I am frustrated. Terribly, terribly frustrated. I am past my prime, apparently, because I can't seem to get a company to hire me, once they find out I graduated from college in 1969. They, the ubiquitous "they", do the math, realize that I am over 60, and suddenly, all interest in hiring me stops. I don't hear from that company again.
What is it with corporate America that they can not realize they are letting amazing talent go to waste. Do they think I want to come back into the work force just so I can retire in 2 or 3 years? Do they think I will come back into the work force and have a heart attack at my desk next week? Do they think I will come back into the work force and need to be reeducated in technology? If so, and if that is what they think of us "baby-boomers," well, that is pathetic.
I am not looking to come back into the work force and planning a quick withdrawal again in retirement. Even coming back into the work force might impact any opportunity to retire soon and certainly might limit my opportunity to eventually get Social Security. Nor do I intend to come back into the work force and drop dead. And amazingly, I am pretty tech savvy. I have a smart phone and can use it - quite adequately. I have a laptop (two actually), a desktop, and my office is set-up, by me personally, to be totally wireless. I understand Storage Area Network technology; I have helped plan and coordinate data center moves that involved multiple servers, virtual networks, and mainframes; I can write program code in several languages including C, C++, C#, VB, and others, and I can read and interpret Cobol.
More, I am a Project Manager with 17 years of experience in such wonderfully diverse fields as nuclear power plant outages, environmental remediation, and information technology. I hold numerous certifications that I have worked hard to earn and keep.
But let a prospective employer find out that I am 64, and the words of the Beatles song come flooding back, "Will you still feed me, will you still need me, when I'm 64?" Obviously, the answer to this is yes.
NEXT BLOG: The Hidden World of Age Discrimination
Hey Ron,
ReplyDeleteI noticed on LinkedIn that you are now in Jacksonville. How long have you been in that great city? My parents moved to Jacksonville, in 1971 (while I was in the Army) - my Dad was minister at the South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church over on Hendricks before he retired. He and my Mom lived on Salamanca off San Jose Blvd over near the St Johns River. I'm sorry to hear that you're encountering the 'maturity factor'. I can empathize with your frustration (I turn 64 in another 4 days). Susan and I have been impacted by the downturn in the economy. We're home-based in Austin, and the employment here rises and falls with high-tech. I made the mistake of working for several 'start ups', all either failed or were bought out by larger corporations. The good news was that I made money with the acquisitions, but had to spread it over several years of sporatic contracting gigs coupled with long 'dry spells'. You and I have mulled over the same issues and we are probably the types who will never retire (at least voluntarily). Allow me to share some thoughts with you:
1. If you are insistant on staying in the IT arena, check out the non-profit sector. My understanding is that most non-profits prefer professional maturity over youthful inexperience.
2. Incorporate yourself, work on getting your foot in the door with one of Jacksonville's major industries (e.g., Insurance, Port of Entry), and build up your reputation as a primo IT PM in the area.
3. Think of something that you (or your wife) are really good at that could exploited commercially. For example, we know a lady who is good at sewing. She had gotten her ganddaughter an 'American Girl' doll for Christmas a couple of years ago, but later was somewhat surprised at how expensive the doll clothes were, so she started making clothes for her granddaugter's doll. This lead to her starting a mail order business for doll clothes (at significantly reduced prices for 'American Girl' and 'Barbie' dolls), which is doing quite well (e.g., her 68 year old husband just bought himself a new 'toy' - an Audi R8).
4. You might want to check out the possibly of homeland security. For example, Jacksonville is a Port of Entry. With your background in nuclear energy, you might qualify as a container inspector (Feds pay pretty good these days). I would presume there is nothing in your background that would cause you to fail the security background check.
5. Get social. As you have probably heard countless times, networking is a key component of finding a gig. Get active in a church or service organization (e.g., Rotary, Lion's Club, Kiwanis) - great back door paths to landing a gig.
6. Stay active - I can tell you first hand, sitting around on your butt in front of the TV or computer ain't gonna do anything but add to your frustration and depression. Do some community service during this interrim dry spell (volunteer for a food bank, a vet's organization, a homeless shelter, for example). It sure as heck helped me during my dry spell. I did some PTSD volunteer work with the VA (vets seem to relate better with those who have shared their experiences). I also did some work with our church's food bank and homeless shelter. Dealing with folks who were worse off than I tended to help keep my depression, feelings of negative self-worth, frustration, and financial worries at bay. This blog response is turning into a book, so I'll sign off for now. Hope things turn around for you soon, Ron. Take care and keep in touch!
Your old buddy,
Bob Fulton
Hey Bob!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice! you seem to be getting wiser as you get older.
I start at Bank of America 2/16 as Sr. PM (they call us Technical Delivery Managers). I am excited about getting back in the groove.
Thanks again for the advice.