Everyone I know is laid off by age 55

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did my MBA just to avoid this situation as a techie. Got booted at 54. Been a year. Didn’t find anything even close. I think it will early retirement for me.

DH did his MBA as a techie too. He was already in project management at that time but wanted to cement his position. He is employed as a manager, and he keeps up with his tech skills by self studying at home and doing a lot of projects. He has not let his tech skills rust. While at work he is not writing a single line of code, he is actually very well versed in a lot of new tech because he is spending his time studying and getting certifications etc.

Here is the kicker. Right now, there is a massive shortage of skilled programmers and people who understand business development and project management etc. Anyone whose tech skills are strong are being poached by other companies at double or triple their current salaries. This is true worldwide. So, this is a lucrative field but you cannot let your guard down. You got to keep learning and keep current.

So he essentially has a 60 hr week job. Do you work? I assume he makes $300k or more right?

Bump. I am very curious how your near 50 DH is handling a tech career, want some suggestions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

Certs are worthless, only education helpful would be top shelf MBA as a tool to move into leadership. If you aren’t executive/leadership level where you decide strategy for company and would be one deciding if their are layoffs etc, you are vulnerable

[Anonymous]

Terrifying thread!
42 y.o. with a newborn and 4 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

Certs are worthless, only education helpful would be top shelf MBA as a tool to move into leadership. If you aren’t executive/leadership level where you decide strategy for company and would be one deciding if their are layoffs etc, you are vulnerable

Getting an MBA - top shelf or not - is not going to secure you an executive position mid career. And many of the execs at Fortune 100s I work with don’t even have graduate degrees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

Certs are worthless, only education helpful would be top shelf MBA as a tool to move into leadership. If you aren’t executive/leadership level where you decide strategy for company and would be one deciding if their are layoffs etc, you are vulnerable

Getting an MBA - top shelf or not - is not going to secure you an executive position mid career. And many of the execs at Fortune 100s I work with don’t even have graduate degrees.

How do you move into executive leadership then?

[Anonymous]

So, uh…all you people talking about being in “tech”, what exactly do you do?

I’ve been thinking about making a career change into data science, but if this is one of the fields older people are being pushed out of, I’ll reconsider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

Certs are worthless, only education helpful would be top shelf MBA as a tool to move into leadership. If you aren’t executive/leadership level where you decide strategy for company and would be one deciding if their are layoffs etc, you are vulnerable

On the other hand, strategy professionals are at risk of being managed out every year Should they not deliver the kind of change executive want to see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

Certs are worthless, only education helpful would be top shelf MBA as a tool to move into leadership. If you aren’t executive/leadership level where you decide strategy for company and would be one deciding if their are layoffs etc, you are vulnerable

Getting an MBA - top shelf or not - is not going to secure you an executive position mid career. And many of the execs at Fortune 100s I work with don’t even have graduate degrees.

How do you move into executive leadership then?

By getting results foe the project / program / organization you lead, by establishing yourself as an effective leader of people and of organizational vision and strategies, by being able to take strategies and vision you create and carry them forward successfully (you and more specifically your teams), and by looking / acting the part of an executive. That last part is squishy but what differentiates a VP from SVP - or EVP - at many of these companies is that the individuals in those roles establish a brand for themselves and have a certain something that aligns with what the organization embraces as “leadership qualities”.

[Anonymous]

^for not foe

[Anonymous]

My DH was laid off in March 2020. He was 51 then and the oldest on his team. His boss repeatedly told him he was one of his strongest team members and counted on him for everything, including acting as the boss’ deputy while out.


Layoffs came in April 2020 and my husband and two other long-tenured people were laid off. It’s been 18 months and my DH has barely gotten any interest in his resume. He’s now applying for jobs that pay a fraction of what he made previously - everything from help desk support to custodial jobs.

The company rehired for the job DH has almost a year to the day and the starting salary was apparently about 60% of what DH earned in the same role.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

Certs are worthless, only education helpful would be top shelf MBA as a tool to move into leadership. If you aren’t executive/leadership level where you decide strategy for company and would be one deciding if their are layoffs etc, you are vulnerable

On the other hand, strategy professionals are at risk of being managed out every year Should they not deliver the kind of change executive want to see.

You need to BE that executive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:45 yr old checking in. This thread has scared the crap out of me. Thanks guys!

Me too and I’m only 37. I have alot to think about.

48 year old here and same for me.

What advice is there to help me keep my job? Additional education? Credentials? A certain level that I'll be "safe"?

Certs are worthless, only education helpful would be top shelf MBA as a tool to move into leadership. If you aren’t executive/leadership level where you decide strategy for company and would be one deciding if their are layoffs etc, you are vulnerable

Getting an MBA - top shelf or not - is not going to secure you an executive position mid career. And many of the execs at Fortune 100s I work with don’t even have graduate degrees.

How do you move into executive leadership then?

By getting results foe the project / program / organization you lead, by establishing yourself as an effective leader of people and of organizational vision and strategies, by being able to take strategies and vision you create and carry them forward successfully (you and more specifically your teams), and by looking / acting the part of an executive. That last part is squishy but what differentiates a VP from SVP - or EVP - at many of these companies is that the individuals in those roles establish a brand for themselves and have a certain something that aligns with what the organization embraces as “leadership qualities”.

Translation: Tall white male = leader

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH was laid off in March 2020. He was 51 then and the oldest on his team. His boss repeatedly told him he was one of his strongest team members and counted on him for everything, including acting as the boss’ deputy while out.


Layoffs came in April 2020 and my husband and two other long-tenured people were laid off. It’s been 18 months and my DH has barely gotten any interest in his resume. He’s now applying for jobs that pay a fraction of what he made previously - everything from help desk support to custodial jobs.

The company rehired for the job DH has almost a year to the day and the starting salary was apparently about 60% of what DH earned in the same role.

Would your DH been willing to stay on if they cut his salary to 60%? For what ever reason, they had to adjust the cost of his position -- the only realistic way was to let him go.

Is that ageism or just capitalism? If your DH was 30 and still cost that much, they may have canned him too?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH was laid off in March 2020. He was 51 then and the oldest on his team. His boss repeatedly told him he was one of his strongest team members and counted on him for everything, including acting as the boss’ deputy while out.


Layoffs came in April 2020 and my husband and two other long-tenured people were laid off. It’s been 18 months and my DH has barely gotten any interest in his resume. He’s now applying for jobs that pay a fraction of what he made previously - everything from help desk support to custodial jobs.

The company rehired for the job DH has almost a year to the day and the starting salary was apparently about 60% of what DH earned in the same role.

Would your DH been willing to stay on if they cut his salary to 60%? For what ever reason, they had to adjust the cost of his position -- the only realistic way was to let him go.

Is that ageism or just capitalism? If your DH was 30 and still cost that much, they may have canned him too?

That's technically illegal. When a company lays a person off, they cannot hire a different person for the same role at a cut rate. They have to rehire that person.

Companies get around that by changing the job description, though. I stated in another thread.. there is no loyalty anymore. That's why I went to gig work 20+ years ago.

Also, you do get aged out. So I switched to PM work, which I don't love, but it pays decently.