I’m 50 and need to get a job. What should I do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neither OP, nor anyone else on this thread has made a case that OP "deserves..."

There is just one PP who keeps arguing that OP doesn't DESERVE a great job or a career or something.

This isn't about being entitled to anything. OP, and many others who were full-time managing kids/home, is just looking for ideas on how she can become employed. There is literally ZERO need to throw disdain and judgment in OP's direction or in the direction of any SAHP. It reflects REALLY poorly on you, PP who keeps talking about what OP doesn't "deserve." It reflects on your bitterness at the choices you made, and possibly your own jealousy that someone wasn't as unhappy in life as you are/have been. That's really sad. But, it's all about your unhappiness that you are projecting on OP and other SAHPs.

This is nonsense. She can get an admin job. But she does not deserve rapid advancement. Dumb to be a stay at home parent. It is the most financially stupid thing a person can do. Btw, my mom was a SAHM. Bad parent. I have no respect for people who stay at home and then can’t support themselves. They are essentially adult children. Grow up.

You have issues. See a therapist to work through the rage at your mother.

I don’t have issues. This post is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

NP. This is such a shitty attitude. Whoever is willing to work should be able to work. OP isn’t worthless or unemployable just because you’ve been pushing papers around your desk for 10 more years than her.

Wrong. Specific careers require specific skills. You can't just jump in at 50...it does not work that way. Unless you are striving to be a secretary, which is fine, but don't act like someone deserves a full blown career with advancement and high pay if they have not worked in 2 decades. That is ridiculous.

Why? She could potentially work until she is 75. You can learn new skills at age 50. You are being ageist.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I second the preschool option. They always need subs, aides and administrators. I would check with private schools as well.

but they get paid nothing. I think these are dead end jobs for most people. Substitute teaching is the worst. The pay is a joke.

Can these jobs be used as jumping boards to some other jobs? If you have no resume, and a general degree without special training that you got decades ago you gotta start somewhere. I don't think she can jump into a "career" type of jobs right away unless she has some specialized skills and connections or she goes for a new degree.

Preschool teaching can be lovely for someone who loves it but it's extremely low-paying and you don't have anywhere to go career-wise except if you wanted to start your own daycare or school or something, but that's a whole set of different skills and one I wouldn't advise to start at 50. Substitute teaching is a stop-gap but it can be a way to decide if you want to be a full-time teacher. The teacher resident program for people with a BA degree is a real career path that OP could start--if she at all thought she was cut out for teaching--as that's developing a profession and there's support in place to get licensed and they have benefits, time off etc. that many value. BUt it's a hard job.

This. No one is saying that teaching is an easy job; it's going to give OP the highest income and good benefits given the fact that she has no career. OP should take advantage of the teacher shortage and get a FT teaching job while she works on her certifications. It's the one career path that she actually can jump into right now.

It sounds like some posters want to punish OP for not having a career.

I am the poster who mentioned how brutal teaching is. I agree that it is the best choice as far as job availability and benefits, but don’t underestimate how rough the job is. I watch people devote tons of energy to teaching just to quit at the end of the first year. I don’t recommend the profession because the “stay” rate is so low. Most who start don’t last.

Depending on how the numbers are done, 35-45% of teachers leave within the first 5 years -- though that includes people who left for maternity to SAHP and who may later return. Also, OP would be in the position to try it out for a year without having to go through the licensure part so less of a loss. I would recommend subbing this spring if she really were interested to know if it's 100% not for her.

OP,
If I were to ask 10 teachers whether someone should enter the profession right now, I’m confident 9 will give you a resounding no. I agree that subbing is a good way to get your feet wet. You’ll see the behaviors in the classroom, the defeat in the faculty lounge, and the piles of work that head out the door at the end of the day.

I sincerely wish you the best. Part of that is cautioning you against teaching. Yes, we will hire you tomorrow and we’ll help you get certified. You’ll get health care and a decent salary. Just know it comes at a cost.

At this point, OP just needs to work for 12 or so years. She's not a 22 year old staring down what to do for the next 40 years, and she doesn't have much time to work her way up. If you have a better idea for how OP could get an instant income and benefits then please share.

Okay… but many people don’t last 12 years. I’m 20 years in (and almost OP’s age) and I’m ready to quit. It is unfair to OP to suggest teaching without mentioning the reality: it’s beyond grueling. Yes, she will get hired easily without certification, but that’s because people keep quitting. We had a new teacher quit the second week this year. She left a note on the classroom door and never came back.

+100 who are these people who keep on recommending teaching to this poor 50 year old sahm? Are they living under a rock that they don’t realize that young, experienced teachers are leaving the professional in record numbers, because it sucks to be a teacher these days?!

We don’t know anything about OP. Maybe she is smart and tough as nails. I am a np who jumped straight into full time teaching at age 50. Working on certifications at the same time. Yes, it is grueling. Yes, it is way harder than I ever thought it would be. But it is also rewarding and mentally satisfying. The relationships you build with other teachers and students is priceless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

I know, right!

It's like PP (who has issues with her own mother), wants to have it both ways: Oh you're a SAHM --- you're so lazy! + Oh, you're a SAHM who now wants a job -- Hell no, you don't deserve one! That's a lot of bitterness there.

The problem is that someone who hasn’t worked in decades has many hurdles to overcome:

- lack of skills. Unless the SAHM has been keeping up professionally (trainings, technology) they missed out on decades of learning
- the SAHM will look as though she isn’t professionally motivated. Someone who cares about working doesn’t stay home for decades. Something else has taken a priority over working for years and years.
- changes to personality. Many SAHMs experience personality changes over time. Even spending time with SAHMs of 5-6 years they seem far removed from the workplace. Inability to juggle multiple things and making a huge deal out of typical childhood problems and illnesses.

LOL! I think you may be out of touch. Many stay at home parents who return to the workforce have been used to juggling many different things at once and have little trouble adapting back into the workforce. Yes, they valued staying home over work for many different reasons and were fortunate to be able to make that choice. Most are realistic and are not expecting to go back in at a higher level than they left. Plus change happens often in trainings and technology. You only have to be up to date on the latest changes, and most of those are learned on the job or during training the first few weeks. But keep trying to convince yourself that stay at home parents shouldn’t be allowed to go back. They can and they do. Often happier and more motivated because of their time at home. They are happy to be back in the workforce and often show it. Give me an eager and excited back to the workplace former SAHP any day over a bitter burnt out career driven worker. Skills can be refreshed - changing attitudes is harder.

DP.. I am 52. I quit for 8 months with DC#1 and 18 months with DC#2.

Yes, you juggle multiple things, but not intellectual multiple tasks. The juggling is mostly housechores/childcare. It doesn't require much critical thinking or analytical skills. When I was a sahm for even that "brief" period, my brain cells started dying off. Getting back to work mode took some time. It would be that much harder for OP.

This. Rare is the long-term SAHP who uses her brain much. I absolutely respect people who stay home for the first five years of their children’s lives. Beyond that… I mean c’mon…

Lol. No you don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

NP. This is such a shitty attitude. Whoever is willing to work should be able to work. OP isn’t worthless or unemployable just because you’ve been pushing papers around your desk for 10 more years than her.

Wrong. Specific careers require specific skills. You can't just jump in at 50...it does not work that way. Unless you are striving to be a secretary, which is fine, but don't act like someone deserves a full blown career with advancement and high pay if they have not worked in 2 decades. That is ridiculous.

Why? She could potentially work until she is 75. You can learn new skills at age 50. You are being ageist.

dp.. ok, but OP would have to start out at the bottom, like a 22 yr old, but without the energy, and competing with those 22 yr olds for jobs and advancement. No company is going to advance a 50 yr old who has not worked the previous 20 years over a 22 yr old because of yes, ageism. It sucks, but there you go.

I'm the 52 yr old. When I became a sahm for 18months, I knew that I could not be out for too much longer without severely impacting my ability to return to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

This is an obtuse comparison. The new grad has more runway than a 50yo.

Exactly

50 year olds can bring a lot of life experience to the job. They can learn fast. Staying at home with managing multiple kids means you develop good organisational and multi tasking skills. We have hired a couple of stay at home moms with good success.
They are independent and need a lot less guidance and managing than 22 year olds. Their communication skills and ability to handle stress is also much better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

I never said they were a threat to my career. I said they’re not worth hiring in most cases where there are specific skills that are needed.

I don’t think I would want to hire you. You sound uncreative and not a supportive person. You sound like a very in the box kind of thinker. Life is not as black and white as you imagine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

This is an obtuse comparison. The new grad has more runway than a 50yo.

Exactly

50 year olds can bring a lot of life experience to the job. They can learn fast. Staying at home with managing multiple kids means you develop good organisational and multi tasking skills. We have hired a couple of stay at home moms with good success.
They are independent and need a lot less guidance and managing than 22 year olds. Their communication skills and ability to handle stress is also much better

NP. Plus they can probably write well and they’re not afraid of phone calls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

This is an obtuse comparison. The new grad has more runway than a 50yo.

Exactly

50 year olds can bring a lot of life experience to the job. They can learn fast. Staying at home with managing multiple kids means you develop good organisational and multi tasking skills. We have hired a couple of stay at home moms with good success.
They are independent and need a lot less guidance and managing than 22 year olds. Their communication skills and ability to handle stress is also much better

NP. Plus they can probably write well and they’re not afraid of phone calls.

Exactly. They are also more responsible than a 22 year old and they are eager and willing to work. A positive attitude and willingness to be a good team player will take you far in my book

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

This is an obtuse comparison. The new grad has more runway than a 50yo.

Exactly

50 year olds can bring a lot of life experience to the job. They can learn fast. Staying at home with managing multiple kids means you develop good organisational and multi tasking skills. We have hired a couple of stay at home moms with good success.
They are independent and need a lot less guidance and managing than 22 year olds. Their communication skills and ability to handle stress is also much better

NP. Plus they can probably write well and they’re not afraid of phone calls.

Lol Yes! But truthfully the 50 year olds I know have struggled with the computer programs in most modern jobs. If you haven’t used word, excel, or web based apps in 50 years they are heavy in almost any job. I would start taking tech classes with your local library first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

I know, right!

It's like PP (who has issues with her own mother), wants to have it both ways: Oh you're a SAHM --- you're so lazy! + Oh, you're a SAHM who now wants a job -- Hell no, you don't deserve one! That's a lot of bitterness there.

The problem is that someone who hasn’t worked in decades has many hurdles to overcome:

- lack of skills. Unless the SAHM has been keeping up professionally (trainings, technology) they missed out on decades of learning
- the SAHM will look as though she isn’t professionally motivated. Someone who cares about working doesn’t stay home for decades. Something else has taken a priority over working for years and years.
- changes to personality. Many SAHMs experience personality changes over time. Even spending time with SAHMs of 5-6 years they seem far removed from the workplace. Inability to juggle multiple things and making a huge deal out of typical childhood problems and illnesses.

LOL! I think you may be out of touch. Many stay at home parents who return to the workforce have been used to juggling many different things at once and have little trouble adapting back into the workforce. Yes, they valued staying home over work for many different reasons and were fortunate to be able to make that choice. Most are realistic and are not expecting to go back in at a higher level than they left. Plus change happens often in trainings and technology. You only have to be up to date on the latest changes, and most of those are learned on the job or during training the first few weeks. But keep trying to convince yourself that stay at home parents shouldn’t be allowed to go back. They can and they do. Often happier and more motivated because of their time at home. They are happy to be back in the workforce and often show it. Give me an eager and excited back to the workplace former SAHP any day over a bitter burnt out career driven worker. Skills can be refreshed - changing attitudes is harder.

DP.. I am 52. I quit for 8 months with DC#1 and 18 months with DC#2.

Yes, you juggle multiple things, but not intellectual multiple tasks. The juggling is mostly housechores/childcare. It doesn't require much critical thinking or analytical skills. When I was a sahm for even that "brief" period, my brain cells started dying off. Getting back to work mode took some time. It would be that much harder for OP.

This. Rare is the long-term SAHP who uses her brain much. I absolutely respect people who stay home for the first five years of their children’s lives. Beyond that… I mean c’mon…

Lol. No you don’t.

+1. I’m sure this poster was the type to make Larlo a 6/6/6. Drop him at daycare - no you can’t call it school, it’s day care - starting at 6 months, at 6 in the morning and picked up his little butt up (driving like a mad woman) at 6 because you know the day care charges OT so that justifies being a crazy.

[Anonymous]

These threads are always filled with people coming from highly competitive industries. OP, if you are still reading, there are plenty of good jobs that don’t think 50 is too old. Local government is always a good one. They always need workers. They are not afraid to hire and advance. Age and experience (work AND life experience) are highly valued. Stability is valued. Yes, it won’t be the rush of working for a new start up or some f500 on the rise, unless you are working in the mayor’s office or similar. But I bet you could find meaningful and well paying work and opportunities to be promoted even in (gasp) your 50s.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

NP. This is such a shitty attitude. Whoever is willing to work should be able to work. OP isn’t worthless or unemployable just because you’ve been pushing papers around your desk for 10 more years than her.

Wrong. Specific careers require specific skills. You can't just jump in at 50...it does not work that way. Unless you are striving to be a secretary, which is fine, but don't act like someone deserves a full blown career with advancement and high pay if they have not worked in 2 decades. That is ridiculous.

Why? She could potentially work until she is 75. You can learn new skills at age 50. You are being ageist.

dp.. ok, but OP would have to start out at the bottom, like a 22 yr old, but without the energy, and competing with those 22 yr olds for jobs and advancement. No company is going to advance a 50 yr old who has not worked the previous 20 years over a 22 yr old because of yes, ageism. It sucks, but there you go.

I'm the 52 yr old. When I became a sahm for 18months, I knew that I could not be out for too much longer without severely impacting my ability to return to work.

These are 2 untruthful statements: first, a 50 yo empty nester would have more energy and time in her disposal vs many 25-30 yo who start birthing babies at associate or low management roles. Second, many companies do hire and allow advancement of such workers, thanks to recent diversity and inclusion push, women rights movement etc.

This PP is just being ageist and jealous that some other women can get it all: first be SAHM and then return to a professional field.

I am that woman (with 4 grad degrees though): I was not shy returning to associate role in my 40s and did reach a good career advancement in my field.

Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

This is an obtuse comparison. The new grad has more runway than a 50yo.

Exactly

50 year olds can bring a lot of life experience to the job. They can learn fast. Staying at home with managing multiple kids means you develop good organisational and multi tasking skills. We have hired a couple of stay at home moms with good success.
They are independent and need a lot less guidance and managing than 22 year olds. Their communication skills and ability to handle stress is also much better

Every single data point here is incorrect. There is are very good reasons why you can’t be an air traffic controller or a commercial pilot after a certain age. Your brain just doesn’t fire that well anymore. A brain is like your knees. In time it gets worn out and breaks down, especially if it’s not being used that often.

Hell I’ll event go tot he grocery store and get an older person checking me out who gets so flustered and confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the same boat. You kind of have to think outside the box. Society wants to make 50 year old women believe they are worthless but you have to sort of elevate your own status and think of all your skills as counting for something. What are you good at? Since you have a background in sociology, could you become a social worker? At least then your education would count for something. If you switch careers it will make your degree seem worthless. The hard part is getting references. The school systems lower the bar so you don't need as many references or can use a personal reference. It might help to get your foot in a door, even if it's like a month long Amazon warehouse job or a school instructional assistant. Then you can at least put something recent on a resume and switch to something better. There are also work from home jobs like in customer service but you might need a year of retail experience. You can also try part time clerical jobs. Older women sometimes just start their own business, like you could teach teens to drive or start a maid service. You could try freelancing or the gig economy or find a caretaking job on care.com. I know at our age we've been to school, done that, don't feel like going back again. Have you tried career counseling?

If you have not worked for the last 20 years, why do you deserve a career suddenly. You took a risk staying home…it did not work. I worked the entire time and had kids. Too risky not to. At 50, man or woman, if you have not been employed for 20 years…or even 10…sorry, you are pretty much worthless for employment.

Someone who hasn’t worked in 20 years isn’t a threat to your career. Why are you so opposed of someone applying for job if they haven’t worked in 20 years? Are you also unwilling to hire recent college grads? They haven’t worked in 20 years.

It’s to the benefit of society that OP finds an entry-level role and builds a nest egg for her future.

This is an obtuse comparison. The new grad has more runway than a 50yo.

Exactly

50 year olds can bring a lot of life experience to the job. They can learn fast. Staying at home with managing multiple kids means you develop good organisational and multi tasking skills. We have hired a couple of stay at home moms with good success.
They are independent and need a lot less guidance and managing than 22 year olds. Their communication skills and ability to handle stress is also much better

Every single data point here is incorrect. There is are very good reasons why you can’t be an air traffic controller or a commercial pilot after a certain age. Your brain just doesn’t fire that well anymore. A brain is like your knees. In time it gets worn out and breaks down, especially if it’s not being used that often.

Hell I’ll event go tot he grocery store and get an older person checking me out who gets so flustered and confused.

Then go and tell this to your 60 y.o. CPA.

You selected extreme examples of physically taxing professions which have natural limitations by law (pilots, controllers etc have 35 y.o. age cut off). Brain is indeed changing as we age, but older people/single in particular with grown up kids have a lot of time in their disposal for learning and career.