Scarlett Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 My XH just lost his job. He was VP of IT and just now turned 59. I am sure this is a big blow to his ego. He has never lost a job before. In fact he has basically had 3 jobs his entire life. Financially he certainly won’t be in the street. He just got a big inheritance from his mother. Thankfully he just finished paying for our son’s college and a new car for our son. 1 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 It's hard to lose a job - especially at that age. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 It's hard to lose a job at any age, but it's super hard at that age. I know someone who has been in the same boat for a year or so and is struggling to find something. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 That's tough. Hopefully he will receive a really nice compensation package. Was the lay-off due directly with his age, or is the concern that gaining employment in this sector at this age is very tough? I don't know about the area he lives in, but I'm working with a consulting company where the upper leadership are all "mature" men and women with grey hair, and they are really movers and shakers in their field. Perhaps looking for a company/org with mature and experienced leaders, rather than start-ups, might be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted September 27, 2023 Author Share Posted September 27, 2023 I don’t feel particular sorry for him. He did cause me a lot of harm not the least of which was financial security. After 14 years of divorce I am not happy he lost his job but i don’t feel sorry for him either. I think he lost his job because the company’s profits are way down. He did get a great severance package from what I hear. He just put a really expensive new pool in. I hear he did not pay cash for it but I don’t know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 How do you know that ageism was the reason he was let go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted September 27, 2023 Author Share Posted September 27, 2023 Just now, EKS said: How do you know that ageism was the reason he was let go? Oh that is not what I meant. But I do think ageism will play a big role in getting a new job. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 Lots of layoffs in tech right now. Lots of young grads laid off their first jobs too. Definitely going around. My kid got a really great super competitive job as a new grad in tech and starts next week and feeling super lucky it only took a few months. My spouse works in software too. Hope he finds something. I know a lot of later career stem people can do well with consulting. Must feel like a bigger blow with that stable of a career because not too many people have that anymore. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 You will find ageism in almost every field. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted September 27, 2023 Share Posted September 27, 2023 About 250,000 people in tech have been laid off this year. Add to that the 110,000-120,000 from 2022 and it’s been the fairly usual heavy layoff cycle. We’ve reset from the hiring binge that happened, had our usual curtailment of jobs from a reduction in easy startup funding and have done a round or two of pre-recession layoffs, and if we do hit a true recession there will be more layoffs to come. Being a VP is more political than technical—there’s rarely stability in those positions or c-suite (CIO/CTO) ones. It’s kind of expected that you’ll do your 3-5 years and move on. Part of why they pay you so well is because of the unspoken understanding that that is part of the gig. It’s why so many cycle in and out of consulting between jobs. There are only so many CTO/CIO jobs out there in the market. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted September 27, 2023 Author Share Posted September 27, 2023 26 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said: About 250,000 people in tech have been laid off this year. Add to that the 110,000-120,000 from 2022 and it’s been the fairly usual heavy layoff cycle. We’ve reset from the hiring binge that happened, had our usual curtailment of jobs from a reduction in easy startup funding and have done a round or two of pre-recession layoffs, and if we do hit a true recession there will be more layoffs to come. Being a VP is more political than technical—there’s rarely stability in those positions or c-suite (CIO/CTO) ones. It’s kind of expected that you’ll do your 3-5 years and move on. Part of why they pay you so well is because of the unspoken understanding that that is part of the gig. It’s why so many cycle in and out of consulting between jobs. There are only so many CTO/CIO jobs out there in the market. That may be but I would bet money he planned to retire from that job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 On 9/27/2023 at 9:04 AM, Scarlett said: My XH just lost his job. He was VP of IT and just now turned 59. I am sure this is a big blow to his ego. He has never lost a job before. In fact he has basically had 3 jobs his entire life. Financially he certainly won’t be in the street. He just got a big inheritance from his mother. Thankfully he just finished paying for our son’s college and a new car for our son. I can certainly feel for him. That's exactly where my hubby was a year ago. And while financially it looks like we will be ok, emotionally he is still having some difficulty with not having a "job". Luckily, he is involved in a few activities and is always helping with the kids and grandkids. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 The interesting thing to me about all of the layoffs is that it never seems to change the narrative from industry executives that there is a shortage of US workers and they need more H1B visas to keep the US competitive. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 9 hours ago, Frances said: The interesting thing to me about all of the layoffs is that it never seems to change the narrative from industry executives that there is a shortage of US workers and they need more H1B visas to keep the US competitive. Or just flat out outsourcing to overseas. My DH's division is down to 3 US folks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 12 hours ago, Frances said: The interesting thing to me about all of the layoffs is that it never seems to change the narrative from industry executives that there is a shortage of US workers and they need more H1B visas to keep the US competitive. There are shortages in key areas of skills/talent and too many workers in other areas. If I were to make a bad analogy, it’d be like a town with 60 sushi restaurants, 25 pho ones, 10 Burmese restaurants…but everybody just wants some decent tacos. If you work as a security architect, in AI or machine learning, in data analytics…there are a number of jobs where you are in very high demand….and H1B workers often fill those spaces because the candidate pool isn’t large enough to meet market demand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 3 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said: There are shortages in key areas of skills/talent and too many workers in other areas. If I were to make a bad analogy, it’d be like a town with 60 sushi restaurants, 25 pho ones, 10 Burmese restaurants…but everybody just wants some decent tacos. If you work as a security architect, in AI or machine learning, in data analytics…there are a number of jobs where you are in very high demand….and H1B workers often fill those spaces because the candidate pool isn’t large enough to meet market demand. I understand this is the reality. But it’s also true that companies could more to develop and cross train their own talent. And many of the H1B visas are used for basic programmers from Indian outsourcing companies, not highly specialized individuals with unique skills. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 4 hours ago, Frances said: I understand this is the reality. But it’s also true that companies could more to develop and cross train their own talent. And many of the H1B visas are used for basic programmers from Indian outsourcing companies, not highly specialized individuals with unique skills. And from what I've seen, highly specialized individuals often are hired on short term contracts, not permanent positions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartstrings Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 It’s really scary reading all this with a kiddo getting a CS degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 23 minutes ago, Heartstrings said: It’s really scary reading all this with a kiddo getting a CS degree. Three of my kids are working in CS now and it seems like there is very high demand. Ds1 is always hiring and looking for qualified people. They all seem to have pretty good job security - at least as good as anyone else I know. Ds1 is also very confident he could find another job quickly (not so sure about my other two since they are extreme introverts and don't interview well and haven't networked like Ds1 has). So, yes, it's scary but also CS seems to be a really good field to be in with lots of opportunities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 28 minutes ago, Heartstrings said: It’s really scary reading all this with a kiddo getting a CS degree. FWIW my husband says CS isn't the same as IT. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartstrings Posted September 30, 2023 Share Posted September 30, 2023 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Kassia said: Three of my kids are working in CS now and it seems like there is very high demand. Ds1 is always hiring and looking for qualified people. They all seem to have pretty good job security - at least as good as anyone else I know. Ds1 is also very confident he could find another job quickly (not so sure about my other two since they are extreme introverts and don't interview well and haven't networked like Ds1 has). So, yes, it's scary but also CS seems to be a really good field to be in with lots of opportunities. That makes me feel better. No one wants to be setting their kids up for failure. 11 minutes ago, Clarita said: FWIW my husband says CS isn't the same as IT. I always forget that. It all feels under the same umbrella to me and I never know what is applicable to both and what is applicable to only one. Edited September 30, 2023 by Heartstrings 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted September 30, 2023 Author Share Posted September 30, 2023 1 hour ago, Clarita said: FWIW my husband says CS isn't the same as IT. My XHs degree is CS 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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