Well, it looks like I'm done with the corporate world.

[Xolodno]

Just got a denial from a company for a job I used to do and was way qualified for. The few I have still out there appear they are just stringing me along in case they get no one else. Being over 50, doesn't get you very far.

Got a call from a university and it may not be official, but looks like I'm accepted for the teaching credential program. One previous manager told me I would be perfect for the spot in teaching and he may follow in my footsteps. As every day he walks into the office and wonders if its his last day. Told me, if they don't eliminate him by the end of the year, he's going to leave anyway. The stress is taking a toll on him.

Ageism may be illegal, but good luck on proving it. Another friend told me he knew someone who dyed his hair and cut his Resume in half so he appeared younger, he got the job.

Make matters worse, I finally found out the real reason I was let go. Can't even believe they put it to paper. I refused to sign off on a data submission to the Department of Insurance since it was wrong. Their arguement was they will come back asking for clarification and thus giving us more time. I didn't need more time, I got the correct data and was about to submit it that evening. Furthermore, if I needed more time a quick phone call would have taken care of that since I knew most of the people there.

Another friend pointed out, that they already wanted to be rid of you. Because if I did sign off on it, they would have me on that. Insult to injury, they relisted my position under a lower title in order to pay less. So at this point, even if I did get an offer out of the blue, I may no longer want it. Maybe I'm just depressed, but I'm tired with dealing with corporate politics when I just want to do my job and do it well.

[Irish_Dem]

1. Teaching is an important and worthwhile job.

We have all had teachers who made a big difference in our lives.

I agree, you were being set up and forced out in your old job.
Time to get the H out of there and do something else.

Good luck on your new career.
I think you will be great.

[Xolodno]

3. Thanks.

They asked why I wanted to go into Social Science instead of Math. Told them, even though I can easily do it, teaching Math all day just doesn't appeal to me...and I used to work in actuarial. She responded that although they don't advertise it, they have a program that can do both, so I can teach a couple of Math courses during the day and then teach Economics for the rest. Sounds good to me.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Sounds perfect for you and the school system.

I am sorry you are going through this.

But sometimes the universe boots us out of our comfort zones into a new world.
It often works out quite well.

And you will get summers and holidays off.
And a state pension. Good healthcare.

[SheilaAnn]

2. Many years ago I took a position as a receptionist which was fine; however I was given many jobs that were intended for

legal secretaries. I sort of balked at this and one of my co-workers told me they didn't want to pay for an actual legal sec. but that the receptionist could do it after some training.

[SheltieLover]

4. Sorry you're going ghrough this.

Ageism is very real but, as you've so aptly stated, good luck proving it.

What will you be teaching?

Best of luck to you.

[Metaphorical]

5. Yes, agism is a thing

I'm sixty-three, in tech, and a long-term consultant. I noticed when I turned 55 that the jobs started to dry up - I was too old, too expensive, and in general too savvy to put up with the BS. I made a conscious decision that year that I would transition over to consulting and writing exclusively and started my own company. It wasn't what I wanted to do, it was just the recognition that in this day and age, people hire on the basis of whoever is cheapest, then when the s**t hits the fan, they will suddenly pay top dollar for consulting, then will try to nickle and dime EVERY single transaction. This usually means that I'm working with four or five clients at a time, because they see consultants as being a lot like plumbers - critical when there's six inches of water on your kitchen floor, but the moment that final wrench is turned, you want them out of the house as fast as possible.

There's an interesting point about the "social contract". It used to be that most work was done when it was needed, and people charged accordingly for their services, because they had to charge to support themselves between the times that clients needed their goods or service. Salaries came about during the industrial revolution, and it was an agreement (principally with managers and sales people) that they would pay a lower wage if that wage was steady for a known number of hours a week. For a while this was a great bargain, because there was usually enough work needed done during the day that salaries made sense, and it kept your best people from going to work for your competitor.. With modern automation, that relationship started to break down - you didn't need as many people around all the time, and contingent labor began to creep back into the corporation. Hours got cut, wages eroded away in the stream of inflation, and for a while companies continued to keep per hour payment low, while trying to simultaneously not have to deal with health care, retirement funding, or even cost accounting for taxes.

However, what's beginning to happen is that as more companies do this, the (laid-off) independent consultant experts who used to be full time employees are raising their rates again, because they no longer have the guarantee of income. The CodeGen and GenAI are turning into fiascos is only adding fuel to the fire - companies are paying consultant rates to their former employees because they AI crap that they produced thinking they'd get away with not having to pay for expertise is now falling apart.

[Stargazer99]

14. This is why capitalism is a FAILURE for the common man

[infullview]

16. I managed to stay employed to just 4 months shy of 68

I really wanted to continue working in the tech field, sent out hundreds of resumes but was rejected usually a day after submitting the application. I had a head hunter that thought he had the perfect candidate in me to get me working again as an embedded systems programmer - I had all the necessary qualifications but they wouldn’t hire me because I did this work in the 90’s C++ and electronics are the same as they were back then but they couldn’t see past their bias. My headhunter said they were “looking for a purple squirrel “. I’m done looking, and have turned my time toward upping passive income through rental.

[drmeow]

7. I am very lucky

that I look a good 10 (or more) years younger than I am. Ageism is totally a thing. If my current job ends without me getting another job first, I'm probably not even going to go back on the job market. I'm planning to retire in 4 years, anyway.

Related to that is the "OMG, we LOVE what you can bring to this job ... but we'll only pay an entry level salary." Translation "we'd love to exploit the incredible wealth of experience you bring to make us richer at your expense!"

[LilElf70]

8. I got out at 62

No one in corporate America wanted a 62 year old overpaid IT person. I gave up and retired early. I got bored after a while and just recently found a part time job doing quickbooks and IT stuff for a small business. I love it. It's actually fun, and at a decent rate of pay.

[KT2000]

9. A friend got a job teaching at 60

He loves it. He is inspired by the young people and they like him too.

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Ahhh, the over 50 and try and get hired somewhere syndrome.

I don't know what you do, but somehow you might be able to use your knowledge to freelance in your field, start your own firm or maybe become a consultant. Also, I know from experience law firms pay big hourly rates for expert witnesses.

I got out of my career at 55 taking an early retirement with a payout. I saw them wanting me out and started to work on getting certified in a support area of the legal profession. I "retired" started to freelance and did some networking at seminars in the field. I did this for over 15 years and I stopped because Covid just ruined the business. I was billing $85/hr. (sometimes as much as $125/hr. depending and a 4 hour min.) working fewer hours a week (heck, only 2 or 3 jobs a week and I was in fat city) and turning down jobs I didn't want to do. I had a great deal of pleasure being in a job that was different and interesting every time. Mostly working in posh law firms but there were a couple of prisons and a lot of doctor's offices.

So, take a breath and consider how you might parlay your skill set into a job where you're not at the mercy of some HR guy.

Good luck!

[Joinfortmill]

11. I hear you. An opportunity will appear.

I've been there. Corporate is life sucking.

[hamsterjill]

12. Boy, you've got that right!

I worked for a company for many years that closed when the owner decided to retire. I was 59 at that point. I had little "shit" jobs beyond that event because no one wants to hire an old lady. With the help of a fellow DU'er, I changed my resume to the newer, more favored format, and only then did I start to get any nibbles. It's all AI nowadays where they look for key words, etc. They don't care the quality that they hire because they expect to have a lot of turnover, etc.

[JanMichael]

13. Time flies. I was the youngest person in my first 2 real jobs

Now I am the oldest or close to it.

Trying to get out of my 100% federal grant funded job but pretty sure my age is killing job chances. Weird...it is like they know I am a short timer and can pull my state retirement whenever I want. it sucks. I have always looked younger than my real age but closing in on 60 still makes me look 50....

Gen X is aging out.

[Stargazer99]

15. Why in the hell are we forced to put up with this corp crap?

[haele]

17. When I turned 60, I went from contract worker to the Federal Government.

I was already starting to see ageism rearing it's ugly head, and with 20 years military service, a younger spouse on SSDI, and grandchildren to raise, I figured I could continue to work to 70 without worrying about "ageing out" and end up with a good pension as well as social security to carry us through the rest my years.
But under this regime, I'm not so sure. There's about a $12k annual pension difference between 25 and 30 years, and about $75k final difference on the TSP (if it doesn't tank) so it's really pretty important for my family to last at least five more years.

[DFW]

18. This is a fascinating thread for me

Being overseas, the American job scene is far removed from me, and I’m glad I don’t have to contend with it. The closest I came was about 20 years ago when a relative with a job with a contractor doing sensitive stuff for the US government was let go at about age 50 in a « minor restructuring. » Well, it took them about a year to figure out that they needed him more than they thought, and they hired him back. He retired at 67 four years ago, and they were sorry to see him go.

Jobwise, I find I have painted myself into a corner. When I started out, I was one of the oldest (at 23!) of maybe twelve 20-somethings, near Boston, having a good time traveling a lot, and enjoying a narrow niche field. This was 1975. I asked for more time off to visit a fantastic German girlfriend I had met the year before. The forward-looking top guy said, “tell you what, make it work jobwise, and take all the time over there you want.” Well, here we are, exactly fifty years later. I’m still working for the same outfit, same guys running it. Only: now we are 900 people worldwide, based in Dallas, with offices in six European countries, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, both coasts of the USA, as well as the Midwest and our HQ in Dallas. It’s still fun, and I still love the travel (was in Spain and Portugal last week). My German residence has led to a 73% total income tax rate—with zero German health insurance or pension— which I am trying to dispute, so far with no success.

That fantastic German girlfriend that I met in 1974 is now my fantastic German wife—I have at least 3 DU witnesses—and frankly, I’d like to envision retirement in the future. Men in my family tend not to live beyond 80, and I’m 73. The pay is good, the vacation is a minimum of 6 weeks, and even that is stretchable if you can get stuff done. But I brought, even at 23, a special set of skills to the table, and refined and expanded them over the years. I can’t find a replacement, despite what Clemenceau said (the cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people, all of whom have been replaced).

The bare basic requirements needed are an ability to detect counterfeit money of most forms dating back 2500 years, a willingness to travel a LOT, an EU work and residence permit, and written and spoken competence in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, German and at least one Scandinavian language (the three main ones are very similar). That’s about it. We don’t care about your age, gender, color or planetary origin. You’d think the line of eager applicants would be stretched around the block, right?

Where is Georges Clemenceau when you need him?

[JanMichael]

19. Surprised that Esperanto isn't a requirement.

Or tlhIngan Hol....

[DFW]

20. There aren't a lot of governments that request conferences/negotiations to be held in Esperanto

Last edited Mon May 12, 2025, 10:36 AM - Edit history (1)

Not the ones I have to work with, anyway. (yet)

[JanMichael]

21. Nor in Klingon I hope.

I was just kidding though that's a lot of languages for a job requirement.

I have painted myself into a corner too. Federal grants management.. the future is not in that.

[DFW]

26. There doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground

Either they don't want you, or they have you on a titanium leash. Or, if you're as stupid as I am, you create your own leash in the name of "job security," and then forget where you put the latch to open it.

I didn't even list Catalan or Schwyzerdüütsch as language requirements, since most Catalans are fluent in Spanish (though when I lived there, not all the old people were), and most (not all!) "German"-speaking Swiss know either standard German or English. Both the Catalans and the Alemannic-speaking Swiss appreciate that I speak their languages, but neither language vital to my job. The rest are.

[eppur_se_muova]

23. "Men in my family tend not to live beyond 80" -- both my grandfathers died at 65, my father at 84.

If that trend continues, I should make it to 103 (not being the first chemist to reach 100+ -- Joel Hildebrand died at 101 in 1983.)

(The women on my Mom's side tend to do better -- I believe my great-grandmother was 95 when she died. And I still have two living aunts in their 90s.)

Living in the age of modern medicine (incl. vaccines !) makes a big difference. Which is why people need to reorient themselves to the possibility of being professionally and, more importantly, intellectually active beyond 65. (Not that they should do so out of financial desperation, as we do it here.)

Here's a book for you: https://bookshop.org/p/books/super-agers-an-evidence-based-approach-to-longevity-eric-topol/21872909?ean=9781668067666&next=t
Check out the "about the author" if you are skeptical.

[DFW]

24. Thanks for the recommendation

If I can find the time, I'll pursue it!

My dad's parents never even made it to 70. Only my mom's dad made it to 102, his wife died of Alzheiner's at 80. My parents and all their siblings had cancer, and and only one of my ad's brothers made it to 80. I could possibly slip through the cracks, but the odds are against me.

[NNadir]

32. My son speaks French, Spanish, has some eaxposure to italian,...

...played around with Russian for a little while. He's pretty good with Chinese, (mandarin) and has played with Japanese.

I think I finally convinced him to learn German, even though it's not a place to if one's a nuclear engineer. I suggested it for Norwegian or Swedish.

As for Germany, I used to fantasize about him post doing at Karlsruhe. I imagine if anything is left of it, it's depressing.

I suggested Swedish as well as Norwegian since they and the Norwegians are pioneering nuclear reactors now that these exciting times in the US will die on the vine under the weight of the attack on science.

(When I worked for the Norwegians, they go very annoyed if I expressed an interest in learning to speak Norwegian.)

Mostly he's interested in France. French is his best language, they have reprocessed fuel and have designed new fuels. We have tentative high level connections there, and they are getting their act together.

Frankly though, he doesn't seem all that connected to money related stuff.

If one is dedicated to arresting extreme global heating Europe may be a good place to do it.

[Hugin]

22. I got the ageist become a mentor distinguished fellow brush-off a few years ago...

All of it, unpaid of course. Because they really only wanted to mine my expertise by flattery. Heaven forbid they actually admit it is worth something more than what the Dunning-Kruger crowd has to offer.

Suddenly, my social feeds were filled with seminar opportunities to lay out my skills in what they were calling “Project Management”.

So, I went free-agent and began flying for myself.

[sweetapogee]

25. I've tried...

...several times to retire but every time I give notice they reduce my hours and give me a raise.

[oberle]

27. Academia

I retired from a job as Music/Dance Librarian at a large university, at age 62. They had begun harassing me, and it was either retire or go to jail accused of murder. I floundered for a few years, but now am an organist/choirmaster for a wonderful church. They don't care that I'm 77, and I plan to keep the job till I can no longer play the pedals on the organ. It helps that it's a large chapel in a huge retirement community and every one else is old too!

[Iris]

29. Accused of murder? That's pretty extreme.

[OldBaldy1701E]

28. That is the wisest thing you could ever do.

But, it won't let you go... be ready for that... it won't... IT WON"T LET GO!

[Iris]

30. Regarding cutting resume in half

That's fairly common now for practical and stylistic reasons. Practical in that a lot go work activity becomes irrelevant more quickly now. You can always lump some experience as a total years of experience in a field or type of work or expertise

[Cloudburst]

31. Yeah, ageism is real

I suddenly got put on a Performance Improvement Plan then fired, having worked in my position for 13 years to stellar reviews. I was 61 and it came totally out of the blue. I hired an employment attorney who said that you never come back to remain at a workplace from something like that. She said we didn't have a strong enough case for age discrimination, but she did provide support so that I could work my last 30 days with a shred of dignity and she got me a better severance package than what they were
offering.

My resume generated a lot of interviews but only one offer (from a person near my age) after I showed up and the young people interviewing me weren't having it.

Now seven years later I'm working contract at a high hourly rate because the people in a position I used to hold can't get all of the work done.