This is my story. Since college all I’ve worked are shitty retail jobs, and I’ve been older than most of my bosses by a handful of years.
But they’re retail lifers and I’m really just there temp, so it’s never bothered me, it’s always been a joke that I’m an old man (at 28)
What Nemo said. I’m currently 44. It’s bound to happen at some point though.
Eh, been in that position a lot of times.
It’s only really a problem when they think that you had your shot and obviously failed to advance, so you’re damaged goods. Not everyone wants to advance through the management ranks and certainly, most people aren’t suited to that sort of thing.
The fact that you’re 27 and made Manager while I’m 40+ and am not a manager doesn’t mean that I’m a failure, an idiot, or obsolete. It means I have no interest in being a manager.
I’m 57, current supervisor is about 35ish. Back in 2006, it was decided that there was more to my job than what a person could reasonably handle. Which made sense, it had evolved into more and more over the years. So they hired a young engineer to help out at one level down from me. I was nominally in charge of the whole unit, she was hired to relieve me of technical oversight but not supervision of half the unit. Worked out well, but early in 2009, she decides to jump ship and goes to work for the feds. They hire another engineer a bit younger than her to take her place. Fine. Then a restructuring and half of the unit she oversaw for technical issues became a co-equal unit to mine and I gave up half my staff. Then they hired another young engineer to oversee that half of the unit. But first, they tried to get the girl who left to join the feds. Turns out she didn’t want the job, she just used the offer as a bargaining chip to get concessions from the feds. Fine, great, wonderful, I can concentrate on half my former job. Working out good. Then they decide to restructure again and they post for a manager job to oversee my unit and the other unit I formerly had. I figured, hey this is essentially my former job at a new level. Who did they hire? The young girl who left us after less than three years and used us as a bargaining chip with the feds. And everyone knew before the interviews even started that they were going to hire her. So color me pissed.
I’m 36. We’re getting a new supervisor straight out of grad school sometime in the next month (to fill a just-created position).
Ditto.
A 22-year old junior NCO working for a brand-spanking new straight-from-ROTC baby butterbar.
That was a fun 6 months until he learned to trust me.
First time, I think I was maybe 25? Something like that. I’m currently in my mid thirties and my manager is almost exactly 10 years my junior. She’s a smart one, so I don’t mind.
I’m 45. I got a new boss about a year ago and I think she’s about my age, but she may very well be younger. I should look it up. If it’s not her, there a woman who sits next to me who’s on the fast track and is about 10 years younger. If we both stay here, she’ll probably end up being my boss at some point.
Hasn’t happened yet to me for anything but a few short-term temp projects, and I’m 37. I’ve supervised people who were more than twice my age, though (one was 83 at the time!)
Damn straight. I figure the next milestone for me is when I’m older than the pope.
To answer the OP, I was about 35. It was unsettling, but I’ve gotten over it.
I’m 32, my boss is 29. Don’t care, he’s way more knowledgable than me. Currently many of the people I directly line manage are older than me, but the people that report to those managers are quite varied in age and some are a bit younger than me.
When I was 27, I managed a team of about 25 people, and was the youngest in the team by some margin. No one seemed to care, perhaps because no one ever asked. They assumed I was older because I was in a responsible position.