I'm 41. Something that stresses me out is keeping up my income into my 50's and 60's.
I work in software which can be ageist, and things like AI are disrupting things. I keep trying to think of ways to make money or invest but I don't know what. I have a lot in my 401k but I wish I had invested earlier or something. I'm sure a lot are not as lucky as me in the regard too. I'm terrified that at 50 I'll be thrown in the garbage.
Just curious if this stresses others out.
41 comments
Yep, it’s a fear that started growing as I approached 40, especially since I’m attempting to break into a new field.
I’m stressed **right now**, as I turn 38 soon-ish and have been looking for a job (advertising, specifically digital media is my field) since January. Now, it’s a little different because I had a nearly two year gap after being a Director, because of a major injury… but it’s awful that I can’t get hired into Specialist or Manager roles.
My parents have been keeping me afloat and I’m worried my career is gone for good.
Got laid off last month after my company closed down. Tech hiring is just experiencing a glut of talent especially for fully remote roles. Working on an app of my own using my severance pay as runway. I figure I don’t have to worry about ageism if I am the boss!
It’s funny you mention that. In my 20s and 30s I never thought about it at all. But in my 40s I’ve really started thinking about retirement and how bad it would be to lost my job in my late 40s/early 50s.
My advice… Look into the banking industry. I’ve worked at two banks, a lot of folks heading straight into retirement that are in tech.
My fear is can my body last into my 60’s it’s why my goal is to transition into the office in my mid 50’s.
Its a legitimate concern, but ultimately you don’t know what will happen in the future, you could be fine and have work as long as you need, or you could not. I take fears like this as more of a wakeup call – in that your mind is telling you to watch out, so take the opportunity to try and cover your back as much as you can.
Can you freelance on the side? Make some contacts and if you do a good job, you could keep getting work from them for the rest of your life, or they might refer you to people they know as well. One thing about freelancing is if you do right by people, deliver on time and on budget they won’t give 2 shits how old you are.
Look around at all the saas apps out there, I don’t know about you, but i’ve been in software dev for more than 25 years, and there’s not a saas app out there I couldn’t write myself given the time. Do you use saas apps for any projects you are doing currently at work? Could you rewite it yourself and sell it to your current employer for a discounted monthly price?
I worry about it all the time. I’ve struggled to get a career going, and am already experiencing ageism at 37
I have no idea what I’m going to do
This is something I wish I had considered more when I was younger
Sometimes it feels like in a lot of white collar careers, unless you’re one of the lucky ones able to work your way into upper level management, you’re absolutely fucked
Because why would they pay you when they can pay someone half your age way less to do the same thing
The key thing with 401k’s is getting them transferred to IRA’s
– 401k are administered by an employer’s agent and tend to charge too much, sometimes over 3% (ask HR for your *expense ratio*)
– last I checked, you can only transfer when leaving a job. So if most of your total is from your current employer this may not be possible
– but if so, there’re are good options for less than half the cost. [This is a good one](https://www.trilliuminvest.com/mutual-funds/trillium-esg-global-equity-fund) for example.
– have both pretax (IRA) and post tax (Roth IRA) accounts, giving you more options during emergencies
I’m 51,. and yes, this is something I think about very frequently. I would love to learn some new skills and job-hop and city-hop a bit around the US.. but again, at my age, is that the smartest move ? (I’ll probably still do it though, as I’m single and in pretty good health)
Still scary though, I only have about $80k in my retirement account,.. so that’s not anywhere close to where I’d prefer to be.
No, it doesn’t.
I can’t stop myself from aging.
I can focus on ageism and tell myself 5,000 stories about how people won’t want to work with me, but what would be the point? They’ll react to my age in whatever way. That’s got nothing to do with me because it doesn’t change any decisions that I have to make. If someone doesn’t like me, they’ll find some justification. My age is only one possible reason. Maybe they don’t like my portfolio, or how I told them I’d solve FizzBuzz, or some such thing.
You interview until you get an offer you like. Same as it was in your 20s. Everything else is noise. There are enough obstacles to getting a new job. You don’t have to invent even more of them.
Do father not tell their sons to learn a second/back up profession?
I have a degree in hydraulic engineering. (So does 10 million other people) and I have a CDL. I currently drive for the local garbage company making 60k a year. (I’m 61) My son who has a Doctorate in business and has experience in A/C repair. Because I always told him to learn something else just in case.
So if you’re worried, learn something now before it’s too late. Like get a CDL. (they make good money)
I’m mid 30s and I feel this way. Though not because I feel like I lack the skills and knowledge to keep up with the industry, but just because the kids coming out from school are willing to work for cheaper and are willing to be taken advantage of to impress their manager. (e.g. they’ll work nights and weekends for free).
I’m 50+. I certainly think there will be a possibility that I will face age discrimination.
This is my approach:
1) Stay as relevant and useful at my current job as I can.
2) Mentor young people (who might be my hiring managers in 5-10 years).
3) Develop my own products and see if starting a business is viable.
4) See what it would take for a “working” retirement to pencil out at 55. This would be a lower level job/one not in my field.
I love what I do, so ideally even if I couldn’t get hired, I’d still want to make stuff and try to find a market.
I am in it right now. I’m stuck living where I am for family reasons and I can’t find a job for my degree and experience. I have been hunting for a year now. I’m willing, and have been applying to jobs below my level too.
I started prerequisites for nursing school at 42 and graduated a month before my 46th birthday (this past June). I had a job lined up in an ER 3 months before I graduated. You can work in nursing in one way or another until you’re dead.
Lots of colleges that would hire you as a teaching professor. Folks in business and engineering can make 6 figures with state pension and health insurance
I’m in my mid 40s and I also have this worry. However, I’m taking a new degree program in the fall is because I want to be sure I have options in case of job loss, downsizing, etc. I think one of the best investments we can make as older, more experienced professionals is in upgrading our skill sets in areas where younger people do not completely dominate. In the sector I work in, that means more specialized roles in leadership, program coordination, mediation/conflict management, policy development, business delivery, HR, etc.
In this day and age, given the volatility in every industry and the changing landscape of work in general, I believe the worst thing we can do is sit on our laurels and hope to make it to retirement. The more thought and effort we put into having a backup plan, the less likely we’re going to get caught in a terrible situation.
Nah. I’ll have to work forever but the good news is Black jobs are easy to get. They just usually don’t pay very well.
It’s definitely crossed my mind since turning 40. I work in video production, which definitely has elements of leaning towards young and hip. It felt like the transition from ‘young upstart’ to ‘ageism already??’ was really abrupt. Like when summer ends, you get two days of fall and suddenly it’s winter.
Not at all in the restaurant industry, it’s insane how much a seasoned manager is needed… nobody gives a fuck about entry level or even mid level positions in fast casual… just landed a store manager position with a 25% raise and better hours, after turning down a higher paying position with another company due to poor benefits.
I’m guessing it’ll be harder in a decade, planning on making a groove and just being hard to replace.
I was pushed out of corporate at 45 (despite being a high performer).
I ran to academia because it does keep people to retirement age as an industry.
I’m 47 and in tech… I fully intend to ride this job until retirement. I think there’s a fair amount of job security for me since my employer is pretty awesome, but the thought of trying to go out and find another job is kind of horrifying.
I’m 46 and in software sales. I’m planning on retiring at 55 because I don’t have great hopes of maintaining my earning after that. I’m saving / investing as much as possible (69k 401k/ MBDR, 7k HSA, 120k+ taxable) in order to be in the position to retire as soon as I get my second son out of college.
I changed careers a couple of years ago; I’m closer to 50 than 40.
Early 40s. Laid off from tech last year. Spent 6 months applying to hundreds of jobs, only offer I had was with the state government. A lot less pay but livable and I’ve basically got a guaranteed job for the next 25 years till I retire with a pension.
This is why I want enough money to retire by 55. After that it’s a crap shoot
I’m 34 and here in Argentina I’ve been considered too old for junior IT positions.
The majority of the junior positions here specify that someone has to be a recent graduate or in the last year of their studies to be considered.
At the age of 34 I didn’t think ageism would be an issue when embarking on a career change especially because in my mind I’m still 22, however the job hunting experience made me feel 92…
I am a stay at home dad. It would never happen, but if my wife left me, I would be absolutely fucked. I’m going to be 38 this year, no college education no skills. I hitched my wagon early lol
I’m a proud blue collar worker, still averaging more than full time hours.
I do have significant skills as a machinist, but that really isn’t the most important thing I have going for me at this point.
As I went from young to old, the nature of employment changed.
In my teens and early twenties, companies commonly provided healthcare and retirement which were considered an important component of compensation for working.
Those have been radically diminished, and now it’s the general rule that workers fund their own retirement (401k, or equivalent) and buy their own health insurance.
Being old isn’t the disadvantage it once was in my line of work, because employers aren’t really looking at additional costs to hire a more experienced worker.
I have learned many techniques which save time and costs that younger workers simply haven’t learned yet. I can be as productive as two or more less experienced people at no additional price for my employer.
I’m past retirement age for most people, but still enjoy the work. With decades of “networking” behind me I don’t expect to be involuntarily unemployed for more than a day or two, because I can simply add too much value at no more cost than someone who can’t do the job nearly as well.
I expect to retire in five to ten years, but baring a global economic collapse I will make the decision in my own time.
I think you’ll be fine as long as you have a growth mindset. Keep learning, building new skills, etc. With more years under the belt you can easily outmatch younger folks.
Although, if you decide you rest on your laurels then yea the young folks might beat you out.
I worked in IT until my late 60’s only retiring when I felt like it. Right up until my late week of work I used to study at least 4 hours each one and read voraciously on my off hours.
I never found ageism to be an issue but rather senior management would place me with young workers to keep them focus on quality. All of those experience scars that you are earning will be respected. You will also find that picking up the team after they have a spectacular release wipeout becomes a valued skill.
You may consider a pivot to something else if you need to. I got out of software to have a less challenging, more flexible job 20 years ago. Tried to get back in when the kids were older and couldn’t. However, I managed to turn my photography hobby into a job. I teach photography and photo editing and do a lot of product and commercial photography. I have all the work that I want. It’s not as lucrative as software but it is certainly enough to keep frowimg my retirement fund.
Yes, definitely. I’m still in my 30’s but I’ve seen how quickly marketable job skills can change and how callous the job market can be. I remember vividly all the stories of 50-60 year olds getting pushed out of the labor market during the Great Recession and during Covid.
That’s why I a) try to make sure I’m always developing in-demand job skills and b) am consistently working towards financial independence. I would like to be at a point in my 50’s where I don’t *need* a job, or can at least deal with a drop in income while I supplement my income with my investments.
It’s nice having employers fighting to get employees with your particular skill set, and knowing that every paycheck makes me need them slightly less than they need me.
> I’m terrified that at 50 I’ll be thrown in the garbage.
My real career tanked at about 43 and I did some other jobs that were outside of that for a few years but was also unemployed quite a bit. I decided I’m “mostly retired” (just working very little now), though not exactly by choice.
I’m not stressed out about it at all. But I can live at a rather low cost of living and the math on my savings seems *maybe* OK, depending on what happens.
I never really liked working much and it’s not important for my identity, so not working suits me fine.
Ageism in hiring is real. Both my wife and I lost our jobs in our 50s. I luckily landed a job after 2 years of “consulting and contract work.” She is 3 years into “freelance” and would still love to land a permanent job.
Luckily my salary is enough to keep our lifestyle, but we do not / have not lived above our means
I’m only a couple years younger than you but I also work in software. While ageism is definitely a thing, I don’t worry about it. I know my experience is worth a lot and I can always get a job. You just need to adapt with times. Don’t become stubborn and refuse to try new methods because old ones work fine. I think you also need to be comfortable with much younger people being better than you. You can’t compare yourself to others. I’ve worked with young people who suck at software and I’ve worked with people who were coders and retired in their 60s that were awesome. I’ve also gone the other way.
I think the bigger fear for me is that I live in the US and implement software and a lot of companies are looking to reduce costs no matter what and instead look to hire in places like India where they are churning out coders at a fraction of the cost.
My dude, I can’t find any work NOW. Of course I’m afraid. Even if I do find something new, I can be out of it in an instant, and the older I get, the less likely I am to be hired again.
I just brought a house, now im terrified of it, im in tech so there is always the looming threat of a shift to india
Also in my 40s and in tech. It definitely is on the back of the mind, especially with a mortgage. It helps that my boss is pretty close to my age, and we get along pretty great, but layoffs never really fall into likeability 100% of the time. If it happens, then it happens.
I’ve been through 3 layoffs in my life, and each one is less surprising than the last. You kinda get the sense that it’s about to go down.
In the meanwhile, I padded out my emergency fund to 6 months and updated my resume. For my current job, I’ve tried to position myself in learning new tech, and I’m usually taking online classes to stay current. Basically, my answer to the anxiety is to control the things I can, and try to live my life.
I’m 34 and a nurse.
I’m not worried about job security because you can always find bottom feeder employers.
My worry is keep my job and working for a company that values me and pays me decent. Working for a company that only cares about money is absolutely fukin horrible and it makes you fear for your licenses and getting charged for screwing up.