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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’ve had several friends laid off this year; we are all  around 50 and have been in the same company for 10-20 years. They were still low level like managers or IC — not leadership or executive path.

However I don’t know many people in corporate America — my whole family worked for the county and here in DC we work for the govt and know either gov workers, contractors, or BigLaw partners.

What is the career path and out look for working to retirement as a F500 IC in like Chicago or Dallas?  Does most of America live in fear of layoffs as they near 50??[/quote]

OP - I'm sorry this happened to you.  Unfortunately your experience isn't uncommon and, yes, many of us do live in fear of layoffs.

That said, I think the mistake you may have made was staying in one place for too long.  10-20 years is a very long time to be at the same company, and while it lets you create some serious institutional knowledge, that knowledge isn't valuable once you leave that company.  Diversity of experience both in role and environment is usually a better builder of capabilities and value.  The next employer often sees it the same way.  They don't want a job hopper, but they also don't want somebody who is stagnant.

There's a phrase "You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it".  I think this applies here.

With that in mind, your job right now is to look busy and productive for your next employer.  That's obviously not in a full time job, but it can be through volunteering, education, 1099 work, etc.  Whatever it take to avoid looking like you're stuck.[/quote]

That’s all well and good, and I actually have been looking for a new job myself for over a decade, but I never got an offer that was compelling enough to be worth switching. Not better pay and benefits, usually a less stable company. Switching jobs frequently is very hard when you are working Parents, there are a lot of costs to starting a new job in time and flexibility, and you have to really be on your game when you first start out because if you fall through at all because like a kid gets sick, they are much more likely to can you compared to  a place where you have proven your worth over time.

I job hopped a bunch before kids, like every two years. It was like clockwork, and it was a great way to boost salary and skills, but then once the kids were in the mix, it was much harder to move, logistically and physically, and I knew a new job could’ve could tell longer hours or less flexibility. It’s not like we made money where we could hire a full-time nanny who drove our kids around we were just gonna get a daycare.

I think that is part of my relatives and friends who got laid off problem, they were also working parents and had stayed in the same job for stability and flexibility in their lives and knew they could do their job well without long hours. But then at 50 or so the company just let them go just when they head college bills.[/quote]

You act as if you're the only one with kids or a life outside of work.  Other people find a way to move around.

Either way, I'm sorry this happened to you.  Good luck.[/quote]

My impression is that most people move around to new jobs by having grandparents who live near them. [/quote]

Interesting.  I've never had grandparent help, but I've changed jobs several times over the course of two decades.  But I have stayed in one location.[/quote]

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