Over Sixty and Out of Work – Options Please!

Over Sixty and Out of Work

Being over sixty and out of work can be a very daunting experience. I want to expose some issues and then offer options.

I originally wrote this post in April of 2013. The economy has strengthened significantly since then for most. Except for the long term unemployed their situation has not improved

Your Home is Your Castle

Home ownership has been a tenant of being middle class. Unfortunately, we have traditionally recovered from recessions by moving to where the jobs exist. That has not happened in this recovery. The house is a giant boat anchor!

We have the lowest level of mobility since this has been measured. The collapse in the housing industry has frozen many in their homes.

On the other hand, we in Austin, Texas. We did not experience the housing bubble to the extent the rest of the country did. I was talking with an over sixty and out of work woman whose profession can no longer be found in Austin. Despite this she is bound and determined to stay here. She loves her house and lifestyle.

Yeah, yeah, I know... you love the big house, yard, and garage to store all of your stuff!

Is your home a boat anchor?

I need a job that will last ten years until I retire!

I hear this over and over. It ain’t happening! A little over ten years ago Facebook did not exist!

What skills will be required in ten years? I do not have a clue!

I just read the Intuit 2020 report that stated that 40 percent of the workforce will be freelancers or contractors by 2020.

Are you ready to freelance or do contractual work.

Are you a Knowledge or Service Worker?

The Great Reset as described in Richard Florida’s book The Great Reset: How the Post-Crash Economy Will Change the Way We Live and Work states that we are rapidly moving to two tier employment scheme:

• Knowledge workers
• Service workers

The middle tier skill jobs are being replaced through automation. I just saw an article that stated that manufacturing is returning to America but just not the manufacturing jobs.

If you are over sixty and out of work you really need to assess whether you are a knowledge or service worker. If you want to be a knowledge worker, you may very well need to beef up your skills! There is nothing wrong in being a service worker. It just does not pay as well!

You cannot buy happiness!

Options

Downsize everything! We sold the big house and bought a condo. Greatly reduced our living expenses. I drive an 11 year old Honda Element and my wife drives a Honda hybrid. We spend half of what we used to spend. By the way, we are happy! We repacked our bags like I wrote about earlier in Baby Boomers Repack Your Bags of Life.

Expand your geographic boundaries. Like I stated earlier, I live in Austin Texas. Austin is still a government/university town. The metro area is over a million people, but we have little manufacturing or distribution, few major company headquarters, and lots and lots of small businesses.

In the last few years, Dell, which is headquartered in Round Rock just North of Austin, has cut back on their manufacturing, and therefore, they have let go of some very talented logistics people. There are not a plethora of logistics jobs in Austin. I tell them to look to relocate, but many do not want to relocate!

Does this sound familiar? Jobs are moving around the world rapidly. You may have to move TO the job!

If you are over sixty and out of work are you willing to relocate? At your own expense?

Be prepared to freelance. With the right skills, many employers will hire you for 6-12 month contract positions. I have two former clients who have their project manager certification, PMP, and are happily working 6-12 month contracts. I know of many people doing this today!

I know this is not want you want to hear! The world is changing, and it is not going to stop for you.

Have I missed something? You tell me by leaving a comment… please. Particularly, if you are over sixty and out of work!

This post originally appeared on the Career Pivot Blog.

Marc Miller is the founder of Career Pivot, which helps Baby Boomers and others design careers they can grow into for the next 30 years. Marc authored the book “Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers.” You can follow Marc on Twitter or Facebook.