Positive stories after 45

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The positive part of my story is that I am still employed at 60 and find my work meaningful.

I was a program analyst for a federal contractor and got laid off at 50. It took most of a year to get another job and have never gotten back to my old income level.

Male or female?

What difference does that make?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A legit “brand” change is moving from technical expert to leader. Not every technical expert makes a good leader, and you have to start showing leadership skills (strategic thinking, coalition building, change management, etc.). Some posters may scoff at this, but it’s real and must be done to climb the ladder. I’m not denying the workplace still has unfair dynamics and that some people are promoted based on connections, but some of the posts seem overly dismissive of the need to evolve into a leader as you advance. If I need someone to lead a team or office, I will pick someone with established leadership skills even if they have ZERO subject matter expertise over an established expert who’s ill equipped to lead.

Often, the higher up you go, the less your technical skills matter.

Which is why leadership typically has completely unrealistic expectations and nothing meaningful ever gets done.

those who do the most do the most

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A legit “brand” change is moving from technical expert to leader. Not every technical expert makes a good leader, and you have to start showing leadership skills (strategic thinking, coalition building, change management, etc.). Some posters may scoff at this, but it’s real and must be done to climb the ladder. I’m not denying the workplace still has unfair dynamics and that some people are promoted based on connections, but some of the posts seem overly dismissive of the need to evolve into a leader as you advance. If I need someone to lead a team or office, I will pick someone with established leadership skills even if they have ZERO subject matter expertise over an established expert who’s ill equipped to lead.

Often, the higher up you go, the less your technical skills matter.

if a technical expert wants to be a seasoned technical expert, s/he needs to have business judgement. For example, you can do correlation analysis with 100000 rows of data. So does a 28 year old with phd from closest university. how do this 52 year old differentiate him/herself? by translating that analysis into profit, forecast the market needs of XYZ real estate developers and sell them hardware, ect... or provide loans to consumers using stats skillset. at the same time allocate resources carefully so you are not spending 40 hours on negative profit prospect.

if basic economy/capitalistic view is considered gross. then the market will have a surprise for you at 55 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The positive part of my story is that I am still employed at 60 and find my work meaningful.

I was a program analyst for a federal contractor and got laid off at 50. It took most of a year to get another job and have never gotten back to my old income level.

Male or female?

What difference does that make?

So a white male.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people I know who make under $200k have eventually found another job post 45. Sure it may have taken them awhile. It think people most affected by ageism are those earning very high salaries post 45.

+1

[Anonymous]

I was 47 on tech and got laid off. I was highly compensated. Offered a job with a big consulting firm within a few weeks with a higher salary. I have since been promoted. I just hired someone who is 57

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Federal gov lawyer, 48 years old, who left in March due to all the chaos and got a higher paying in-house job. I was worries about my age being an issue but I landed a job within a month of sending out about five or six initial applications.

I know someone 52 who did the exact same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A legit “brand” change is moving from technical expert to leader. Not every technical expert makes a good leader, and you have to start showing leadership skills (strategic thinking, coalition building, change management, etc.). Some posters may scoff at this, but it’s real and must be done to climb the ladder. I’m not denying the workplace still has unfair dynamics and that some people are promoted based on connections, but some of the posts seem overly dismissive of the need to evolve into a leader as you advance. If I need someone to lead a team or office, I will pick someone with established leadership skills even if they have ZERO subject matter expertise over an established expert who’s ill equipped to lead.

Often, the higher up you go, the less your technical skills matter.

if a technical expert wants to be a seasoned technical expert, s/he needs to have business judgement. For example, you can do correlation analysis with 100000 rows of data. So does a 28 year old with phd from closest university. how do this 52 year old differentiate him/herself? by translating that analysis into profit, forecast the market needs of XYZ real estate developers and sell them hardware, ect... or provide loans to consumers using stats skillset. at the same time allocate resources carefully so you are not spending 40 hours on negative profit prospect.

if basic economy/capitalistic view is considered gross. then the market will have a surprise for you at 55 year old.

Well said!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you lost your job after 45 and/or switched career and made more money please share your story and let us where you are at today.

This forum is at times very pessimistic when it comes to job and careers past 40.

I don't really have one but do have some advice.. I got laid off at 47 and thought I was too old to get a same-level job. In retrospect, I think that mindset is likely what kept me away from those jobs. I could have easily re-tooled, more than once, and been above the same income level. I let negative thinking lead me down the path of lower level consulting and perm jobs and finally quit the workforce a couple of years ago (I'm 60 now). Over the years, I saw early to mid 50s people, folks that worked for me, I mentored, etc. and thought were mediocre, get and succeed in high level jobs that I wouldn't have applied for because I thought I was "too old" for them. Don't let age hold you back. Be positive, cheerful and try to look younger than your age. Re-tool whenever possible. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The positive part of my story is that I am still employed at 60 and find my work meaningful.

I was a program analyst for a federal contractor and got laid off at 50. It took most of a year to get another job and have never gotten back to my old income level.

Male or female?

What difference does that make?

Makes a huge difference, unfortunately. I’m a recently laid off 48 year old woman who really wants you to be a woman. But I don’t think you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A legit “brand” change is moving from technical expert to leader. Not every technical expert makes a good leader, and you have to start showing leadership skills (strategic thinking, coalition building, change management, etc.). Some posters may scoff at this, but it’s real and must be done to climb the ladder. I’m not denying the workplace still has unfair dynamics and that some people are promoted based on connections, but some of the posts seem overly dismissive of the need to evolve into a leader as you advance. If I need someone to lead a team or office, I will pick someone with established leadership skills even if they have ZERO subject matter expertise over an established expert who’s ill equipped to lead.

Often, the higher up you go, the less your technical skills matter.

+1. You can’t just stay an SME. I feel like so many of the stories on here are people who fell into that trap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A legit “brand” change is moving from technical expert to leader. Not every technical expert makes a good leader, and you have to start showing leadership skills (strategic thinking, coalition building, change management, etc.). Some posters may scoff at this, but it’s real and must be done to climb the ladder. I’m not denying the workplace still has unfair dynamics and that some people are promoted based on connections, but some of the posts seem overly dismissive of the need to evolve into a leader as you advance. If I need someone to lead a team or office, I will pick someone with established leadership skills even if they have ZERO subject matter expertise over an established expert who’s ill equipped to lead.

Often, the higher up you go, the less your technical skills matter.

if a technical expert wants to be a seasoned technical expert, s/he needs to have business judgement. For example, you can do correlation analysis with 100000 rows of data. So does a 28 year old with phd from closest university. how do this 52 year old differentiate him/herself? by translating that analysis into profit, forecast the market needs of XYZ real estate developers and sell them hardware, ect... or provide loans to consumers using stats skillset. at the same time allocate resources carefully so you are not spending 40 hours on negative profit prospect.

if basic economy/capitalistic view is considered gross. then the market will have a surprise for you at 55 year old.

At the end of the day, these roles are structured as a pyramid. all the SMEs can advance to the BD role you are describing, there just isn't room in the struture nor cash to fund those positions even with their increased profit prospects. So as people age, there will be a compression of spaces at the top, and unless you are in sales where there is a hard number on how much money you are bringing in via revenue, anything else is subjective and manipulated by leadership to make sure the right kind of man makes the cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 57 and just got a huge promotion (to me) with a 20% raise. I also got accepted into a very prestigious (in my field) national program, which has really increased by perceived value (I still think I'm the same person, but others don't).

I have marketed myself. I have built relationships far outside my small organization. I have acquired new, relevant skills. I have always tried to keep up with the skillsets that 20 somethings and 30 somethings take for granted, rather than give up and hand things off to assistants.

I've watched others kind of sit back and rest on their accomplishments when they hit 40s and 50s (more so in their 50s). And I'm not blaming them at all. A work/life balance is critical, and everyone makes the choices that are right for them. And honestly, it would have been me, too. My kids are grown. I want to travel more. But a few years ago, something happened at work that positioned me to have more influence and deliver a better product. So I was motivated by that and just haven't stopped.

Having said that, I don't think there is anywhere more "up" to go, for me, but I do think I've got some good insulation from losing a job, or at least from losing a comparable income, until I retire.

The problem is people fail to realize outside Fed and State work the retirement age is now 67. I was doing Goal Setting with a 37 years old woman last week. She took me off guard wen she went off how hard she worked up to this point to get where she is. Usual MBA/CPA worked a few good companies, two kids around 4 and 8. She was like she is looking forward to retiring one day and she is doing the bare minimum at work right now. Mainly remote and off to bus stop, day care pick up. IDK to be honest. But she literally has 30 years to retirement. She will soon be 50 with kids in college and empty nestor and large tuition bills and her resume will be empty and she will be competing with 30 year olds for work. She litterally feels she did enough by 35 to coast.

Next up I have to do it a 36 year old guy, he too is already talking about about retiring early at 60. Like his Dad. I am laughing. Dude you have have the foot off the gas at 36 you aint going to make it to 52 before you are canned and never work again if you dont start adding value.

This is real reason 52-62 year old people find themselves unemployed and never work again. They were coasting, over paid and have no employable skills. They started coasting at work. My last job the new CEO fired the entire senior mgt team in his first 12 months. Myself and a a few others still have big jobs. The rest were coasting and when got perp walk at 50-55 they were toast. And we were labeled URA - UnRegretted Attrition. And we signed NDAs. Anywork we did there is useless. Some spent 16-18 years there and our internally built systems exist nowwhere else. THey are toast

Your casual misogyny is pretty classy..

This type of culling is why your employees weren't putting petal the metal in their careers -- at the end of the day their longevity is up to the whims of executives who are happy to fire people even while profits are rising for capricious reasons. I can guess what the survivor bias is for your colleagues who still have big jobs, and it sure won't be because of their "skills".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A legit “brand” change is moving from technical expert to leader. Not every technical expert makes a good leader, and you have to start showing leadership skills (strategic thinking, coalition building, change management, etc.). Some posters may scoff at this, but it’s real and must be done to climb the ladder. I’m not denying the workplace still has unfair dynamics and that some people are promoted based on connections, but some of the posts seem overly dismissive of the need to evolve into a leader as you advance. If I need someone to lead a team or office, I will pick someone with established leadership skills even if they have ZERO subject matter expertise over an established expert who’s ill equipped to lead.

Often, the higher up you go, the less your technical skills matter.

+1. You can’t just stay an SME. I feel like so many of the stories on here are people who fell into that trap.

An SME usually has a flat salary progression so they don’t cost any more than the new hire. It’s just managers don’t like managing people older than themselves.

[Anonymous]

Former Fed lawyer. I left at 47 years old bc I couldn’t stand working under MAGA stooges during Trump I. In house now and make more than double what I made as a GS-15. I’m not in a highly regulated specialty. There isn’t a magic bullet the only thing I can say is I was able to find a new job because I kept trying to expand my experience and skills while a Fed and routinely volunteered to work on matters that were well outside my comfort zone and prior experience. Got valuable experience and contacts on one of those matters and eventually it led to my new job. Also, don’t sell yourself short and think you cannot stretch for something or that you are too old. These fears are just self fulfilling.