To extend the author's logic a bit, I will change one word in a quote from the article: "Even if the 45-year-old manager making $120,000 has the right skills, 'companies would rather hire the younger workers.'"
I've worked long enough to see many middle-aged middle managers who end up unemployed for extended periods, one I know now sells real estate after being VP at a large software company. Meanwhile, I'm in my mid-forties and had a company pay to move me cross-country for my technical skills. The fact is, there are only so many management jobs and a company can just as easily put a 35-year-old in the job as a 45 or 55-year old. Also, companies are continually trying to flatten the traditional org-chart, eliminating management positions permanently and using technical talent as the first layer of management. It's getting hard out there for an English major.
I'm not trying to diminish the real bias there is against older workers. I really believe this comes from how the US health care system works. Older workers - even those who ask a lower salary - are seen as bringing up the cost of insurance for the company's group and are seen as a higher risk for long term disability. That's a reality that's skill-set agnostic and something all of us who reach 50 years of age will have to face.
I've worked long enough to see many middle-aged middle managers who end up unemployed for extended periods, one I know now sells real estate after being VP at a large software company. Meanwhile, I'm in my mid-forties and had a company pay to move me cross-country for my technical skills. The fact is, there are only so many management jobs and a company can just as easily put a 35-year-old in the job as a 45 or 55-year old. Also, companies are continually trying to flatten the traditional org-chart, eliminating management positions permanently and using technical talent as the first layer of management. It's getting hard out there for an English major.
I'm not trying to diminish the real bias there is against older workers. I really believe this comes from how the US health care system works. Older workers - even those who ask a lower salary - are seen as bringing up the cost of insurance for the company's group and are seen as a higher risk for long term disability. That's a reality that's skill-set agnostic and something all of us who reach 50 years of age will have to face.