I'm not even that old, but a pattern I noticed when I've interviewed in the past couple years is that maybe I'm applying for the wrong jobs because my would-be peers ask questions that seem irrelevant and seem confused that I don't have answers ready for "what frameworks do you use? Which languages do you like? etc.", but then I get in an interview with someone who would be above me and we have a great chat about architecture and design and things that are actually relevant.
I'm here to build a house, I want to talk about the architecture of structural design of it. I don't care what brand air nailer you guys use.
My company has a kind of cultural disease where everyone aspires to be an architecture astronaut, people with an ounce of talent or ambition learn to treat code as beneath them, consequently we get beautiful design docs and a garbage codebase. For that reason I would fail any candidate who displayed this attitude. I expect senior candidates to raise the bar on quality and craftsmanship in implementation, and I’ve met plenty who do. YMMV.
I don’t think being a framework partisan is a particularly good sign, but at least it shows you have some experience and reflection and taste with regard to the tensions involved in making things that run.
I'm also an old fogey. When anyone says claims they or their title is "software architect", it usually means they're full of shit. The best "software architects" I've ever known typically call themselves programmers.
> The best "software architects" I've ever known typically call themselves programmers.
Or "hackers", but then you gotta resort to "ageism" in order to discern if they're actually a real old-school hacker or a modern wannabe hacker "script kiddie". ;)
I'm one of four engineers at my company. I don't have the luxury of offloading my job to someone else. Also I really feel like you're projecting attitudes that I (at least didn't mean to) portray. I design the dog food, and then I make the dog food.
I have the exact same experience. Many would-be peers simply don't get it when I have very little interest in the type of framework or language they use. They take it as a sign that I cannot contribute to the team readily even though they acknowledge I have more experience.
I'm here to build a house, I want to talk about the architecture of structural design of it. I don't care what brand air nailer you guys use.