Bill is gone now, but many older workers still feel his pain!

This blog by Mitch Betts brought up some memories I had of my neighbor, Bill who  died suddenly last year. He was only in his early sixties but spent the last decade  jumping from job to job after being laid off as an HVAC technician for over 25 years. A dedicated and hard worker, Bill claimed he was just another victim of age discrimination by the large company where he worked which was bought out by an even larger company. Having a very hard time getting rehired, Bill found that finding work was next to impossible in his field at his "advanced" age. He even went back to school hoping for a career change to IT, but still couldn't find work - even during the IT tech boom where work was plentiful. When he did find work, it was always short lived.  It saddens me still to know how he struggled as an aging worker. Who said life's ever fair?!

Bill is gone now, but many older workers still feel his pain!

Mitch Betts' post, "IT staff laid off while fat-cat private-equity owners rake in the dough", brought up some memories of my neighbor, Bill, who died suddenly last year. He was only in his early sixties but spent the last decade jumping from job to job after being laid off as an HVAC technician for over 25 years. A dedicated and hard worker, Bill claimed he was just another victim of age discrimination by the large company where he worked which was bought out by an even larger company. Having a very hard time getting rehired, Bill found that finding work was next to impossible in his field at his "advanced" age.

Bill is gone now, but many older workers still feel his pain!

Mitch Betts' post, "IT staff laid off while fat-cat private-equity owners rake in the dough", brought up some memories of my neighbor, Bill, who died suddenly last year. He was only in his early sixties but spent the last decade jumping from job to job after being laid off as an HVAC technician for over 25 years. A dedicated and hard worker, Bill claimed he was just another victim of age discrimination by the large company where he worked which was bought out by an even larger company. Having a very hard time getting rehired, Bill found that finding work was next to impossible in his field at his "advanced" age.

Certs: Added value or minimum requirement?

I've got a Bachelors Degree in Information Systems Management, my Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP) certification, the SANS GIAC Systems and Network Auditor (GSNA) certificate and I used to be a CCNA.   I spent two years getting my B.S. by attending night courses, the CISSP took me 6 months of constant study, the GSNA required a week's worth of intense instructor lead study, and I spent the better part of a school year taking the official Cisco course work at the local junior college before taking the test.  And with the exception of the CCNA, the time I spent earning my degree and getting my certifications was aimed strictly at filling in a check box on an HR person's list rather than learning something.  Not to say I didn't learn something in studying for each, but my goal was fulfilling a job requirement instead of education.

Certs: Added value or minimum requirement?

I've got a Bachelors Degree in Information Systems Management, my Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP) certification, the SANS GIAC Systems and Network Auditor (GSNA) certificate and I used to be a CCNA.   I spent two years getting my B.S. by attending night courses, the CISSP took me 6 months of constant study, the GSNA required a week's worth of intense instructor lead study, and I spent the better part of a school year taking the official Cisco course work at the local junior college before taking the test.  And with the exception of the CCNA, the time I spent earning my degree and getting my certifications was aimed strictly at filling in a check box on an HR person's list rather than learning something.  Not to say I didn't learn something in studying for each, but my goal was fulfilling a job requirement instead of education.

IT staff laid off while fat-cat private-equity owners rake in the dough

There's an eye-opening story in the Wall Street Journal today (subscription required) about the consequences for IT staffers when private-equity firm Blackstone Group bought Travelport Ltd. last August. "Two months after the deal closed, scores of employees were lugging boxes of personal belongings to their cars, having lost their jobs," the story says. Let's look at some of the human casualties: John Kliegel, 41 years old, a computer-systems analyst, and his twin, Russell, a technical writer, were both laid off. They're selling the house they share because they can no longer afford it. Don Kleppinger, a 46-year-old software engineer with five sons, lost his job, leaving him without health insurance for several months. "It came as a shock," says Michael Berson, 49, who lost his job as a data engineer in October, three years after receiving a "Super Star" award for saving the company $1.2 million on telecommunications costs. Grace Covyeau, 63, who lost her job as a telecommunications engineer, took a part-time job last month making sandwiches and coffee at King Soopers grocery store.