If you had a business (any business), and was looking to hire some new people, which one of these would you hire, assuming both had about the same amount of education, and both were qualified for the job...a 19-21 year old, or someone say in their mid 30's, and why?
There's a reason for me asking this that I'll divulge later. For now I just wanted to get some opinions other than those of myself or my classmates. TIA

OK I'll bite at this... Given a choice, I would go with the mid thirty person, because by the time a person gets to thier thirties they have settled down a little and are usually more dependable. Most of the 19-21 people I work with tend to randomly not show up for work or leave early with some lame excuse.

Not enough information given... Anyone actually doing the hiring needs to assess the needs of the business. A 30 something most likely will be looking for a career an early 20's maybe just experience. In the tech field the 30 something may have a ton more real world experience, the young 20 may have more cutting edge or up to date insight. An employer would choose based on his needs, maybe a follow directions guy is needed, hire the younger guy. If you need a take charge type the older is more likely to possess leadership skills. In a small business it may be all about hiring someone in the same age group as the rest of the employees, a lot can be said for everyone liking the same music for instance...

Now let me ask, is this a question on a homework assignment you need to answer? ;)

Well that depends on the business adn the job duties. As a business owner, I have faced this question myself. I'd probably hire the mid 30 year old, especially if it's a customer service type of business. The younger guys, eventhough they mean well, usually aren't as responsible or dependable as some one a little older. I think back to how I was when I was 21. Although I did work full time, there were call off's for partying, sick day's from hang overs, poor job performance from personal issues with young relationships (too much drama when young). This isn't knocking young people, but this is a maturing process that people go thru. A person a little older is usully a little more long term goal oriented, better situated in their personal life, kow where they want to go in life, and have been thru the bad jobs and now know what they want to do. Also, the partying gets worked out of the system. Now this isn't meant to be all inclusive, but general observations about average people. The little older people don't have as many call offs or sick days used either. Like I said, these are just my opinions based on my personal observations. The one problem is that the ypunger people sometime tend to be more eager to please their bosses and advance their carerrs, but the job market is still a new venture to them ana they may or may not stay. Now if it was an artstic or talen based job, it wouldn't matter to me their age, just their ability. I'd hire a metel fabricator who's been doing it for 10 years, but was only 24 over a 40 year old who had only been doing it for 5,qualification is important, but there is no better teacher than experience, same with jobs like painters, musicians, etc. Hope this helps you a little.

I'd go with the older person. This age range would generally have more responsibilities, i.e. mortgage,kids and other obligations. This person probably NEEDS the job worse than the young buck, and would bust his tail for you IMO.

Not a fair question.

Needed: Type of position, salary range, education requirement, amount of training provided, longevity expectation, literacy requirements, previous experience, physical expectations, etc. etc.

Not a fair question.

Needed: Type of position, salary range, education requirement, amount of training provided, longevity expectation, literacy requirements, previous experience, physical expectations, etc. etc.

Ok...I will elaborate just a bit. For 99.9% of the people in this position, it is a career. By most anybodys standards it pays quite well...for most 19-21 year olds it would be a freaking gold mine (at least it would have been if I was still that age). You most definately have to be able to read and do basic math well. Training is provided by the company. You have to be able to make critical decisions on occasion...usually when nobody else is around to help. No specific previous experience is required, although as with any job a solid work history always looks good. The job also involves working around stuff that can seriously harm or kill you if your not careful and follow the rules.

Dennis, no, its not a homework assignment. Actually it was a debate we had going at school outside of the classroom (kind of a pro's and con's type deal). And this is nothing against the younger guys at all.

Does this job involve french fries and a paper hat?

I'd hire the hot chick......
was that part of the question?
seriously, as you said, all had the same education and qualifications for the job, would be the 30 ish year old, for all the same reasons as the ones given, more life experiences, more settled in thier lifestyle, etc.
or the hot chick...;)

Tough question the way it's being worded and the limitations put on it.

Typically the younger person will be offered less and willing to take less pay ot get his foot in the door. For some comapnies that's the only thing that matters (cheap help), train them and pay them as little as possible. You often get what you pay for though. The younger guy will work for less to gain experience, but he will probably be less reliable. This is not always true, I was never that way when I was younger (18 on up).

The other "good" point about the younger person, is they are more than likely single with no kids so if travel is a part of the job they have less of an issue with it. They also won't have to call in sick because Jr. has the flu.

With the older person as mentioned above he/she will be there for the long haul (career minded) if you treat him well. Depends on the position. The correct answer is you hire the best person for the job based on education, experience and work history. You are not supposed to discriminate based on age, gender, or race. Since the older guy "should" have more experience, he would have the upper hand in my book for that reason.

I'd say its a matter of personal preferences....Yeah, I know, not entirely but almost.
Having had a career myself I can only look back to my own past, present and future.

At the age of 21 I worked day and night to prove myself in the company. No sick days for hangovers, no partying. The simple rule was: "If you can't work hard - you don't party hard". That particular job included travel all around the globe.

The same rule applies now when I'm 41, married...kids....

So what am I trying to say...well...we're all individuals and as such you act different in different situations.
I know 20 year olds that are much more stabile and mature than some 35 year olds that I know. Then on the other hand, I know 40 year olds that act as if they where 85. Sick days, pains, problems and the like.

It's impossible to say which of the 2 you should pick without further evaluating them. Use references and, if possible, use a third party psychological evaluation. It's worked for me and I think I have only misjudged 1 or 2 out of all people I've ever hired.

Travis,
Im glad you gave more information before I made my post.
I was assuming you were a strip club owner, (since you used 19-21 as the age limit, So I was gonna say the 19-21 year old was the one to hire. although there some nice 30 something dancing also. lol

As a small business owner myself, this is a question that I come across often. In the case described above, it is all about WORK ETHIC and not about age. I have a mixture of age in my employee group and I try not to look at a person's age at all.

If I was the employer I would probably hire the older person. But I would also take into account where each lived and how long their commute would be. But schooling isn't nearly as important as real world experience. But the commuting thing is a big factor as I watch our company hire people with a long commute(1 hour or more) only to have them leave after a year and we invested time and money into training them. It's a huge waste so it would be a factor in my eyes.

I'd hire the one with biggest boobs. :)

I'd hire the one with biggest boobs. :)

For your sake let's all hope it's a woman and not a very plus sized guy!! :clonk:

Ok...I will elaborate just a bit. For 99.9% of the people in this position, it is a career. By most anybodys standards it pays quite well...for most 19-21 year olds it would be a freaking gold mine (at least it would have been if I was still that age). You most definately have to be able to read and do basic math well. Training is provided by the company. You have to be able to make critical decisions on occasion...usually when nobody else is around to help. No specific previous experience is required, although as with any job a solid work history always looks good. The job also involves working around stuff that can seriously harm or kill you if your not careful and follow the rules.

Dennis, no, its not a homework assignment. Actually it was a debate we had going at school outside of the classroom (kind of a pro's and con's type deal). And this is nothing against the younger guys at all.

Where do I apply???? :D:D:D:D

Sounds like you are describing a lineman job for the power company.

A lot depends on how the company is setup. If they have a pension setup then you would probably want to hire the older worker, because they would not be able to work long enough to get fully vested in the pension plan. One thing that has happened is, companies that have pension plans that allow workers to retire after @ 30 years, the workers are retiring then getting rehired as consultants and double dipping.

If it’s a physical job then you might lean toward the 19-21, but from what I have seen most in that age group don’t do physical work.

If the 30 year old has the same education as a 19 year old, then neither went to college. If that's the case, the 30 year old has probably settled down and the 19 year old probably hasn't. I'd definetely choose the older guy.

If both have college degrees, then it's more difficult. A 21 year old who has finished college has already shown responsibility, and a little look at his/her transcript will help judge that. Either way, a kid who is fresh out of college is ONLY suitable for entry-level positions (usually).

How much pay are we talking about? Will the kid be making $45K, or $80K?

To me, there's not enough info to answer. How much pay, what kind of work, and what are the responsibilities.

I started this reply this morning, but had to boogie out the door without posting.

I would absolutely hire the gentleman with experience. In fact, I just hired 2 tech's in their 50's, both with 25+ years experience doing what we do. These gentlemen will earn 6 figures. They will also bring in new business equal to 75% of my company's gross billing last year, and enable me to land new customers worth another 100% of what we billed last year. I will nearly triple the size of my company with 2 good hires, and these guys will need zero training. More than that, experience makes a good tech, not just training, and they have plenty.

Big company's don't work that way tho. They would hire the kid, in fact, they'd get 5 kids for what I'm paying these 2 guys, they would train them, and figure they'd be basically worthless for a year or two, and that's fine with them. I don't understand big company's, nor do I want to.

Much better getting rich on thier cast-off's.

Legally, you cannot choose based upon age.

There are 20 year-old people that have much better maturity and judgement than people 2X their age.

Without finding out why the carrer path of a 35 year old candidate is at the same level as an equally qualified 20 year old, I'd hesitate to make a judgement call.

Without finding out why the carrer path of a 35 year old candidate is at the same level as an equally qualified 20 year old, I'd hesitate to make a judgement call.
If I'm remembering right, Travis works in a technical field. That career path = experience plus training. Since change is constant, you don't just row your boat up the ladder, you have to work to keep up. That said, an older tech, with experience and good customer relations, who has kept up to date on his training, is worth his weight in gold to the right company. That company will typically be small.

the job description would help as said before, because age shouldnt always mean experience. i'm a 33 yr. old carpenter that started working "on the books" aka legal employee when i turned 18. do i have 15 yrs. experience? or more because i was swinging a hammer since i could lift one?
try the young kid............. he might not be so young!

WOW! The responses on this are so biased. I guess I'm not surprised though our society has been this way for a long time. I'm sorry but I think some of your are missing the bigger picture. A person's age is less of a factor than the person themself. Again I'm not trying to offend anyone here just making an observation. Unless I missed something not one of you inquired about the two individuals personality, work ethic, drive, people skills, sense of pride, workmanship.ect... Even if the 30+ individual has 10 more years of experience doesn't mean they have better people skills. Nor does it mean that the 19-21 year old is immature or irresponsible. Now while a majority of people from these two age groups could be classified fairly closely by your assumptions. That does not mean that everyone can. I've been on both sides of this fence. By they time I was 20 I was a successful construction forman leading crews of up to 12 people at a time on a job site. Most of whom where twice my age often with less determination or sense of workmanship than I had. I have also been involved in hiring more than a fair share of people. Further more today being in a very people skill driven business I often encounter lots of individuals 30+ that should never be allowed to interact with people under any business related circumstances. That's not to say I haven't come across my share of inexperienced individuals either.
Enough of me and my soap box. SORRY! All I am saying is that an individual shouldn't be judged just by their age.

HarleyD67,
Did you read every post? If so, please show me where I was biased in any way. I was as fair as possible and took pro's and cons of both. I also stated that when I was 19-20 (right on up until now 38) I was/am reliable, responsible, and work as hard or harder than anyone I have ever worked with.

I think maybe you skipped over my post, for you to feel the way you do about this thread. You don't hire a person on age alone it not right and it's not technically legal.

Statistics don't lie!!!WOW! The responses on this are so biased. I guess I'm not surprised though our society has been this way for a long time. I'm sorry but I think some of your are missing the bigger picture. A person's age is less of a factor than the person themself. Again I'm not trying to offend anyone here just making an observation. Unless I missed something not one of you inquired about the two individuals personality, work ethic, drive, people skills, sense of pride, workmanship.ect... Even if the 30+ individual has 10 more years of experience doesn't mean they have better people skills. Nor does it mean that the 19-21 year old is immature or irresponsible. Now while a majority of people from these two age groups could be classified fairly closely by your assumptions. That does not mean that everyone can. I've been on both sides of this fence. By they time I was 20 I was a successful construction forman leading crews of up to 12 people at a time on a job site. Most of whom where twice my age often with less determination or sense of workmanship than I had. I have also been involved in hiring more than a fair share of people. Further more today being in a very people skill driven business I often encounter lots of individuals 30+ that should never be allowed to interact with people under any business related circumstances. That's not to say I haven't come across my share of inexperienced individuals either.
Enough of me and my soap box. SORRY! All I am saying is that an individual shouldn't be judged just by their age.

I gotta see how this turns out. I'm losing my second investigator to a civilian position with the Air Force. My first just retired in Dec.

Like it or not harley if I had a business I would hire "my" choice and my business would prosper or suffer based on that choice. If as described, age was the only difference, balancing my staff with like personalities and ages would be my next concern.

I work in a very large company that most mgrs are supplied personnel and some of the biggest issues that have to be over come are a mixed age crew. Imagine having to team up a 20 yr old into hip-hop that talks like a "gangster" and has a porn star sticker across the front windshield of his WRX (I'm not saying anything bad by all that) with a 58 yr old that listens to Bing Crosby, drives a ford taurus and knits baby shoes on her break. It happens all the time. The more timid take stress leaves and the younger ones to quote one "I'm outta here!" get some training and leave.

Making the right choice isn't really as simple as a 20 year old vs a 30 year old as many have said...

The one that like's "Chili-dogs"!

pdq67

The one that like's "Chili-dogs"!

pdq67
There ya go!:thumbsup:

Statistics don't lie!!!

No they Blur the truth about an individual.

the 30-something. bound to have more experience and most likely has references i can check to see what kind of person he is before hiring. the 20 year old won't have either of those and will probably prove to be unreliable and irresponsible. this is from my own experience as a manager.

OK Travis...... I sure would like to know what this is about before there is blood shed on this topic! Some of these guys sound like they are ready for a bar-fight. Taste great... less filling!

If you had a business (any business), and was looking to hire some new people, which one of these would you hire, assuming both had about the same amount of education, and both were qualified for the job...a 19-21 year old, or someone say in their mid 30's, and why? TIA

you guys are getting all crazy about dont just think cause he's young hes inexprienced. thats obviously a moot point, since as travis points out in his first post "assuming both had about the same amount of education, and both were qualified for the job" so thats why i say the older guy, all things being equal, the older guy generally will be more responsible, and settled down. but you'd have to meet them obviously to judge.
i do like jimM's way of thinking, the "walmart" mentality of giving the job to anyone willing to work at the low end of the wage scale is ruining large businesses.
i have two close friends that work as upper supervision "for a major airplane manufacturer" locally, that loved it for years, but want out bad now because the guys that built the company with knowledge and experience just cost too much now. so they cut them loose unceremoniously, and hire some wet behind the ears fresh from college engineer to design something, and moreover tell people who have been designing something how to, that they just know as convenient transportation. because they work for 1/3 the cost. it may work once in awhile, but its not a good aproach, imho.
jmho

...Making the right choice isn't really as simple as a 20 year old vs a 30 year old as many have said...
That was exactly my point!


HarleyD67,
Did you read every post? If so, please show me where I was biased in any way. I was as fair as possible and took pro's and cons of both. I also stated that when I was 19-20 (right on up until now 38) I was/am reliable, responsible, and work as hard or harder than anyone I have ever worked with.
I think maybe you skipped over my post, for you to feel the way you do about this thread. You don't hire a person on age alone it not right and it's not technically legal.
I apologize to those of you that I offended. I was making a general statement about the posts on this thread to prove a point and put the shoe on the other foot as it where about broad brush conclusions.

The point of my post wasn't to stir up controversy. It was merely an attempt to open the eyes and minds of some of the individuals that posted based on age alone to the fact that you where judging a person primarily on there age and nothing else. What if the rolls where reversed and the question was...

If you had a business (any business), and where looking to hire some new people, which one of these would you hire, assuming both had about the same amount of education, and both were qualified for the job...a 25-40 year old, or someone say in their 60's, and why?
Now how would the answers be? I think some would say that the older person may be unwilling to learn new skills, or that they would be investing time money and effort into someone that would be more likely to retire in a few years and the company wouldn't get as much of a return on that individual. Again my point here isn't to rile anyone's feathers. I and merely saying a person shouldn't be solely judged by there age , but more so by the person they are. And just for the record some of my closest friends have been people I worked with that where 2-3 times my age, and some of them could out work me 7 days a week.

Again my point isn't to try and prove people right or wrong in there decisions, but just simply to remind people to look beyond simple stereotypes and judge people for who they are not how old they are.

The one that like's "Chili-dogs"!

pdq67
I don't know.:confused: From some peoples choices of prefer condiments I may be worried that some of the other employees may not be able to handle being around some of the individuals here after lunch.http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c87/HarleyD67/Smilies/eek.gif

What if that was the big fat guy??

I still think the question is unsnswerable due to lack of information.
The question is still framed , based on info given, in a mammner which only allows age to be the deciding factor.

Which car would you rather have? The brand new one with zero miles, or the one with just a hair over 11,000 miles, but is 36 years old. The 36 year old car is unrestored, and may not be as "perfect" as the new car. Which one wold you rather have?

Here's a little more info. Myself, and about 22 other guys are in a class for a field that there really is no way to get experience in unless you already work there...in which case you wouldn't be in this class in the first place. I am like the 3rd oldest guy in there (I'm 34)...3/4 of the class is in the 19-23 year old range with no what I would call "real world work experience". Some of these guys have NEVER worked. No amount of college education will prepare anybody for this job/career specifically, although I do have quite a few years of experience in areas kinda sorta related to the job, such as customer service and hazmat handling/training experience...both of which are smaller parts of this career field.
This whole debate got started over one of these "kids" :p running his mouth...he even offered to fight me for the job :rolleyes: which to me kind of gives a glimpse of this guys maturity level. Like I said up front...this is nothing against the younger guys because I have been there before myself and have gotten picked for jobs over older guys because of my work ethic, previous job history stability, and being able to spank most of them on general aptitude testing. The deal with this guy was that a job opening became available in Tulsa, which per our instructor and the recruiters who visited out class automatically gives me a little bit of an advantage because they try and place people close to home because historically (with this company anyway) when people say they are willing to relocate, they only do it just long enough to be able to transfer and then get transfered back closer to home at the first chance they get.
Something else that was touched on in the previous posts was responsibilities. I'm the only person in the class that is working right now (whats wrong with this picture?) while attending school. I am also one of the very few that owns my own home, or is married. I'm hoping that these things will work in my favor, and I think they will.
As far as pay scale, well, there is no pay "scale". Everybody makes the same basic wage whether they are new or have been there 20 years. You make more money by working the better jobs, which all all picked on a seniority basis, or by working on your days off. The work rotation is 7 days on, 3 off, but you can work more and take less days off if you want. The basic wage is $60K/year (very good money around here), but there are guys knocking down 6 figures...it just depends on how much you want to work.

I don't know...I guess I let mouthy boy get under my skin. Maybe he felt threatened and felt he had to retaliate.

I don't want to jinx myself...but I'll fill you guys in with more specifics later. It is totally weird how smoothly everything has fallen together (in a good way) lately. And this may be something that some of you guys would be interested in. There are several gearheads in my class with some pretty bad a$$ cars :cool:

And for the record, I don't have big boobs, and I don't think I look hot in a mini skirt :D

If I'm remembering right, Travis works in a technical field. That career path = experience plus training. Since change is constant, you don't just row your boat up the ladder, you have to work to keep up. That said, an older tech, with experience and good customer relations, who has kept up to date on his training, is worth his weight in gold to the right company. That company will typically be small.

Agreed Jim. That's what I too look for during the interview process.

However, the original question did not include past experience and industry contacts as a requirement, only that the candidates were qualified and had similar educational experience. For all we know, the 30-something got his technical degree during his extended stay at Folsom University, while the younger candidate held a highly technical position, with a lot of responsibilty, in the armed forces.

Without more info, it's a crap shoot.

Legally, you cannot choose based upon age.

I am pretty sure that you can discriminate in this scenario. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act only applies where an individual who is over 40 years old suffers an adverse hiring decision based upon age. There may be individual state laws that give more protection though.

...And for the record, I don't have big boobs, and I don't think I look hot in a mini skirt :D
So this is for the exotic dancer position at The Sugar Shack.:eek:

So this is for the exotic dancer position at The Sugar Shack.:eek:

How about I post some pictures, and let you decide :eek: :D

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c87/HarleyD67/Smilies/boogie.gifWOO HOO!http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c87/HarleyD67/Smilies/whistle.gif Shake It!!!

Travis,
Is there a family member of the business owner interested in the job as well?
If so, guess who will probably get the job.

Kurt

BTW!
I would hire the experienced 30 something person myself.
Big boobs or not.

Kurt

Does this job involve french fries and a paper hat?

I don't think they have those paper hats anymore? LOL!

Travis,

What job is it??

Then we can probably help you out better...

Like I have told you.. I hope it isn't a track "maint. of way" or a train crew "running" job on the RR........

I know either one's good money, but I don't think you will like either job in the end....

pdq67

Paul, I'll send you an e-mail