>One of our newer programmers is 20 years older than me. It took some time for me to beat into him that he had better listen to me as I was mentoring him in his transition from PHP to ASP.NET.
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>So did you eventually "break him in"?
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>That is always a problem. I'm sure none of us would be too keen if someone 10-20 years younger was in a postion of authority - but I'd certainly try to earn that person's respect, as opposed to being a pain in the ass.
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>This may be a shocker, but when this happens with me (someone is a good bit older and has a problem with it), I'm actually very diplomatic and really try to ease the person into the situation - because I know that being 10 years older, "going back to school", and probably unemployed, means a great deal of stress to begin with. I've actually taken a great deal of "stuff" from a few older people because I know in many cases it's the stress talking. But once in a blue moon, someone crosses the line, and I'll have an off-line "come to Jesus" conversation with the person.
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>Oh, and I think you meant to say, "one of our newer programmers is 20 years older than I".....since I'm older than you, I'm allowed to correct grammar. :)

I was patient at first, but it turned into more conflict when the person didn't want to adhere to our company's way of doing things. Cowboy coding and doing all kinds of crazy hacks doesn't work here. I have gotten along with all of my coworkers in my careers except for 2, both of which were under-qualified for their job and had an obnoxious personality.

Yeah, I understand how training would be a different situation. I have participated in our local INETA chapter and several code camps and have really started to notice the different types of personalities. Some people were truly meant to sit in a dark cubicle.

My favorite is when somebody points out a grammatical error but calls it "grammer".