I’m still numb… I’ve been working for the same company for 29 years. This year we haven’t done very well. Today I was one of the almost 200 who were “restructured.” In other words, my job now involves sitting on my couch.
To top it off… I sent my third kid off too college this morning (all private schools)
I’m 55 years old, and my expertise was in a legacy system used only by my (ex)company,
I did get a good severance, and I get some evil joy of thinking how they are going to get through some of the things I could do in my sleep that nobody else has a clue how to do.
It is possible… after being here so long this isn’t the first one of these I’ve seen… just the first with my name on the list. I’ve seen many others be “restructured” who have returned later.
Right now I’m just thinking about what I can do that I wouldn’t consider work.
I am also chuckling because I know things will blow up soon and I’ll have to figure out my consultation rate.
What legacy system, if I may ask. Perhaps we can figure out a way of turning you into an experienced independent consultant with a little new technology training.
Horrible situation - my sympathies are with you. My neighbor is in a similar situation - currently indispensable to his employer, hates his job but has negligible transferrable skills.
One other data point - my BIL was primarily involved in a similar situation for most of his career. About 5-10 yrs ago in his 50s, he obtained an in-house position with a large, going organization. Has had good, regular income, and is compiling retirement bens. So there is hope.
Just because your strongest suit was a narrow area, and you’ve got a few decades behind you, there’s at least a chance that in time you’ll find something to tide you over through the next stage of your life. Hope you conducted your finances responsibly in the past, and that you and your family members are willing to make any necessary changes to respond to your changed circumstances.
It truely is a one off system, used only by my (ex)company. I was involved in the development in the 80’s and could answer any obscure question anyone had. I also did a lot of regular maintenance tasks including several that involve us complying with federal regulations. Right now I don’t feel like sharing this info with anyone in the company.
I have several skills that can transfer, but the skill I had that got me paid a lot rather than a little was my knowledge of this system.
I still feel like I will somehow wake up tomorrow and go back to my job like nothing has changed.
My wife doesn’t even know yet because she is moving my son into school.
Well, take some time to let it all sink in and start thinking about transferring those skills to something new. Try not to let the hope of them realizing they need you become a plan. It rarely goes that way.
My former office was the victim of a ‘surprise!’ visit from corporate in mid-May, closing down our location and putting 85 of us out of work. We had been told twice in the preceding 6 weeks that we would NOT be closed, which made it all the greater of a shock. Even worse, it occurred on my 60th birthday. I’ve not been lucky enough to find anything else yet, but I’m still plugging away at it. I, at least, have current skills in my profession, it’s just my age getting in the way.
On the positive side, when this exact same scenario took place at my previous job in 2008, although I was 52, I got another job almost immediately. I don’t think your age will be a prohibiting factor, although your dependence on the legacy technology might be.
Your local unemployment office may offer, free of charge, classes to update your technological knowledge. They offer them on a fairly high level in my community, as we have a lot of high tech/cutting edge tech firms here that do ‘re-orgs’ fairly frequently, leaving some highly specialized people out of work.
Although…if you can ramp up the consulting gig, that’s probably the best way to go. Always good to be one’s own boss.
Good luck and very sorry for your loss. (And yes, it is a loss when you’ve given your all to the same organization for so many years).
About every ten years in my life, something has happened force me to essentially start over. Hirings, firings, marriages, divorces, etc. Every time it has been horrible followed quickly by a renewed sense of purpose.
Don’t get me wrong, my traction sucks and takes me a long time to get out of the funk, but positive thinking proscribes finding the best in it. Starting over, for whatever it’s worth, is refreshing by definition. You gotta embrace that.
Damn, Spud, I’m sorry to hear that. That happened to me after 15 years with a company. When my wife got home I was puttering around in the garage deciding on which project to tackle first. She gave me a quizzical look and said “What are you doing home?” I replied “I’m doing whatever it is that unemployed people do”. Probably you should break the news to your wife in a more tactful manner. That’s never been one of my strong suits.
My wife won’t be home until very late tonight or maybe tomorrow so I’ve got some time to figure out how to break it to her. I’ve had some health issues lately and I was planning to submit a request for FMLA today. My wife has been pestering me to do so because “we can’t afford for you to lose your job.”
We actually aren’t in horrible shape… we have some savings, and some decent 401k’s. Vacations and filet are probably on hold for a bit though.
Not sure if it is any consolation to know there are another 200 in my shoes today.
Right now I’m trying to figure our who wants to hire a professional dog cuddler and/or whisky taster.
Fuck… we are now under a tornado warning… not a watch, a warning. I’ve got to figure out how to get a 100 lb 13 year old lab down to the basement. Can this day get any better?
