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These guys in their early 40's going to Vietnam...if they are doing nothing then how are they supporting themselves to live over there?
Well at silicon valley salaries, they likely saved up a couple hundred grand over the years. The average salary in Vietnam is around $150 a month. They could live in Vietnam for 20 years without doing any work.
Yes to both. But honestly, you'll find a lot of people in their 50's here (me included) who have gotten new jobs in our 50's, so this age discrimination thing may be in certain fields or parts of the country, or even in people's imaginations, but I haven't seen it and don't know anyone who has.
There was discrimination several years ago, but that's been reversed as far as I've seen.
Consider yourself fortunate, and begin anew. IT is not the place to be as your hair starts turning gray. Rampant ageism in the industry (along with sexism and racism). Only you can determine what the next step will be, given your financial situation, marital/ family situation, interests, level of motivation, health, and so forth.
What I've been seeing is that those 45-55 yr olds are doing architect level work and have the 25-35 yr olds carry out the heavy lifting. You can't find people out of school that has enough experience, temperament, and knowledge to perform very high level work. It is almost like brain surgery for some of the work that I've seen and just like them you have to be atleast 45yrs old to be an accomplished IT pro at the architect level.
Whethere it'll be architect level DBA, Security, Network designs, I haven't seen any 25-35 doing that advance level.
^^ Yes, this. My husband's whole department was outsourced in 2012. All of them were let go with a decent severance package at least. He was 55. It was kind of scary at first but he took advantage of it and took a 3 month vacation. He also took a couple of "seminars" and read up on current trends. He has been in IT for 30+ years and the past few years in Security (CISSP). When he was ready to look for work again, all he could seem to get were contract positions. So he did that for about 18 months and then finally was offered a permanent director's position to build a SOC (Security Operations Center) at a major university. So in this case, his maturity and experience finally paid off. So I agree with other posters who said it can depend on the career field and age seems to be a discriminatory factor but mostly if current knowledge and experience are lacking.
I got laid off from my IT job a couple of months ago. I'm not having much luck finding a new one so far. I think part of my problem is that I'm just burned out. I've been working non-stop for almost 30 years, and I feel like I just can't do it anymore. I don't feel motivated to go out and hunt down opportunities like I used to. I'm also competing for jobs with people that are much younger than I am, and have the latest and greatest acronyms on their resumes.
I guess I don't have a question. I'm just venting.
Well, maybe I do have a question... what should I do to get myself motivated again?
I'm getting to that age and hear you. Modern work is often pure tedium and feels like wasted time. "Are we there yet?" "No, just treading more water!"
Try to get into something entirely different that you'd enjoy, even if it means a pay cut. Easier said than done but everyone needs a reboot at least 3 or 4 times in life. Taking up a whole different concept of living, like "mindfulness" can also help.
Lots of interesting replies.
I wouldn't mind starting something completely different, but I really have no idea what that would be. All of the career tests I've taken point me back to IT. I also need to make enough money to pay the bills, although I could probably survive with a 25% cut from my last salary.
I really need to get my head together soon!
Hmm, actually this thread got me thinking - how would those of us that "could be age discriminated against" hide our age/experience on our resumes? Limit one's work experience to the last 10 years and not mention what year(s) we graduated?
I was laid off from IT about five years ago and that was my end - it had to be because I burned out. I ran the gamut of roles (it was my career). Last roles with other things I did a the same time was as a project mgr. and test mgr. I knew what hiring was like and it was not good.
Limiting your experience on your resume was the norm beginning a number of years ago. Understand, though, not giving college graduation date(s) and that's always a flag. Whether HR cares or not is another issue. If you wrote down all your experience on a resume, it would be passed by. What you did prior to ten years ago is irrelevant because it's likely now obsolete in IT. A longer resume will also be tossed aside because those hiring do not have the time to read the entire resume.
If the OP takes off from working, it takes time to decompress. If the OP's north, it will take a bit longer to decompress due to the insanity in IT.
I wish you luck and peace.
Last edited by PeaceOut001; 02-11-2015 at 07:21 AM..
Reason: missed adding one word
I agree about taking a trip, maybe go visit some old friends or family. But you don't sign up for UE benefits and than go hit the road. You wait until you get back, anything else could be considered fraud.
You're not looking for work when you're from NJ and you're skiing in Colorado.
Not exactly true
I along with a bunch of other staff was laid off over summer and left for Colorado two days later for a 12 day drip. I spent the day I was let go and the following day applying to every job I could find on Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, etc that was related to my position. Probably applied to 20-25 places my first day and 10-15 the 2nd.
I left for CO and filed for UE. Every morning, I'd spend about an hour looking for new positions, go out hiking and exploring, then in the evening do the same for about 30 minutes or so.
Each day there was at most, 2-3 jobs posted that were relevant to my position. I took every phone call and had a number of phone interviews. As soon as I had an in-person interview, I headed back home. Got the job offer 2 days later.
So, I guess it depends. I was only "offline" on the weekends when I was out backpacking, but made sure to be on top of things during the week.
Maybe build on your IT background and take some classes that specialize in making mobile apps. Amp up your code writing skills and then start making apps and then marketing them. Who knows you might come up with the next big thing.
I agree with the others -- if you've got reserves, maybe time away to think about things is the best medicine. Everyone needs a retreat once in a while - if they can afford one. Use that time to think about the value that you *can* provide. More and more, the traditional economy in which one goes out and competes with hundreds or even thousands of other applicants is proving to be a bad game to play. Try instead to do independent contract work here and there to bring in some income, while thinking bigger and beyond your current situation.
This economy doesn't reward labor; it rewards creativity, production, marketing, and distribution. That's the alpha and the omega of this discussion, in my opinion anyway.
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). Only you can determine what the next step will be, given your financial situation, marital/ family situation, interests, level of motivation, health, and so forth.
