The high-tech industry is mostly for younger people — it can be highly stressful since it requires that you be on your toes, learning new technologies so that you can escape the undesirable label of being a tech “dinosaur”.
But during my career as a software engineer, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a few older people — those who are over the age of 60 as I recall, who have surprised me with their work ethic. I also mentioned in an earlier article that one of my older co-workers in his mid-60’s passed away rather unexpectedly late last year, causing me to reevaluate my priorities in life and work. I consider that event as one of those triggering my decision to “retire from corporate serfdom” in order to take control of my own work destiny.
I had only but admiration for my erstwhile colleague, as he was someone who took his job seriously and who thoroughly enjoyed what he was doing; I was impressed by his quality of work, productivity and dedication — the degree of which you’d be hard-pressed to find in many corporate offices.
Nevertheless, there are many more folks like him who plan to work way past their retirement age or who don’t intend to ever retire. It’s actually been reported that up to 68% of employees between the ages of 50 and 70 are in this boat.
You’re A Boomer, Why Continue To Work?
Why are older people still working? These are the people who either never stop working or decide to return to work after a respite of some length of time. There are various reasons:
Money is the most important reason.
The dot com bust has affected a lot of portfolios and can be blamed for causing a lot of older people to return to the workforce. The simple fact is that many people haven’t saved enough for their retirement or their investment portfolios were adversely affected by recent market activity. Not only that — people are living longer, so it’s tougher to accumulate assets that are deemed sufficient to cover the expenses incurred throughout longer lifetimes.
The higher cost of medical care is a concern.
Clearly, with increases in health care costs, there’s a stronger need for people to seek and maintain good medical coverage. I know a lot of people who work mainly for the health care benefits.
People want to feel productive and mentally active.
A lot of baby boomers remain employed or return to the workforce because they want to “have a reason to get up in the morning”. How many people have you heard of who become depressed as soon as they retire? A lot of workers love the routine of their job, the social interaction at work and the sense of fulfillment they get as contributors to a company’s cause.
Workplace Benefits For Older Workers Are Sweet!
Sure, we can’t deny that there’s some age discrimination at play especially when younger managers are doing the hiring. And frankly, there are just jobs that are not a good fit for senior citizens (though there are exceptions, certainly). However, many industries are experiencing labor shortages and have worked to fill their workforce with older people (just as they did with women way back when). In fact, many companies are doing things to encourage boomers to join their ranks. Just as employment perks have evolved to incorporate maternity leave and child care benefits to accommodate female workers, we are now seeing some changes in our work environment, brought about to address the requirements of older workers:
- flexible schedules
- shorter weeks and fewer hours
- telecommuting
- job sharing
- retirement counseling for eligible workers
- phased retirement to help workers ease their way into retirement
- improved training for workers over 50
- special mentorship and pairing of older people with younger employees
- the addition of physical workplace accommodations (not unlike those for the disabled)
And there’s a lot to be said for older employees — they’re experienced and loyal, and their expertise is particularly valued in certain jobs. From CNN Money, this list of top jobs for those over 50 had some spot-on suggestions:
Top Jobs For The Over 50 Crowd
| Job Description | Median Pay | Job Growth |
| Nonprofit Executive | $63,500 | 27% |
| Patient Representative | $41,800 | 22% |
| Celebrant/Religious Leader | $48,300 | 12% |
| Financial Adviser | $66,800 | 12% |
| Public School Teacher | $47,500 | 14% |
| Appraiser (Residential Real Estate) | $42,000 | 23% |
| College Professor | $40,200 | 32% |
| Day Care Center Teacher | $26,400 | 33% |
| IRA Specialist | $38,700 | 14% |
| Labor Relations Manager | $100,700 | 20% |
| Leasing Consultant | $27,100 | 15% |
| Lobbyist | $93,100 | 23% |
| Medical Records Coding Technician | $38,800 | 29% |
| Pension Administrator | $48,100 | 20% |
| Religious Educator | $51,700 | 12% |
| Department Retail Sales Manager | $32,900 | 4% |
| Retail Sales Staff | $25,400 | 17% |
| Staff Nurse (RN) | $59,800 | 29% |
| Tax Accountant II | $59,500 | 22% |
| Tutor | $25,100 | 14% |
Seems like there are certain job positions that are well suited for the more mature crowd — I can see how jobs in health care, retail and education can benefit from both wisdom and patience, characteristics you normally find in spades amongst the older set.
Interesting article - What worries me is the motivation factor. When you are young you want to progress up the ladder and hopefully get well compensated along the way (to retire well hopefully). The is probably not the motivaton for a lot of older folks - what adverse impacts will this have on the organization and younger teams in it? On other hand, their experience is something to be leveraged. Further, the older you get the less you are willing to change - which is why the tech sector is dominated with younger people (unless you work with mainframes) - so older people there are more the exception than the rule. Am I being too ageist?
I gave up corporate serfdom about 5 years ago and have never looked back. That has done two things for me. One is has made me A LOT happier being the captain of my own ship so to speak. Number two is that I am having so much fun I don’t ever see myself retiring in the traditional sense. I may decide to slow down so I can travel or do other stuff I find interesting, but retire completely, probably not in my cards. I love what I do and can’t imagine suddenly just walking away and sitting on a beach everyday until I check out.
Good post but I think “retirement age” is at least 65. True a significant number of people choose early retirement or have it forced on them. And if anything that age is going to increase - for the reasons you mention: failing to save money, health care costs and longer life expectancy.
I do believe providing much better part time options are good for society, and those in the 55-70+ range especially. Having the only real options being full time work and no work is not a good situation.
Ive always thought when I retired it would be a good time to do all of the things Ive wanted to do but didn’t have the time to do….but I also think I would get bored without something specific to be doing. I never really thought about it, but I think Id like to be a teacher when I retire. Something less stressful, maybe a non core class.
Semi is the word these days. The economy is forcing us to play it as it lays. But that’s okay, ‘cuz I learned long ago that time is relative if you can just let go. Work how you like, where you like too and the rest falls in place like a starlet’s hair do. I know I sound silly and my thoughts willy nilly, but I been retired, semi, since Elvis was a kid. First job to last, and I hope way beyond, I’ll keep on retiring onto my final buck’s gone.
It is mostly about money =|. I’m sure older folks will love to travel around the world or have fun playing with their friends and families. Also, a lot of older folks will love to take care of their grandsons and daughters when their parents are working. It is sad how people pass retirement have to keep working sometimes =|.
My father is in his mid-60s, and still working (or seeking work; his most recent job just downsized him). I know he could get by on his current retirement savings/pension(s), but he’d rather keep working and not dip into his savings until he needs to. I do think part of it is the need to be doing SOMETHING; even better if it’s something that uses his vast experience - he took an early retirement package from his “career” job at 59, but after a year of living the retired life, he was ready to pack up and move 350 miles for a new job in the same industry.
On a different note, I’m surprised to see “public school teacher” in the list of jobs for people over 50. At least in the Northeast, public school jobs are VERY hard to get into if you’re over 50, since they enforce a mandatory retirement age (between 55-65, depending on the area).
Moral of the story:
Prepare yourself before you retire, even if it means cutting some corners right now it’s worth having those last 20 years of your life as a relaxing breeze.
[…] way till their twilight years. In the course of writing my previous post that discussed the idea of working past retirement, I discovered that a significant number of people are considering skipping out on retirement […]