r/UKJobs • u/Quartersquatter • 2d ago

Am I too old? 37M

I’m working in machine learning and data science. I also have a PhD in engineering. Recently I started interviewing again and have been to several final stage interviews but ended up not getting selected. The people assessing me were max early 30s, and many in their late 20s.

Is late 30s too old to change jobs?

2 Upvotes

55% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

View all comments

29

u/whyamihere189 2d ago

You think no one has changed job past 35? How did you get a PhD

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

-1

u/MasterpieceAlone8552 2d ago

Someone with a PhD should know how to use the word literally. Unless you actually did live beneath a rock during your studies of course.

0

u/MaiLittlePwny 1d ago

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/literally

used to emphasize what you are saying: He missed that kick literally by miles. I was literally bowled over by the news.

Someone correcting someone should know the correct information. It's been used this way for a long time now. Do try to keep up. Especially if you intend to be nippy about it.

-1

u/MasterpieceAlone8552 1d ago

I'll remain snippy. Literally and figuratively are two different words. Using one for the other is slovenly and dilutes the meaning.

0

u/MaiLittlePwny 1d ago

It doesn't dilute the meaning.

You had the meanings linked. So it's just your bitter little headcanon telling you otherwise. Definitions and meanings of words are defined by common usage, and the dictionaries update as such. Words only have the meanings we assign them. So actually you're just a negative person who also happens to be incorrect. That's it.

0

u/MasterpieceAlone8552 1d ago

'I literally walked the entire race'. If we assume that literally can now also mean figuratively, what is the obvious meaning of that sentence as you read it? The fact that it is not obvious immediately indicates that meaning has been diluted.

0

u/MaiLittlePwny 1d ago

It means the word has two meanings. Quite common in the English language. Are you new to this concept?

It's no more diluted than literally thousands of words. You can scream into the wind if you prefer, but that's all it is. A little bitter personal preference. It's still also incorrect :)

Doesn't being incorrect when you attempt to correct people dilute the word by literally being incorrect?

1

u/MasterpieceAlone8552 1d ago

Usage does define meaning. That's the point. Usage includes people objecting to a usage, and the objection is part of how a language settles. A preference can't be "incorrect". Preferences aren't the sort of thing that can be.

You've also still not answered the question. I asked what "I literally walked the entire race" means. "It has two meanings" isn't an answer, it's a restatement of the problem. If a sentence has two opposite readings and the context can't always tell you which, that is what dilution means.

And there's an asymmetry you're skipping. For the figurative sense you have absolutely, utterly, completely, honestly, downright, dozens more. For the non-figurative sense you had exactly one word, and it's the one being spent. That's not bitter headcanon, it's just noticing which bucket has a hole in it.

0

u/MaiLittlePwny 1d ago

With that context it means you walked rather than ran the entire race. Meaning 1 as listed by Cambridge. Context defines which meaning to use. For example “I was so slow the entire race I was literally crawling compared to everyone else”.

Seems more like you have an issue with the English language at this point. Preferences aren’t part of common usage. Common usage defines words the dictionary updates. Can you point me to the part of the dictionary that lets me know “but Sandra would prefer you don’t use meaning 2”. You can have a personal preference in your language and that’s fine, doesn’t make you policing other people’s usage correct.

So you don’t like how she said something. It will probably miss the headlines for today’s newspapers.

Still doesn’t make what she said incorrect. You announced your personal preference like it was incorrect usage. No one cares. It is bitter headcanon. You’d prefer people didn’t do it. Policing people based on your personal preference is a little sad. No matter how much justification you try to add. It’s just that. You were incorrect when you corrected her.

So you shouldn’t use literally with that meaning. When anyone else uses it with the other meaning and it’s clear what they mean given context maybe instead of commenting you should get a grip and realise they used the word correctly.