Old vs young freelancers

[2f28c721]

Hello all,

I am a retired man and just joined upwork.

I would like to know from your experiences that who is a better freelancer to hire for a serious work: Old and experienced or young and fresher?

Thanks

[digiphics]

Seasoned usually means better at the work. BUT, I know 14 yera old kids that are really good in Photoshop and almost can design circles around me. So old or young, it all comes down to skills, how you present yourself, your work samples (for me as a graphic designer I have visual art to show), your proposal. I don't think in general clients look at age.

[dsmgdesign]

Age should not have anything to do with it. Focus on their skills and the value they can bring to your project and not their age.

[prestonhunter]

Raghunath:

I think you have posed a very interesting question.

I don't think there's anything at all wrong with preferring one type of freelancer over another, and I would be interested in the opinions of people who have a definite preference.

Personally I agree with David... Generally I wouldn't pay any attention to a freelancer's age but would be interested in what their skill set is.

But I can imagine a few types of jobs where I would prefer somebody with a lot of experience, and might not hire a very young, inexperienced freelancer. For example, if I was going to hire a consultant to provide me with a broad perspective about complex topics.

[mwiggenhorn]

I am a " silverback" working on Upwork as a paralegal.   I find that, often, I have more experience in the legal field than the attorneys who hire me and they appreciate that fact.  In my case, I think my years of varied experience help me to land jobs and I always get a good rating.

However, I can see that in more technical fields, the "young" ones may be  more up to date on the latest stuff. I suspect it all comes down to what you are hiring for.

[dsmgdesign]

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I don't think there's anything at all wrong with preferring one type of freelancer over another, and I would be interested in the opinions of people who have a definite preference.

Personally I agree with David... Generally I wouldn't pay any attention to a freelancer's age but would be interested in what their skill set is.

---

While I appreciate that you agreed with me, Preston, where we differ, I think, is the first statement that you don't think there is anything wrong with preferring one type over another. Although, If you are speaking about experience versus age, I would agree, there isn't anything wrong. Businesses hire based on experience all the time. BUT, if the focus is on age, old or young, that's wrong, and if it were an employer, it's illegal to discriminate based on age (in the U.S. anyway) as I'm sure you are aware, just as it is to discriminate based on race, sex or religion. Upwork is a bit different, I suppose, as the freelancers are taking jobs on a self-employment basis and these are clients, not employers. I'm not naive, I see that ageism is very much tolerated in the business world today. But, I don't think that makes it right anymore than it made it right in the 1950's when sexism and racism was socially tolerated. 

[gilbert-phyllis]

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@David S M wrote:

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I don't think there's anything at all wrong with preferring one type of freelancer over another, and I would be interested in the opinions of people who have a definite preference.

Personally I agree with David... Generally I wouldn't pay any attention to a freelancer's age but would be interested in what their skill set is.

---

While I appreciate that you agreed with me, Preston, where we differ, I think, is the first statement that you don't think there is anything wrong with preferring one type over another. Although, If you are speaking about experience versus age, I would agree, there isn't anything wrong. Businesses hire based on experience all the time. BUT, if the focus is on age, old or young, that's wrong, and if it were an employer, it's illegal to discriminate based on age (in the U.S. anyway) as I'm sure you are aware, just as it is to discriminate based on race, sex or religion. Upwork is a bit different, I suppose, as the freelancers are taking jobs on a self-employment basis and these are clients, not employers. I'm not naive, I see that ageism is very much tolerated in the business world today. But, I don't think that makes it right anymore than it made it right in the 1950's when sexism and racism was socially tolerated. 

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Or the 1960s or '70s or '80s or '90s or 2000s. Sorry, I just have to point out that those two problems are far from vanquished, yet. In the workplace and elsewhere.

[dsmgdesign]

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@Phyllis G wrote:

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@David S M wrote:

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I don't think there's anything at all wrong with preferring one type of freelancer over another, and I would be interested in the opinions of people who have a definite preference.

Personally I agree with David... Generally I wouldn't pay any attention to a freelancer's age but would be interested in what their skill set is.

---

While I appreciate that you agreed with me, Preston, where we differ, I think, is the first statement that you don't think there is anything wrong with preferring one type over another. Although, If you are speaking about experience versus age, I would agree, there isn't anything wrong. Businesses hire based on experience all the time. BUT, if the focus is on age, old or young, that's wrong, and if it were an employer, it's illegal to discriminate based on age (in the U.S. anyway) as I'm sure you are aware, just as it is to discriminate based on race, sex or religion. Upwork is a bit different, I suppose, as the freelancers are taking jobs on a self-employment basis and these are clients, not employers. I'm not naive, I see that ageism is very much tolerated in the business world today. But, I don't think that makes it right anymore than it made it right in the 1950's when sexism and racism was socially tolerated. 

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Or the 1960s or '70s or '80s or '90s or 2000s. Sorry, I just have to point out that those two problems are far from vanquished, yet. In the workplace and elsewhere.

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Agreed, it is far from vanquished and I didn't suggest it was. However, could you imagine someone posting something like "Men vs. Women freelancers - which is better?" or "Black vs white freelancers". Of course not, that would NEVER happen today, not on a site like Upwork anyway, and nor should it ever as it is wildly offensive. However, it is socially tolerable and far less offensive today to ask if one should hire "Old or Young freelancers", and I don't think it makes it right. Sorry, but that was my point as far as ageism being socially tolerable today.

[gilbert-phyllis]

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Agreed, it is far from vanquished and I didn't suggest it was. However, could you imagine someone posting something like "Men vs. Women freelancers - which is better?" or "Black vs white freelancers". Of course not, that would NEVER happen today, not on a site like Upwork anyway, and nor should it ever as it is wildly offensive. However, it is socially tolerable and far less offensive today to ask if one should hire "Old or Young freelancers", and I don't think it makes it right. Sorry, but that was my point as far as ageism being socially tolerable today.

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To me, your comment seemed to imply that sexism and racism are no longer "socially tolerated" and I would argue with that all day long. True, it's a matter of degree and overt expression of certain prejudices is certainly not tolerated as it was sixty years ago. But there's still a lot. I accept that I read more into your comment than you intended.

Also, I was pretty offended by the original post, anyway, so much that I couldn't even envision participating in a worthwhile conversation about it. So I opted to file it under "inept in the contracting world" rather than "hopelessly chauvinistic in at least one respect" and moved on.

[jr-translation]

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@David S M wrote:

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@Phyllis G wrote:

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@David S M wrote:

---

I don't think there's anything at all wrong with preferring one type of freelancer over another, and I would be interested in the opinions of people who have a definite preference.

Personally I agree with David... Generally I wouldn't pay any attention to a freelancer's age but would be interested in what their skill set is.

---

While I appreciate that you agreed with me, Preston, where we differ, I think, is the first statement that you don't think there is anything wrong with preferring one type over another. Although, If you are speaking about experience versus age, I would agree, there isn't anything wrong. Businesses hire based on experience all the time. BUT, if the focus is on age, old or young, that's wrong, and if it were an employer, it's illegal to discriminate based on age (in the U.S. anyway) as I'm sure you are aware, just as it is to discriminate based on race, sex or religion. Upwork is a bit different, I suppose, as the freelancers are taking jobs on a self-employment basis and these are clients, not employers. I'm not naive, I see that ageism is very much tolerated in the business world today. But, I don't think that makes it right anymore than it made it right in the 1950's when sexism and racism was socially tolerated. 

---

Or the 1960s or '70s or '80s or '90s or 2000s. Sorry, I just have to point out that those two problems are far from vanquished, yet. In the workplace and elsewhere.

---

Agreed, it is far from vanquished and I didn't suggest it was. However, could you imagine someone posting something like "Men vs. Women freelancers - which is better?" or "Black vs white freelancers". Of course not, that would NEVER happen today, not on a site like Upwork anyway, and nor should it ever as it is wildly offensive. However, it is socially tolerable and far less offensive today to ask if one should hire "Old or Young freelancers", and I don't think it makes it right. Sorry, but that was my point as far as ageism being socially tolerable today.

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 Maybe not freelancers...

[browersr]

In some ways freelancing is the great equalizer because the majority of interactions are not face to face and I think a high percentage don't even have a voice call. I do understand - at least with UW - that profile photos are required which can obviously indicate age. Gender, nationality, etc., can also be derived. I think though, given again the remote nature of things, that age is less a factor than it can be in the employer/employee world. Yes, at least in the US, these things aren't supposed to matter when hiring an employee, but please. We aren't there yet as a society. So in freelancing does young/old matter? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. You cannot help whether it does or does not, so I wouldn't concern myself with it. Do what you do - hopefully really well - and chances are you will find success to some degree. We cannot help our age, gender, nationality, etc., so don't dwell on it or use it as an excuse. I guarantee you will find successful freelancers in all categories. 

[zansari · Accepted solution]

You can choose anyone based on the nature of work. Each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

MAJOR ADVANTAGES:

Hiring experienced: Results in solid, managed, utilization of existing platforms, libraries and suggestions based on experience for project success.
Hiring fresher: Results in innovative, creative, research, latest trend. Eager to grow fast.

MAJOR DISADVANTAGES:
Hiring experienced: Oftenly dislike the trendy, modern or latest tools, framework, platform or environment. Fearing of unstability of updates.
Hiring fresher:  Oftenly unstable results. Less chances of taking responsibilities. No existing libraries or suggestions for project success.

[2f28c721]

Thank you everyone for your opinions and suggestions. My original post meant whether to hire an experienced professional (old means an eperience of at least 10-15 years, and not just 4-5 years) or an intermediate (young means new knowledgeable & skilled freelancer with around 3-7 years of experience).

I have now realized that I can try both by hiring both for 1 week to try who suits my requirements, the best.

Thank you for your time.

[resultsassoc]

Natue of the need. I'm seventy, and far less "set in my ways" than most millenials and younger because I've learned that there is no universally-applicable frame of reference. I know I can be wrong, unlike many young firebrands. If what you want is someone to do technical programming, don't hire me. If you want to understand how systems work and what they can do, I have yet to meet a programmer who knows more than me. Writing code is to systems as typing is to literature. Shakespeare never learned to type, so obviously he didn't know anything about literature.

If you want a commodity service, it doesn't matter. If you want creativity, it depends on what kind. My 65 year old graphic artist makes book covers that cause me to drool. If you want something using the latest 3D animation, hire a 14 year old. If you want to re-engineer a process, older is better than younger because BPR is all about organizational capacity for change. If you want blog entries for software update checkers for veeblefetzers, find the 14 year old. If you want professional articles about investing, the 60 year old is the best choice.

[2f28c721]

Hello Mr Bill,

That is a brilliant advice from a brilliant freelancer.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this for me.

Warm Regards,

RWD

[melaniekhenson]

Writer here. I don't think people have asked my age, specifically. I do feel I need to stay relevant and keep on top of writing trends, and of course internet and computer usage as those things change all the time. The terminology changes, too. 

I feel my clients want someone with experience, but I don't get the feeling they're looking for "old" v. "young" or vice versa.

[alphazomgy]

Yeah, age does not define you.

I started on Upwork when I was 19, I'm 21 now. I wrote something in my profile about my age under "other experiences" so clients wouldn't try to define me using my age.

In any case, a weakness can always be turned into a strength in any situation. 

[boshoffirene]

 know what...not a single client has ever asked me how old I was. Not once. Ever. I HAVE had one or two who, after working with me over a period, ask me. When told, they have seemed surprised as they had thought I was 'younger'. When asked why they said my writing style made them make this assumption.  I have no idea how the way I write influences my perceived age, though, to be quite honest. But if a client had to ask me about my age upfront, I would tell them. I am not ashamed of how old I am. And if my age just so happened to be a deciding factor...well...I don't think I would want to work with them anyway. 

[browersr]

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@Irene B wrote:

 know what...not a single client has ever asked me how old I was. Not once. Ever.

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 You probably never worked with this guy then: https://community.upwork.com/t5/Clients/Why-does-upwork-have-so-many-liars-and-fake-freelancers/m-p/...

LOL. 

[boshoffirene]

Nope. But then, my answer to his question would be...how old do you think I am? 😉