People get the wrong impression that it's a SV thing.
It's not just SV. Lots of employers (who are themselves age 40+) like to hire 20-somethings.
As one example, there was a reddit thread with a woman in Tennessee trying to start a hot sauce business. In one of her replies, she wrote: "I wanted my company to be young and hip, so I hired young and hip -- okay, ‘hip’ might be subjective, but we’re definitely young."[1]
It was fascinating to watch an honest moment of communication because she later deleted that reply. However, others had already quickly replied to it which left her original comment for prosperity.[1]
In another example, the aides that sit directly adjacent to the President's oval office are traditionally staffed by 20-somethings.[2] There's nothing in the job description that says the gatekeeping work can't be done by senior-citizens but every WH Chief of Staff always wants the high energy of a recent college grad stationed there.
It's not just programming. Whether it's packaging up food sauce in Tennessee or filtering visitors into the President's office in Washington DC, employers want the vibe of a young crew.
Jobs in tech seldom involve carrying around half one's body weight in equipment, and the ability to recover from serious injury is less likely to be important.
Hollywood loves them, esp. if you come from money. To get a foot in the door anywhere, there's unpaid internships that you might work anywhere from 3-6 months, then maybe roll onto the next. I've met people that interned for 1-2 years before getting a Production Assistant job (pays about $12/hr starting, IIRC) in which you step up from taking out the trash but are still working 12-hr days. Once you pass that hurdle though, you can keep moving on up to better pay and positions but the expectation is to pay your dues (for free).
Young, recent grads are great for that I guess because of how unencumbered most are but, when you look at the debate on diversity in Hollywood, it's not about what's in front of the camera but about the opportunities behind the scenes, which your background might limit when you're starting out.
People get the wrong impression that it's a SV thing. It's not just SV. Lots of employers (who are themselves age 40+) like to hire 20-somethings.
As one example, there was a reddit thread with a woman in Tennessee trying to start a hot sauce business. In one of her replies, she wrote: "I wanted my company to be young and hip, so I hired young and hip -- okay, ‘hip’ might be subjective, but we’re definitely young."[1]
It was fascinating to watch an honest moment of communication because she later deleted that reply. However, others had already quickly replied to it which left her original comment for prosperity.[1]
In another example, the aides that sit directly adjacent to the President's oval office are traditionally staffed by 20-somethings.[2] There's nothing in the job description that says the gatekeeping work can't be done by senior-citizens but every WH Chief of Staff always wants the high energy of a recent college grad stationed there.
It's not just programming. Whether it's packaging up food sauce in Tennessee or filtering visitors into the President's office in Washington DC, employers want the vibe of a young crew.
[1] original text still in a reply: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/4hiipf/update_hi_redd...
[2] Bush aides: https://youtu.be/lNhpsPvMYAE?t=5m37s
Obama aides: https://youtu.be/p-U0-0anzV0?t=28s
Clinton aides: https://youtu.be/uzZ-gfvXN-c?t=25m17s