working to build companies,
working to just do amazingthings in this world.
(05:50):
And it's such an honor to sharesome of their learnings and my
to be, you know, a guest ontheir journey.
It's just, it's such an honorand a blessing.
If I have anything interestingto talk about that you wanna
hear, that is why I don't havereally any wisdom or nuggets to
share with you except I wannashare some things that I've read
and come across people I'vetalked to about this topic
(06:10):
because I think it's relevantand helpful.
Some of them are more formalizedthan others.
So one thing that I want toshare with you is a woman who
posted on social media that shewas 31 and she was wondering if
she was too old to break intotech.
Okay, I'm gonna laugh with you.
So there's no judgment ofcourse.
Like she's nine years into hercareer.
(06:34):
I think about that when you're22 and you're like nine years
into career.
I remember being 22 thinking,man, when I am nine years into
my career, I'm gonna be reallyfar along.
I can totally see where shewould say that.
But of course like my studentswho are in their fifties are
laughing, they're like, are youkidding?
Of course not.
You have so much life to live.
But that is a thought and I amsure that if that one woman
(06:56):
asked that question, many othershave that same thought, like, am
I too old to do this?
So the answer is no.
, you're wondering.
But I will say I don't reallyever think about whether I'm too
old to do things.
And I don't know if it's becauseI took a break, I just took a
break staying home with the fourkids and renovating a house and
whatever.
I took a career break, notreally, cuz I started a company
(07:19):
learner programming language.
But in my mind I took a careerbreak, a formal career break and
it never occurred to me, I guesswhen I was returning I did feel
a little bit of sense of like, Ibetter hurry up, but that's the
only time I've really ever felt,whew, the door is closing on
this.
I don't know why that is.
I think part of it is mymentality.
I think part of it is I'mneurotic about my diet.
(07:41):
I'm like literally neuroticabout my diet.
I know people say like stayhealthy and I also do exercise
but not nearly the balance thatI used to.
I used to be pretty good aboutmy health and exercise all the
time and now I'm really goodabout my like what I eat and I
do very minimal exercises andvery like focused.
And I share that with youbecause the energy difference
(08:04):
when you eat the right foods iscompletely different.
And so I do think that is afactor in how I don't really
ever think about age.
So I would say to you like thatis something to take a look at.
Is there some way that you arefeeling tired or old?
You're saying, I'm old, butyou're feeling tired.
Is there something in your dietthat you can change?
(08:25):
And then I'm gonna say the thingI do tell my kids all the time,
which is drink water.
And I know they're like, oh mom,good more sleep, drink water.
I get it.
But if you would like to playthis for your children, maybe
your children will listen to meand then you can say it to my
children and they'll listen toyou.
You know how that works.
So think about that in terms ofif you're physically feeling
old, consider whether yourhealth and your diet are a
(08:50):
factor in it.
I'm not a health expert, I'm nothere to share everything with
you, but I can tell you that youknow, if you're intaking high
quantities of sugar that makesyou feel tired and when you're
dragging, then you feel old.
And that is a factor in thatprocess.
So consider that.
And also just if you areconsidering that, just do it at
a phased approach.
Do it in a phased approach.
Don't try to do the cold Turkeything.
(09:11):
Doesn't work.
Try to too many times.
Okay?
Those are some of the things toconsider when you're looking at
your thoughts around age.
Now if you're thinking I'm gonnatalk about like ageism in the
workplace or how people areimpacted by age, I would just
say to you, there are a fewthings you can do show up
energetically in yourinterviews.
That is a great thing to do.
And if you 10 or more years,then I can't promise you that
(09:33):
every person is not going tojudge you based on your age.
But if they do challenge themand say, you know, a lot of
times younger people are goingto hop around and I have 10 or
more years to dedicate to you,that's a huge cost saving right
now in this space because Idon't care to jump around.
I care to find a job that I loveand do that for the next 10
(09:54):
years.
So that's a great pitch insomething that you can use to
combat ageism.
The other thing I would say onthat is if someone is judging
you based on your age, it'sunlikely that's gonna be a good
fit for you.
It's just probably not a goodfit.
So consider that you could moveon and you might say that and
that's not right or that's, wellthose, that's a separate topic
(10:17):
that you have every right tolook at and see if you wanna
devote your time and energy toit.
But when you're focused ongetting hired, that's what you
want.
You want everything goingtowards getting hired.
So maybe there, there's adifferent separate time to
address that, even if it is aninjustice, even if it is an
injustice, navigating that isgoing to be a helpful component,
(10:37):
you know of that.
And you're, remember you areevaluating them as much as they
are evaluating you.
So consider that's a screeningprocess.
And if they tend to be judgingyou based on, or you feel like
you're being judged based onageism, maybe ask the question.
But if you show upenergetically, I think that is a
great way to combat ageism.
Okay, the next thing I wannashare with you on age was, so
(11:00):
Whitney Johnson is a fantasticpodcaster.
She was a guest on our podcastepisodes 95 and 96.
You are techie.com/ 95, you aretechie.com/ 96.
It's one of my favorite comboepisodes.
But go ahead and check out herDisrupt Yourself podcast.
It's fantastic.
Get on her email list.
So quick plug, join Whitney'semail list.
In a recent email she talkedabout getting advice from
(11:24):
younger people and you know, weoften think about older people
giving advice and you know, wecan shepherd these younger
people, but I thought the emailwas really well, it's always
well ridden.
She's a fantastic writer, she'salso an author.
But it was also conceptuallyjust a great difference in
(11:45):
thinking from the way that wenormally think about things,
right?
So like we are wise and weshepherd our children and we
were mentor to other people, butwhat about someone younger than
you?
What about them being a mentorto you?
Consider that.
So if you're younger, thatdoesn't mean you can't mentor
someone older.
And so a recent, it was funny,it was kind of serendipitous
(12:07):
that she sent that email becauserecently someone that I've
worked with for a long timewho's about a decade younger
than me, and when I say about, Imean a little bit more, but I
have often given him, you know,like just mothering self-care
advice and hey, what about thisand what about that?
And it was really funny becauseLee, he had been giving me
(12:29):
self-care advice and saying,well, did you try this?
And did you read this book?
And think about that.
And I mean, it was fantasticadvice.
It was really great.
So it was just serendipitousthat Whitney was talking about
it and I thought, I didn't tell,you know, I didn't joke with him
a little bit like how, howtables have turned.
But really it felt very naturalto receive advice from someone
that I knew had success in thisone area.
(12:51):
And only because the tables havebeen turned.
And I really find itinteresting, funny, amusing
maybe, but like really he, it'sno big deal.
Like it's, it makes sense thathe would have advice to give me,
I mean, people in their thirtieshave lived a lot of life.
They have great experiences toshare.
And so I, I say that becausewhen you're thinking about age
(13:14):
and the roles that we play, it'sreally as straightforward as
people who are older are helpfuland wise until they retire.
And then people who are youngerare impulsive.
And these are just thoughts andstereotypes that we've been
working with and and aren'treally necessarily, they're not
even generally true and they'refor sure not individually true
(13:38):
on a case by case basis.
So even if you consider yourselfto be someone who is pretty old
or too young to do something oryou're too old and slow, these
are thoughts that you canchallenge that, that are for
sure not serving you.
And kind of wrapping it backinto this tech aspect, that when
you are in technology and youthink technology moves at such a
(14:02):
fast pace, that is not alwaystrue.
Some technology moves very fast,the majority of the middle
technology moves medium andthere's plenty of technology
that moves very archaically andslowly.
(14:22):
So I wanna challenge you that ifyou are thinking that you are
someone who is, you know, olderand slower, let's just say old
and slow, those are, that'ssomething that you can often
think about.
Then what I really wannachallenge you with is that you
are not paid to be fast as a UXdesigner or a developer.
(14:43):
You are paid to solve problemsand to think, and your
experiences and connectionbuilding through those
experiences are what will serveyou and your speed will be less
important.
Knowing the right things tofocus on will be very important.
So I really want you tochallenge your thinking around
what technology means and justfocus on the one skillset that
(15:07):
you are learning.
Focus on the UX process.
Focus on the developmentprocess.
The way that you will gain speedis to gain it.
As you gain connections andindividual problems that you are
solving, you will repeatedlycome across the same problem or
an adjacent problem or a newproblem.
And those will enable you tobuild your learning.
(15:28):
And then also you will be ableto identify that situation
again.
That will be the speed that youbring typing faster or moving
from screen to screen.
That's really going to be aneffective building strategy.
So keep in mind you're beingpaid to think.
And so challenge that thinkingaround technology moves so fast,
(15:51):
right?
And your age around it.
Okay, so kind of tying this backinto my birthday and what I've
decided to do for my birthday isto take a week off of
podcasting.
I'm going to give myself a weekoff when we do weeks off, we do
encore episodes or we only takea break at the end of the year
(16:13):
and we produce so many podcasts.
My team does an amazing job.
Thank you so much for all you doteam.
And I've decided, I don't knowif this is wisdom or not, maybe
this is the wisdom I'm giving,but I've decided that more is
not better.
And so I'm taking next week offof podcasting and I'm planning
to take one week off a quarter,one week off a quarter.
(16:39):
So that's what I'm thinking.
And that's kind of the plan for2023.
We kinda look at the overallcalendar and think about that.
And so more is not better.
What I want to encourage you todo is to re-listen to a podcast
that was really meaningful foryou, or maybe it helped you
jumpstart your career, or maybeit helped you jumpstart before
(17:00):
you joined the membership.
Listen to it again now afterthere's time has passed a few
weeks, months, or years.
And listen again and see, haveyou changed?
Do you have a differentperspective?
Do the words mean somethingdifferent to you now?
Because I think it's veryimportant to revisit and to go
over and we don't always takethe time to do that.
So I wanna invite you next weekto pick a podcast that was
(17:25):
meaningful for you and listen tothat one.
And hey, since you're doingthat, maybe share why it was
meaningful to you.
I think that, you know, noteveryone is ready to break into
tech.
They're still kind of thinkingabout it.
Not everyone has it in thebudget to join the membership
and they really need freeresources to really get them on
their way.
So it'd be amazing if you wouldshare it, but I really hope that
(17:47):
you'll take the time to listento a podcast that you've
listened to before and it wasmeaningful to you and see how
much you have changed.
Maybe journal on it,.
But anyway, I hope you guysenjoyed this episode about age,
whatever age you were superyoung.
I am super young.
We're super young together andthere's lots of time left for us
to do great things.
(18:08):
I'll see you.
Nice.
Hey, if you enjoyed listening tothis podcast, you have to sign
up for the UR techie email list.
Imagine being in the tech job ofyour dreams.
Join me to get the strategies,training and never ending
support to get hired.
Sign up@techie.com.
That's why Oou A R E T E C Hy.com.
I'll see your next start.
You are listening to the You Are Techie podcast,
episode number 163.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the You Are Techie podcast, where it's
all about growing in your techso you can find the tech job of
your dreams.
And now your host technologylearning coach Ellen Tomi.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Hey moms, are you trying to break into tech?
Are you wondering what skillsyou really need to get hired and
how those skills can be worth$45an hour instead of the$25 an
hour you thought when you firststarted thinking about going
back to work?
If so, then the your techiemembership is for you.
Our combination of courses,coaching and community come with
(00:48):
the mentor support you need tokeep moving forward in your tech
career.
It's like no other membershipprogram available.
We have the exact skillsemployers are looking for.
You'll learn how to maximizeyour income with portfolio ready
skills that hiring managers areseeking.
Not to mention the steps you canskip so you don't find yourself
down that endless tech learningrabbit hole.
(01:09):
Join me as I walk you step bystep through the getting hired
process and tech signup@utechie.com.
That's Y O U A R E T E C Hy.com.
I can't wait to see you in ourmembership.
Welcome to this show where we'retalking about age.
(01:30):
So I have my birthday coming upnext week and I've been thinking
a lot about age and one of the,and I've been seeing age pop up
in my inbox, the topic of ageand ageism and how age affects
the sector we're in.
And then of course being intechnology and hearing the
(01:53):
constant drum of youth intechnology.
Everybody who's younger isbetter at technology.
So this has just been on myheart and on my mind and with my
birthday coming up, I think withmost of us when our birthday
comes up, there's this thoughtthat should be another year
wiser, right?
Like I've lived on this planetanother year, what exactly did I
(02:14):
learn in this last year?
And there's this, it cansometimes be a stressful thing
that we feel like we aren'tmeasuring up to some aspect of
who we're supposed to be and thetimeframe we're supposed to be
at or that age can somehowprevent us from accomplishing
certain goals.
So I've just been thinking a lotabout it.
(02:35):
You know, I wanna talk to you alittle bit about the concept of
age, which is multi-layered forlots of us.
So just real quick, check inwith yourself.
Check in with your body.
When I say the word age or myage or your birthday another
year older, do you notice anytension anywhere or any sickness
(02:56):
in your stomach?
Do you notice anything that isimpacting you emotionally in a
way where you're thinking, we'rejust talking about age.
And then when you think aboutyour actual age, so my
birthday's coming up, I'll beturning 44.
There could be thoughts aboutthat.
Some of you hearing that arethinking that you know exactly
(03:18):
what 44 means.
You think it's young, you thinkit's old, you think it's
different things based on whatyour age is.
But in my work I come across alot of differing opinions about
age and I wanna share some ofthem with you with no judgment.
I just want you to really lookat it from a perspective of look
(03:40):
at how we think about age.
And then also I think it'sinteresting to think about men
in age and do they have some ofthe same thoughts around it?
And sometimes they do, butsometimes they don't.
I know the discussion around agefeels like women talk about that
more.
That feels like that feels trueto me.
I don't know if that feels trueto you, but that's what feels
true in my experience.
But maybe I'm just drawn to it,especially again, like being in
(04:02):
this tech space where peoplehave these preconceived notions
that younger people are betterat tech.
And I wanna talk about thatbecause I just was listening to
a podcast the other day and thefounder was mentioning how she
does not believe that the babyboomer generation is not tech
(04:24):
savvy.
And I have to agree with her.
I mean when I think about whatmy mom and dad could do when I
was in high school and over theyears, like think about that.
I mean whether you're, you know,my age or give or take 10 years
that that's probably been somedramatic learning that your
parents have had.
We didn't have cell phones,right?
We didn't even have a cell phone.
(04:45):
And now I mean please my parentshave to tell them to get off
their phone.
They're on it all the time andmaking trades from their phone
and keeping in contact with oldfriends on their phone.
I mean, so anyway, I thought itwas really astute what this
founder was saying about thebaby boomer generation.
And I think it's reallyimportant for all of us to think
about that, think about thesepreconceived notions that people
(05:06):
who are younger are better attechnology.
And a lot of that has to do withexposure.
Well, they grew up with it, yes,but they grew up using it and
that doesn't always mean theyunderstand how it is created.
So think about the differencebetween created and using it.
If you're thinking that I'mgoing to give you like I'm a
year, another year older, so I'mgoing to talk about what I've
(05:28):
learned in my 44 years or thewisdom that I've gained in the
last year, I'm not going to dothat.
Maybe that's the wisdom I'vegained is that I, you know, I
share a lot of things that Ilearn talking to amazing women,
working to break into tech,working to build companies,
working to just do amazingthings in this world.
(05:50):
And it's such an honor to sharesome of their learnings and my
to be, you know, a guest ontheir journey.
It's just, it's such an honorand a blessing.
If I have anything interestingto talk about that you wanna
hear, that is why I don't havereally any wisdom or nuggets to
share with you except I wannashare some things that I've read
and come across people I'vetalked to about this topic
(06:10):
because I think it's relevantand helpful.
Some of them are more formalizedthan others.
So one thing that I want toshare with you is a woman who
posted on social media that shewas 31 and she was wondering if
she was too old to break intotech.
Okay, I'm gonna laugh with you.
So there's no judgment ofcourse.
Like she's nine years into hercareer.
(06:34):
I think about that when you're22 and you're like nine years
into career.
I remember being 22 thinking,man, when I am nine years into
my career, I'm gonna be reallyfar along.
I can totally see where shewould say that.
But of course like my studentswho are in their fifties are
laughing, they're like, are youkidding?
Of course not.
You have so much life to live.
But that is a thought and I amsure that if that one woman
(06:56):
asked that question, many othershave that same thought, like, am
I too old to do this?
So the answer is no.
But I will say I don't reallyever think about whether I'm too
old to do things.
And I don't know if it's becauseI took a break, I just took a
break staying home with the fourkids and renovating a house and
whatever.
I took a career break, notreally, cuz I started a company
(07:19):
learner programming language.
But in my mind I took a careerbreak, a formal career break and
it never occurred to me, I guesswhen I was returning I did feel
a little bit of sense of like, Ibetter hurry up, but that's the
only time I've really ever felt,whew, the door is closing on
this.
I don't know why that is.
I think part of it is mymentality.
I think part of it is I'mneurotic about my diet.
(07:41):
I'm like literally neuroticabout my diet.
I know people say like stayhealthy and I also do exercise
but not nearly the balance thatI used to.
I used to be pretty good aboutmy health and exercise all the
time and now I'm really goodabout my like what I eat and I
do very minimal exercises andvery like focused.
And I share that with youbecause the energy difference
(08:04):
when you eat the right foods iscompletely different.
And so I do think that is afactor in how I don't really
ever think about age.
So I would say to you like thatis something to take a look at.
Is there some way that you arefeeling tired or old?
You're saying, I'm old, butyou're feeling tired.
Is there something in your dietthat you can change?
(08:25):
And then I'm gonna say the thingI do tell my kids all the time,
which is drink water.
And I know they're like, oh mom,good more sleep, drink water.
I get it.
But if you would like to playthis for your children, maybe
your children will listen to meand then you can say it to my
children and they'll listen toyou.
You know how that works.
So think about that in terms ofif you're physically feeling
old, consider whether yourhealth and your diet are a
(08:50):
factor in it.
I'm not a health expert, I'm nothere to share everything with
you, but I can tell you that youknow, if you're intaking high
quantities of sugar that makesyou feel tired and when you're
dragging, then you feel old.
And that is a factor in thatprocess.
So consider that.
And also just if you areconsidering that, just do it at
a phased approach.
Do it in a phased approach.
Don't try to do the cold Turkeything.
(09:11):
Doesn't work.
Try to too many times.
Okay?
Those are some of the things toconsider when you're looking at
your thoughts around age.
Now if you're thinking I'm gonnatalk about like ageism in the
workplace or how people areimpacted by age, I would just
say to you, there are a fewthings you can do show up
energetically in yourinterviews.
That is a great thing to do.
And if you 10 or more years,then I can't promise you that
(09:33):
every person is not going tojudge you based on your age.
But if they do challenge themand say, you know, a lot of
times younger people are goingto hop around and I have 10 or
more years to dedicate to you,that's a huge cost saving right
now in this space because Idon't care to jump around.
I care to find a job that I loveand do that for the next 10
(09:54):
years.
So that's a great pitch insomething that you can use to
combat ageism.
The other thing I would say onthat is if someone is judging
you based on your age, it'sunlikely that's gonna be a good
fit for you.
It's just probably not a goodfit.
So consider that you could moveon and you might say that and
that's not right or that's, wellthose, that's a separate topic
(10:17):
that you have every right tolook at and see if you wanna
devote your time and energy toit.
But when you're focused ongetting hired, that's what you
want.
You want everything goingtowards getting hired.
So maybe there, there's adifferent separate time to
address that, even if it is aninjustice, even if it is an
injustice, navigating that isgoing to be a helpful component,
(10:37):
you know of that.
And you're, remember you areevaluating them as much as they
are evaluating you.
So consider that's a screeningprocess.
And if they tend to be judgingyou based on, or you feel like
you're being judged based onageism, maybe ask the question.
But if you show upenergetically, I think that is a
great way to combat ageism.
Okay, the next thing I wannashare with you on age was, so
(11:00):
Whitney Johnson is a fantasticpodcaster.
She was a guest on our podcastepisodes 95 and 96.
You are techie.com/ 95, you aretechie.com/ 96.
It's one of my favorite comboepisodes.
But go ahead and check out herDisrupt Yourself podcast.
It's fantastic.
Get on her email list.
So quick plug, join Whitney'semail list.
In a recent email she talkedabout getting advice from
(11:24):
younger people and you know, weoften think about older people
giving advice and you know, wecan shepherd these younger
people, but I thought the emailwas really well, it's always
well ridden.
She's a fantastic writer, she'salso an author.
But it was also conceptuallyjust a great difference in
(11:45):
thinking from the way that wenormally think about things,
right?
So like we are wise and weshepherd our children and we
were mentor to other people, butwhat about someone younger than
you?
What about them being a mentorto you?
Consider that.
So if you're younger, thatdoesn't mean you can't mentor
someone older.
And so a recent, it was funny,it was kind of serendipitous
(12:07):
that she sent that email becauserecently someone that I've
worked with for a long timewho's about a decade younger
than me, and when I say about, Imean a little bit more, but I
have often given him, you know,like just mothering self-care
advice and hey, what about thisand what about that?
And it was really funny becauseLee, he had been giving me
(12:29):
self-care advice and saying,well, did you try this?
And did you read this book?
And think about that.
And I mean, it was fantasticadvice.
It was really great.
So it was just serendipitousthat Whitney was talking about
it and I thought, I didn't tell,you know, I didn't joke with him
a little bit like how, howtables have turned.
But really it felt very naturalto receive advice from someone
that I knew had success in thisone area.
(12:51):
And only because the tables havebeen turned.
And I really find itinteresting, funny, amusing
maybe, but like really he, it'sno big deal.
Like it's, it makes sense thathe would have advice to give me,
I mean, people in their thirtieshave lived a lot of life.
They have great experiences toshare.
And so I, I say that becausewhen you're thinking about age
(13:14):
and the roles that we play, it'sreally as straightforward as
people who are older are helpfuland wise until they retire.
And then people who are youngerare impulsive.
And these are just thoughts andstereotypes that we've been
working with and and aren'treally necessarily, they're not
even generally true and they'refor sure not individually true
(13:38):
on a case by case basis.
So even if you consider yourselfto be someone who is pretty old
or too young to do something oryou're too old and slow, these
are thoughts that you canchallenge that, that are for
sure not serving you.
And kind of wrapping it backinto this tech aspect, that when
you are in technology and youthink technology moves at such a
(14:02):
fast pace, that is not alwaystrue.
Some technology moves very fast,the majority of the middle
technology moves medium andthere's plenty of technology
that moves very archaically andslowly.
(14:22):
So I wanna challenge you that ifyou are thinking that you are
someone who is, you know, olderand slower, let's just say old
and slow, those are, that'ssomething that you can often
think about.
Then what I really wannachallenge you with is that you
are not paid to be fast as a UXdesigner or a developer.
(14:43):
You are paid to solve problemsand to think, and your
experiences and connectionbuilding through those
experiences are what will serveyou and your speed will be less
important.
Knowing the right things tofocus on will be very important.
So I really want you tochallenge your thinking around
what technology means and justfocus on the one skillset that
(15:07):
you are learning.
Focus on the UX process.
Focus on the developmentprocess.
The way that you will gain speedis to gain it.
As you gain connections andindividual problems that you are
solving, you will repeatedlycome across the same problem or
an adjacent problem or a newproblem.
And those will enable you tobuild your learning.
(15:28):
And then also you will be ableto identify that situation
again.
That will be the speed that youbring typing faster or moving
from screen to screen.
That's really going to be aneffective building strategy.
So keep in mind you're beingpaid to think.
And so challenge that thinkingaround technology moves so fast,
(15:51):
right?
And your age around it.
Okay, so kind of tying this backinto my birthday and what I've
decided to do for my birthday isto take a week off of
podcasting.
I'm going to give myself a weekoff when we do weeks off, we do
encore episodes or we only takea break at the end of the year
(16:13):
and we produce so many podcasts.
My team does an amazing job.
Thank you so much for all you doteam.
And I've decided, I don't knowif this is wisdom or not, maybe
this is the wisdom I'm giving,but I've decided that more is
not better.
And so I'm taking next week offof podcasting and I'm planning
to take one week off a quarter,one week off a quarter.
(16:39):
So that's what I'm thinking.
And that's kind of the plan for2023.
We kinda look at the overallcalendar and think about that.
And so more is not better.
What I want to encourage you todo is to re-listen to a podcast
that was really meaningful foryou, or maybe it helped you
jumpstart your career, or maybeit helped you jumpstart before
(17:00):
you joined the membership.
Listen to it again now afterthere's time has passed a few
weeks, months, or years.
And listen again and see, haveyou changed?
Do you have a differentperspective?
Do the words mean somethingdifferent to you now?
Because I think it's veryimportant to revisit and to go
over and we don't always takethe time to do that.
So I wanna invite you next weekto pick a podcast that was
(17:25):
meaningful for you and listen tothat one.
And hey, since you're doingthat, maybe share why it was
meaningful to you.
I think that, you know, noteveryone is ready to break into
tech.
They're still kind of thinkingabout it.
Not everyone has it in thebudget to join the membership
and they really need freeresources to really get them on
their way.
So it'd be amazing if you wouldshare it, but I really hope that
(17:47):
you'll take the time to listento a podcast that you've
listened to before and it wasmeaningful to you and see how
much you have changed.
Maybe journal on it,
But anyway, I hope you guysenjoyed this episode about age,
whatever age you were superyoung.
I am super young.
We're super young together andthere's lots of time left for us
to do great things.
(18:08):
I'll see you.
Nice.
Hey, if you enjoyed listening tothis podcast, you have to sign
up for the UR techie email list.
Imagine being in the tech job ofyour dreams.
Join me to get the strategies,training and never ending
support to get hired.
Sign up@techie.com.
That's why Oou A R E T E C Hy.com.
I'll see your next start.
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