To be worried about my employment prospects as I get older?

[Notcontent]

I can’t be the only one in this position. I am late 40s and I work in a professional desk based type role in the private sector. I always have. I earn quite a good salary currently. However, it’s not a manager level position as I had to make some career sacrifices as a long-term lone parent. All the people I work with are either younger than me or in a management role. I think once I hit mid 50s I will be too old for my job as it’s such a young environment.

Realistically I need to work until at least late 60s as I have very little saved for my pension and still have a large mortgage (due to moving countries and a divorce - which was not my choice).

Are there any older employees 50 plus - what kind of roles are they doing? If the only option is management, and you don't want to do that, could you get a job doing the same role but for a company you feel more comfortable with?

I am not sure if your concern is with money or status - or do you genuinely think you will lose your job?

I work at a university and am 45, not a manager, no intention of ever being one. I will probably stay at this level in future but it's normal here - we have all ages 30s-70s at the same grade.

Work in the NHS, they won't allow you to leave. Several of our staff our still working in their 70's.

I hear you OP. I often look around and think 'where are the older women in the work force?' I don't see any who are older than about 55. Not sure what the solution is. It's worrying.

I don’t want to be too specific but basically the management/partner in the practice route is no longer open to me. As I said, it’s just a very young environment. I think large advertising and architect firms have a similar culture - lots of young, bright people who move on.

And yes, I am obviously concerned about having enough money to live on. I know people with similar dilemmas who have retrained but as a lone parent I don’t have the money or time to do that.

I think NHS, universities, public service etc have a very different culture and you do have lots of older people. But there parts of the private sector which are very different.

In my team of around 30 people I am definitely the oldest woman and already feel like a grandmother !

Me too. Menopause takes a huge chunk of women out if the workforce it seems. But increasingly we can't afford to just leave our jobs.

I used to change jobs regularly. Now I think I'd better stay put, because who will want to employ a woman in her 50/60/70s?

I'm starting to feel the same.

My role is very technology based, the work I produce is always high quality and I'm well regarded in my role - but I'm finding that my experience is starting to become almost more important than my skills because the talent coming up behind me have been using technology almost since they could talk. It's an extension of how they think and operate, whereas I entered the tech world as someone with an indestructible nokia being the height of technology at the time.

I have to purposefully keep on the curve keeping ahead is now impossible whereas they are just cruising along picking up things almost by osmosis.

Stepping up is a ship that sailed a long time ago so furiously trying to keep up is my strategy for the next couple of decades.

I’m sorry to say you’ll experience age discrimination when you hit 50.

Yes, exactly @Summerhillsquare - last I changed jobs was 10 years ago and I was the perfect candidate - still youngish but lots of experience. Not so much now.

The irony is I love my work and I have no problem with govt pushing back retirement ages. But has the corresponding work been done to ensure older people - older women especially - are given a fair shot at job opportunities? No. And in terms of experience will be really have that much over a candidates in their 30s or 40s, who will likely have less health problems?

Yes I an increasingly worried about this OP.

I work in an industry that is undergoing seismic reform and I am really concerned that if I lose my job in the next few years I am really going to struggle to find a similar role.

I am in my late 40s and I don't want to be move into director level management as its simply too stressful and I don't want work to take over my life.

Ideally I'd like to retire in the next decade but my financially I don't think it's going to be possible.

It's actually something that keeps me awake at night in all honesty.

Not the only one. I'm 34 have a good salary but I'm entry level in an office. I sometimes wonder what will happen. I can achieve the next level once a vacancy opens up but then what? I don't want the other roles because the people in them currently always seem stressed out.

So the question is do I leave and do something else knowing I'll take a 35% pay cut? Or do I continue knowing it won't ever fully fulfill me?

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

Work in the NHS, they won't allow you to leave. Several of our staff our still working in their 70's.

So true . I've just had a massive promotion age 59!

Seriously though, is it a skill issue op? Like engineering where technology moves really fast? Lots of employers value experience. Have you got a PDP or appraisal system? Anyone to discuss promotions with?

I feel like this too. I am not fully satisfied where I am working but have decided to hang on in there for as long as I can to at least get a good redundancy pay off when they feel I am too old for the team. I know they will get rid of me in my 50s at some point because no one is in their 60s at my work. If the redundancy is big enough, this will give me flexibility to take a lower paid job for my next role which will give me more choice. That is theory anyway. But it does scare me as all my pension calculations are based on my salary now and I just think I can’t see myself earning this amount in my 60s. It is a worry.

I'm in Australia. I retired from teaching last year at 67, and there were plenty of 50+ women, and in senior management. All the female senior managers were already in place when I arrived.

One thing I can see now, and this thread has made me think about it, was that after the new (male) principal was appointed, no middle-aged women got promotions.

I could go for promotion but I would loose 40% of any pay rise plus increased work and associated stress levels

My boss I am ticking over till retirement at my choosing and yes I am past retirement age

Change career at 53, got my current job at 61 👍👍