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I sincerely hope the OP has better luck job hunting than I did. I didn't get my college degree until I was 50 and in the end it seemed that finally obtaining that much sought after degree hurt my job hunting at an older age more than I had ever thought it would.
Background: I had worked in the accounting industry for many years and learned a lot about taxation, when I finally returned to college to complete my degree I was a single parent raising two children. It took me 7 years to complete my degree what with raising children and working full-time. When I returned to college I had intended to get a degree in accounting. However I decided to switch majors to computer science along the way. That decision was based on the fact that in order to sit for a CPA exam it would now take a 5-year college degree, I was always good with computers (was a "go to" person in the firm for computer advice), and the computer science field was in high demand. Unfortunately several things happened shortly after I switched majors: (1) computer science took a nose dive and many jobs went overseas; (2) September 11, 2001 occurred. How did 911 affect me? Because I had switched majors and my BS was not in accounting, I was let go when the accounting firm downsized.
I hated being on unemployment so I took a position with a very small tax agency within a few months. I had worked with female bosses multiple times without any problems, and I had worked for and satisfied many perfectionist bosses. The boss of this small tax agency was the worst boss that I have ever worked with. My elderly father was getting worse almost daily and I requested a Saturday off in February for his birthday and wanted to switch days with another employee. The boss told me in no uncertain terms that I could not switch my day off (during the week) for that Saturday. I had a problem with the last walk-in appointment that Saturday which was a person with very low-income who could not understand why her earned income did not get her a $2,400 tax refund or more (her net income was $600!) and I did let my frustration out a bit (which I know I shouldn't have but lord!) but the woman actually thought I should change the numbers to get her a better refund!
On Monday morning, my boss immediately started in on me as soon as I walked into the office. She finally asked me what was so important on Saturday so I told her about my dad being ill and turning 81 and all of our family was going to be there. She could have cared less! My co-workers knew the situation and showed more compassion than this woman did. Unfortunately I was so stressed about my father (who had called each grandchild aside and told them good-bye) that I just walked out the door and never looked back.
I never did find a permanent position after that and I looked in many fields as I had a lot of office experience before receiving my degree. I heard "I'm sorry but you're over qualified" so many times that it's ridiculous. I tried running my own web design firm and it did bring in a small income but not enough to support my family. I used all of my IRA (former 401k earnings) trying to keep my home from foreclosure. In the end, I lost my house during the foreclosure crisis and did receive a small class action settlement. I ended up in my elderly mother's home, the last place I ever expected to end up.
Now I've reached the early SSA retirement and I'm taking it!
I guess I was lucky in a way. I was laid off at 55, actually on my 55nd birthday. Was not a good day.
I managed to find part-time temporary work for almost a year. Then I was hit broadside by a woman who ran a red light. People happened to be working on the street, (that always gets me, normally you slow down & go slower in a working zone). Anyway her giant SUV, ran my little 4 cylinder into the steel barrier these folks had put up. I lost my back, but didn't know it then.
Anyway, there was no working after that so I lost my house & declared bankruptcy. My family then asked if I would help with my mother, so I moved the 200 miles to live with family. The visiting nurse noticed how good I w as s with my mother & told the agency. They in turn called & asked if I would be willing to help with other people. It was a $10 cut in pay, but I truly enjoyed it.
Unfortunately my back got worse & worse & finally I had to have an operation, which resulted in my no longer working & I am now on disability. But, if it would have been different, I would have kept working with them. The pay loss was nothing compared to the joy of helping people.
Go back to school of some kind~maybe learn something now that you always 'wished' you'd known how to do and see where that takes you.
I was a RN for 38 yrs and lost my eye, then fell off a bed, making me a 'desk job' RN of which there are few good jobs and I got put into more strenuous working situations til my shoulder fell out of the socket and couldn't be repaired and that ended my Nursing career at age 58. I have returned to school and am learning Reiki Energy Healing now. It is interesting and I meet all kinds of great people being back out in public at the school in my city.
If that doesn' work for you...you can always be a WallWorld greeter!
After 25 yrs doing new home construction, I was forced to re-invent myself in 2008 with the housing collapse. I tried working in another field for someone but that didn't work. Too frustrating not being able to call my own shots. I was introduced to someone looking to start his own business. After a couple of months we took the plunge. I knew nothing about his industry service yet I was excited and scared to learn. Six months in I took over the business and brought my son in. Two years later my wife quit her job and joined the company. We now have a small family business that can be as busy as we want to be. I can work as many hours as I want or take as many days off as I need. Besides ourselves we employ three other people. I plan on collecting a paycheck till 70 and my wife will till around 65. So far these 15-25 hr weeks are not too rough. I see too many people stuck looking for what they only have known. Sometimes the answer is out there, but they don't see it.
many of the people i have known who lost their jobs late in life ended up chasing ghosts.
those jobs don't exist for them anymore . they keep waiting and waiting so long for that old ship to come in that the pier collapses.
as always you can take 2 different people and throw them in the same situation and one will find a way while one will find an excuse.
what they fail to realize is if they are not funded to retire , it is going to be a lot easier finding a job or doing something different at 55 than first trying to work at 80 when you ran out of money before you ran out of time.
many of the people i have known who lost their jobs late in life ended up chasing ghosts.
those jobs don't exist for them anymore . they keep waiting and waiting so long for that old ship to come in that the pier collapses.
as always you can take 2 different people and throw them in the same situation and one will find a way while one will find an excuse.
what they fail to realize is if they are not funded to retire , it is going to be a lot easier finding a job or doing something different at 55 than first trying to work at 80 when you ran out of money before you ran out of time.
Your observation - "it is going to be a lot easier finding a job or doing something different at 55 than first trying to work at 80 when you ran out of money before you ran out of time" - aligns with my observations. I first witnessed the phenomenon in NE after the Bigco layoffs in the 90s, after the onset of the virtualized economy. I rode out of Dodge at a gallop after the second instance of seeing people from my former chains of management stocking shelves at Home Depot and some such.
Problem is existential. What do you do if you've spent the last ten years staring at your naval (so to speak), having meetings to prepare for meetings? That is a net zero productivity occupation.
As you note, some people were better than others in discerning a productive track. Pride held many back - how do you reconcile your image of yourself as an executive, with a next act that requires getting your hands dirty? By the time you have acquired the skills required to appear authoritative while doing little to garner revenue, you lose the imagination required to envision other lines of work. Further, you really don't have a lot in common with the productive economy that's left. I witnessed some who did not wake up and smell the coffee in time, and many who - as you say - spent down capital while chasing ghosts.
However, you did not wait at a deteriorating pier.
OT, and meant well: In the event time ever hangs heavy once you phase away from part time, and into full time retirement, IMHO many would benefit from articles you might write on the topic of "what you do once you smell the coffee". I've benefitted from your insight and analysis. Your story WAS motivated by a similar dislocation, if I remember correctly.
yep i got phased out of a career but through thinking long and hard about what i could do ended up in something i knew nothing about that lasted 40 years.
I lost a 37 year career in May 2014 when I was 64 and 10 months short of getting max pension benefits. Company went bankrupt. I decided I had no interest in starting over again at my age so I went on state disability (due to a long term heart condition) and some spending of savings. That disability runs out May 2015 and in June 2015 I start SS. In July 2015 I start pension, at the same benefit level as I would have gotten having worked those extra 10 months. Life is good.
Other than who the OP is, yes, I've seen this quite a bit. My dad was laid off at age 50 when a factory shut down. That was now eight years ago. At the time, he worked with a lot of people who would be late 60s-early 70s now. Those folks often couldn't find employment, or if they did, it was so low paying it was more financially advantageous to just hang it up. This is in Tennessee. If you are in a healthy, prosperous state, this may not be the case.
I lost a 37 year career in May 2014 when I was 64 and 10 months short of getting max pension benefits. Company went bankrupt. I decided I had no interest in starting over again at my age so I went on state disability (due to a long term heart condition) and some spending of savings. That disability runs out May 2015 and in June 2015 I start SS. In July 2015 I start pension, at the same benefit level as I would have gotten having worked those extra 10 months. Life is good.
so you could have continued to work if you didn't lose your job despite health issues ? you rather have tax payers support you instead of working even if it was at something else ?
doesn't sound like a true disability case. it sounds more like a disability case by convenience .
Last edited by mathjak107; 04-20-2015 at 04:19 AM..
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