{"id":1154,"date":"2016-09-28T09:16:37","date_gmt":"2016-09-28T17:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=1154"},"modified":"2016-09-28T09:16:37","modified_gmt":"2016-09-28T17:16:37","slug":"does-the-big-40-mean-youre-fired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/does-the-big-40-mean-youre-fired\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the Big 40 Mean “You’re Fired”?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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According to Bloomberg TV, the median age of the U.S. worker is 42. In the established tech industries, the median age is around 31 and, in tech startup companies, it drops to around 22.
\nMany of us who have passed our 40th birthday feel it was a watershed moment when we came into our own. We will tell you, \u201cAt 20, we knew it all; at 30, we realized we didn\u2019t; and, at 40, we had gained enough maturity to know that the more we thought we knew, the more we had to learn.\u201d Yet today, 40 can signal the approaching end of a career. What\u2019s wrong with this picture?
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\nThe same progression of enlightenment, in theory, should drive employers to seek seasoned employees. However, what younger employees lack in experience, they make up for by contributing to a heftier bottom line via their entry-level salaries. Costly, older employees have to prove their worth every day and compete against the enthusiasm of youth.<\/p>\n

Tech employees aren\u2019t alone. Those in other industries are growing worried. And every industry has become a tech industry\u2014driverless cars, personal drones and smart kitchen appliances have all left the drawing board. Many are in the testing phase, and some are already on the shelf.<\/p>\n

What About Protection Against Age Discrimination?<\/span><\/strong>
\nIn companies of more than 20 employees, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects employees and prospective employees 40 and older from discrimination based on age.<\/p>\n

That looks great on paper, but translating it into real-world application is like finding your way out of a corn maze. It\u2019s easier to develop a plan for hanging onto your current job rather than relying on age protection. Another option is to devise a Plan B\u2014and act on it before your job is history.<\/p>\n

Read the Signposts Along the Way<\/span><\/strong>
\nA couple of weeks ago, I ran across a Bloomberg Businessweek article entitled \u201cIt\u2019s Tough Being Over 40 in Silicon Valley.\u201d A few days later, I found an article on LinkedIn entitled \u201cNo One in Tech Will Admit that They’re Old.\u201d The latter\u2019s richest content comes from the readers\u2019 comments, and I urge you read them.<\/p>\n

As soon as I read the first article, I fired off an email to a couple of former (brilliant) Microsoft employees who are also past business associations of mine. We\u2019re all past the dreaded 40- mark, so I wrote to ask their opinions.<\/p>\n

What I received in return was an earful (or eyeful, in the case of email). Each wrote a tome; in the end, each has survived by reinventing himself before the need arose. Each is intuitive enough to recognize the signposts along the way and smart enough to react to them by taking action instead of burying his head in the sand.<\/p>\n

One of my friends is in no danger of \u201caging out.\u201d Most of today\u2019s generation isn\u2019t qualified to compete with his specialized knowledge. The other one still works in tech and has valuable connections that have kept him safe so far\u2014but he \u201ckeeps his head down\u201d at work, and he worries. He\u2019s no fool; he has a solid Plan B in his pocket.<\/p>\n

Learn to read the signposts and don\u2019t let them immobilize you. Let them energize you because living well is the best revenge against circumstances as well as against people.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a 40+-Year-Old to Do?<\/span><\/strong>
\nWe couldn\u2019t decide if we were amused or aghast at the lengths to which some have gone to keep their jobs. Some have increased their knowledge to keep current in their field. Others have learned the lingo of the young and begun to dress age appropriately (read younger) for their workplace. The outliers have gone under the knife for plastic surgery. My contacts and I have relied on sharpening our knowledge rather than succumbing to a scalpel.<\/p>\n

Over-40s have three sensible options:<\/p>\n