How has your age affected your search for work or your life at work?

While I was un- and under-employed for three years before getting my current job a little over a year ago, I felt my age was definitely a factor in my job search. I had unfortunate timing. I had “stayed to long at the fair” (at one company for twenty years, to the day!) and my unemployment began right before the bottom fell out. I felt that I needed to make up for my focused experience in one area, that it was looked up as being limited, not valuable.

I took classes, took risks and used the resources of the MN unemployment office, which were VERY helpful.

I think that often, employers have preconceived notions and assume that “older” (READ: middle-aged) employees will come with baggage and expectations. This is not true! I am thrilled to have my job and contribute energy, enthusiasm and new ideas.

I am 61 and my age impacts my decison regarding my future and current work status. I feel a bit stuck in my job as I know I have much less flexiblity in finding satisfying work when you are my age that offers health insurance, something I can not afford on my own.

My dependency on health insurance and my decreased retirement funds causes me to not always do what I love for work, as I tolerate much more than I would have in the past, when I was younger and was able to change jobs much easier.

Once I can access medicare health insurance I will most likely feel more flexible with my career options, as I do not want to retire fully when I am 65.

I suspect the culture will experience real difficulties regarding this in the future. As the recession continues, changes in expectations modify the values of all of us.

I’m a case in point. Several years ago I built a cluster computer here at home which I used to create numerical models for weather forecasting. I read (and speak) 4 languages besides English. I write essays regarding a number of subjects, including theology, politics, and the atmospheric sciences. I often include mathematics from particle physics.

I’ve been married for 46 years (to the same woman), have two grown children, have no chemical or other addictions, and even attend church regularly.

There’s far more like this, but the conclusion is that I feel outside of the cultural loop and simply cannot find a job. None of the usual explanations apply. I’m well-educated, healthy, and have no stale skills.

What are the consequences for a generation facing challenges like this?

When I was 50 years old I chose to leave my law career and become an elementary teacher. After getting certified and getting a master’s degree in elementary ed, I discovered a job market that was especially difficult for a male of my age to break into. Early on, I was hired twice for full time positions, both of which were eliminated at the end of the year due to cutbacks. In both of these instances the hiring principals could see their own retirement on the near horizon, so their personal “risk” in hiring me was minimized. Since then, no principal has been willing to hire me, even though I have a boatload of endorsements from parents of former students, former students themselves, and former teaching colleagues. In addition, the number of interviews I’ve been offered has continually declined over the years. All I’ve been left to conclude is that principals fear having a teacher on staff with years of life experiences, who has the ability to think on his own, and, frankly, has a legal background. Principals would much rather hire a young person directly out of college, believing that the principal can “mold” a young person to the principal’s own liking. As a result, I have been reduced to being a substitute teacher in several different districts for seven years now and have, for all practical purposes, abandoned my search for a full time teaching position. The irony is that, if I had a second chance, I would make the same career choice all over again. I love being in the classroom with young people. They learn from me and I learn from them. It is a joy. It also has helped alleviate any concern I have for this country as future generations take over. Our schools are filled with great kids who will be great adults. I just wish I could be in the classroom daily with them.

Rich’s comment on being ignored in the schools in spite of his experience and law degree is a good example of when unions and liberal organizations are in control. In contrast to private business that seeks those that will get the job done and grow the business, the union controlled sectors do not allow for “hiring at below the contract wage schedules based upon the years of experience” But hey can, as schools often do, hire a new person at above the union contract’s limits for a starting wage. In the liberal organizations as schools generally are, administrators want the younger ones with minimal experience in life because those are the ones that are more docile and will not ask questions the administrators can not answer.

Older workers from private business experience have a work ethic that values responsibility and accountability. In contrast to most public schools, teachers feel entitled to their contract benefits and salary regardless of what they don’t produce. That is why so many teachers hate the idea of their salary and continued employment based upon student outcomes.

Compare public schools to private schools where good private school teachers stay and the poor ones are let go. There is no union manipulations at private schools so we see markedly better student outcomes from better teachers. Older teachers should search out private schools for employment where success is valued.

Or____ older workers can always seek out the government employment IF they have a connection by politicians. Funny that if you are older than 42 you can not be hired by the gov. for the Border Patrol but yet, we have an old and grossly out of shape Homeland Security director in Napolitano!

Although KimMN makes some good points, I cannot associate myself with her comments. I will point out that Education Minnesota has no role in the initial hiring process, and I cannot get past this point. I also think “teacher accountability” is a trickier thing than many realize. Unless one teacher stays with the same students for several years, a teacher is always dealing with students who bring with them their accumulated learning from all the teachers they have had before, whether fromthis school, this district, or outside the district. If some students are “behind” when a teacher gets them, it is unrealistic to expect their current teacher to bring all of them “up to speed” in one year. Yet that year will remain a “blot” on his or her record forever. Is it fair to hold that teacher accountable for this failure? Lastly, I’ll volunteer that I am one of those liberals KimMN rails against.

My experience differs from kimMN. I’ve found that it’s the business elites that want workers to be docile, compliant and uninquisitive. Especially, they don’t want workers asking things like, “What am I really doing with my life?” and “Is my work making a positive difference in the world, or am I just trading my time for money?” I wonder if that’s part of the problem: employers are scared of workers having midlife crises, and that’s why they want to hire young ones?

My job as test pilot has become more challenging now that I have to put on the cheaters to read the gauges. Mostly, I just wing it so the younger pilots think I’m “Just that cool”.

∑

DTOM

I am unemployed for the second time in my life. My position was eliminated because of cutbacks due to the economy. I have tried to keep myself abreast and marketable throughout my working career. With the invention of IPads and IPods and cell phone aps that do practically everything, my line of work is disappearing. I am 52 years young and need to return to school to “re-invest” myself. But at my age it is very difficult to justify a 4 year degree. By the time I finish school I will have roughly 8 or 9 years before retirement. I know I will not be able to pay off any school loans or earn enough money to justify the cost of re-education. To be unemployed at this age produces a much different outlook than it would for someone in their late 20’s, 30’s or even early 40’s looking at the need to re-educate.

For the past 3 months I have applied for many positions, even those out of my degree field but which I had ample skill sets. I kept hoping that if I demonstrate I could do the job, the re-educating would not matter. If employers could see me willing and able and I exceeded their expectations that having a degree would not matter. This has been a very difficult aproach, one which is hampered by the high unemployment rate. None of the employers have given me a second look beause I do not have a degree in that field. Those positions that are available in my degree field are difficult because I am competing against as many as 250 others. While I hate to think age is not a factor, I know it is because the people who are hired for the positions are half my age. Why hire a 50 something year old when a younger person can fill the position for half the wage? The bottom line is the cost and not the abilties.

Despite the financial costs and ramifications I am returning to school. I’ve decided that I do need the re-education. I want the last years of my employment to matter, to count for something, if not for others, then at least for me and my family. The jobs that are available today were not in existence 30 years ago. We are in a shift. I know I will be looked at as an anomily by the younger generation. But I hope that my presence at school will help the younger generation discover that they too will someday face a shift. And when they do, its ok to grieve. But it is also ok to re-invest. Life doesn’t stop living until we take our last breath.

@stevcynic statement of, “I’ve found that it’s the business elites that want workers to be docile, compliant and uninquisitive. Especially, they don’t want workers asking things like, “What am I really doing with my life?” and “Is my work making a positive difference in the world, or am I just trading my time for money?” I wonder if that’s part of the problem: employers are scared of workers having midlife crises, and that’s why they want to hire young ones?”

See…that attitude is the problem for some not hiring older workers. Steve cynic describes a private business that is designed for one primary purpose_ to MAKE a PROFIT so all employed have income. Good lord little liberal boy, you think a business should be concerned with your coming mid life crisis of”what am I doing with my life???” Good lord, LOL__ business is not there to act as your mental health spiritual leader or counselor.

Older workers DO NOT have midlife crisis that would make them unreliable at work. Too many younger ( under 35 years old) workers have a poor work ethic. They expect success without the effort. They expect a raise every year without having to show HOW their work increased company productivity….in short_ they act like spoiled , entitled, union paying dues whiners…..just as some of them were even paid to protest at OWS by their own unions along with paying homeless psychiatric cases to stand around all day to make their protest numbers look better.

If Steve doesn’t want to “trade his time for money” he can do as the daring do_ START your OWN Business and quit whining like a spoiled child. 😉

Not that I contribute very often, but I can’t believe how toxic this site has become because of this person, kimMN . I think it’s unbelievably sad that NPR has allowed this person to ruin what was such a good thing.

Signing off…….

@Steve

Profit is not the most important thing in life but it is, by neccessity, in a business. That profit makes other things possible.

Much of life and work involve quid pro quo.

“trading your time for money” is one way to look at it. I left a good job in the city, working for the man……moved to NY,NY, studied art. Loved it. But it became apparent that I wouldn’t be able to support a family anytime soon and so I traded my time for money (and a family). I would do it again in a heartbeat-or a NY minute.

And just a word on souless. My dad and his brothers had a little store. They worked 11 hours a day, 6 days a week. Thats a lot of time. They also got calls virtually every Sunday at home because someone needed something. They opened the store-could have told them to wait until Monday I suppose, but didn’t. My dad wasn’t all that concerned with money -just his family, freinds and neighbors. Nothing souless about that.

And the example of the family store illustrates my point very well, Kurt. Your dad and his brothers were making a fair profit for doing something that actually helped others live better. You can’t say the same about an investment bank, for instance, or any industry that cares more about the bottom line than what it’s doing to the environment.