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Aging Workforce a Concern for US Tech Firms
TechNews World ^ | March 4, 2006 | Tech News World

Posted on 03/04/2006 5:29:59 PM PST by 2Jim_Brown

By 2010, nearly one in three workers in the United States will be older than 50, according to CompTIA. As the number of younger workers declines, attracting and retaining "experienced and reliable workers" will become a core business strategy for all employers.

The aging workforce is becoming a significant concern for technology employers in the U.S., where a third of employees will be aged 50 or older in just four years. Ten years ago, the story was the "graying of Japan," where aging workers were expected to be less productive in their golden years as well. By Gene Koprowski

(Excerpt) Read more at technewsworld.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News
KEYWORDS: 2010; aging; genx; helpwanted; internet; tech; workforce
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Retaining "experienced and reliable workers" will become a core business strategy for all employers.
1 posted on 03/04/2006 5:30:05 PM PST by 2Jim_Brown
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To: 2Jim_Brown

They don't like older workers? That's not very tolerant of Silicon Valley.


2 posted on 03/04/2006 5:39:10 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: Brilliant

Older workers demand pay raises and more time to spend with their families. They've also "been there, done that" and don't generally allow their employers to take advantage of them.

That's inconvenient nowadays.


3 posted on 03/04/2006 5:45:53 PM PST by Doohickey (If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice...I will choose freewill.)
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To: 2Jim_Brown

I am one of those (not in technology, though I tried once). I plan on working at high pay until they fit me for a blue vest and make me a Wal-Mart greeter. Until then I am working for my grandchildren, for some nice stuff, and for helping others.


4 posted on 03/04/2006 5:46:36 PM PST by sine_nomine (Every baby is a blessing from God, from the moment of conception.)
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To: 2Jim_Brown

it doesn't concern them at all. they will hire offshore workers to replace them, and attempt to lay off as many of the ones they have in their 50s, before their pension obligations increase. I see this every day at work.


5 posted on 03/04/2006 5:52:52 PM PST by oceanview
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42 here and been in the business for 20 years, I learned more in last 2 years than I have in the the last 5 years (technology changes), given that plus my 20 Years experience in what I do best, I am what US companies need and want. I would rather pay for 1 hard working USA person than 12 kids from another country.


6 posted on 03/04/2006 5:53:47 PM PST by VastRWCon
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To: Doohickey
Older workers demand pay raises and more time to spend with their families. They've also "been there, done that" and don't generally allow their employers to take advantage of them.

That's inconvenient nowadays.

And coming right behind them is the Dot.Bomb generation, who fell for the Founders' Stock Option BS, as they worked 7 fourteen hour-days a week, chasing these VC fantasies, only to find that The Anointed were the ones to walk away with filled pockets when the scams collapsed.

If my generation was cynical, the next one is embittered at their abusive First Job Out Of College.

7 posted on 03/04/2006 6:04:18 PM PST by Gorzaloon
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To: 2Jim_Brown

Considering the tech companies have pooped on their employees for so long, who cares about these companies, the industry is shot as it is.


8 posted on 03/04/2006 6:11:45 PM PST by CodeToad
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To: CodeToad

I'd suggest that it's more than just the companies. The rest of society doesn't appreciate those involved in technology (lawyer rule). The gov't's approach has been downhill since Nixon started cutting back on technological research support at the University level. I wouldn't recommend a career in tech these days.


9 posted on 03/04/2006 6:18:44 PM PST by Paladin2 (If the political indictment's from Fitz, the jury always acquits.)
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To: Doohickey
Older workers demand pay raises and more time to spend with their families. They've also "been there, done that" and don't generally allow their employers to take advantage of them. That's inconvenient nowadays.

That's a generalization. With that in mind, older workers are NOT preoccupied with sowing their wild oats. Yes, they have been there and done that and not everything is about "Me...Me...Me." They may not let their employers take advantage of them, but do things willingly. The time they don't spend with personal cellphone calls, IM's, etc., make their higher wages a bargain. Oh, they've learned enough in life that they don't make generalizations. But for you, I've made an exception.

10 posted on 03/04/2006 6:20:06 PM PST by World'sGoneInsane (LET NO ONE BE FORGOTTEN, LET NO ONE FORGET)
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To: 2Jim_Brown
What they mean by more productive younger workers is those naive fresh graduates who gladly work 80 hrs/week thinking they are doing great things for their budding careers.

After proudly working 80 hr weeks for 5 years and realizing they haven't got much in return, they may decide it's time to change jobs and set about repeating the process.

By this point, they've found themselves dealing with at least one recession and if they haven't already been layed off, they consider themselves fortunate to have a job. When things get better and they ask for something in return for all their sacrifices, they then begin to realize things aren't going the way they want them to go with their second employer.

At this point, they try and find a third place to work. Perhaps they even decide to give contracting a try and at least be compensated for their massive overtime and sacrifice.

They get their third job out of college and continue giving it their all, sacrificing social life and many other things. By now, they are highly skilled in a narrowly defined area. They hear of new technologies that present major threats to their industry but because their employers provide no training along the way and because they've been working their @asses off ever since graduation, they haven't been able to keep current. By now, it's time for them to experience their second or third recession.

They probably got through their first recession ok since they were young and just the old "deadwood" was being cleaned out of their company. However, they now grow anxious as they realize striking similarities between themselves and those they considered to be "old deadwood" 10 or 15 years earlier. As supervisors now try to say things to them that 10-15 years previously they naively took to mean they were on a career fast track, they now react with indifference or even cynicism. At some point in the not too distant future, the corporate grim reaper will come for them. In the aftermath, they will do some serious soul searching to determine whether at the age of 40, they should continue or exit the profession, start over and find something else to do.

11 posted on 03/04/2006 6:20:44 PM PST by fso301
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To: VastRWCon
"42 here and been in the business for 20 years, I learned more in last 2 years than I have in the the last 5 years (technology changes), given that plus my 20 Years experience in what I do best, I am what US companies need and want."

Don't believe it. Wait 'til you hit 50. "They" will be looking for any excuse to "move you out" because you are "too expensive" and "not up on current technology". Then they'll replace you with a new hire straight out of college.

I watched it happen to a vast number of highly qualfied chemists back in the early 1990's when the chemical companies de-emphasized R&D.

12 posted on 03/04/2006 6:24:22 PM PST by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel)
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To: Paladin2

"I wouldn't recommend a career in tech these days."


After 20+ years in the biz, I wouldn't, either. I am about to leave the industry because it is all down hill from here; pay, respect, necessity, etc. I am at the top of the game right now and have skills second to none, but less and less are those skills needed by the lousy designs accepted by the industry and its users.


13 posted on 03/04/2006 6:25:42 PM PST by CodeToad
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To: 2Jim_Brown
I will believe it when I see it, I quit my last job in disgust after half my team was fired. They cut those who were the most experienced and highly paid or collected the most under the performance bonuses system that was in place.

The performance of those who were fired was not a consideration, only their compensation. The HR bimbos wielding the axe were too stupid. It was just easier to reach their target by firing 20 people making $100,000 than 60 people making $30,000

Get the prima-donna disconnected CEO's out at the top and the useless HR bimbos out at the bottom and maybe I will be a little more optimistic.

14 posted on 03/04/2006 6:28:58 PM PST by Energy Alley
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no problem, my daughter will be out of her ($9000 yr) high school which see starts next year and well college thats what a second mortage if for, once she gets her education the rest doesnt matter. You see, an education they cant take away ever, no matter how fudged up this country gets, once you have an education its up to you to survive on it. As far as me, I can live off of macoroni and cheese and rice. I could live in a tent if I had to, my goal is above.


15 posted on 03/04/2006 6:33:56 PM PST by VastRWCon
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To: 2Jim_Brown

My husband isn't at the senior manager level, but he works in the tech industry.

Last year, he *finally* got hired into his company after working 2.5 years as a contractor. We also have a friend who got laid off from his job and is struggling to find another position in the industry. He's going from contract job to contract job because employers aren't interested in hiring someone in if they can get someone else to pay for the benefits. And they don't want to be locked into a person if it turns out that they aren't the right fit for the company.

I think that the idea of retaining employees is becoming a thing of the past. It's all about how to save a dollar.


16 posted on 03/04/2006 6:40:29 PM PST by kcbc2001
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To: sine_nomine

You've got MAIL!


17 posted on 03/04/2006 6:41:00 PM PST by Randy Larsen (I BELIEVE CONGRESSMAN WELDON!!!)
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To: 2Jim_Brown
I'm turning 50 in August. I normally work 60 to 70 hours each week. My company has no mandated retirement age. There are lots of people working into their 70's around my office. Finding people with clearances and the right skills sets is difficult. We've added some young kids in their 20's to our staff. Hopefully we can train them to be able to handle the same level of work that we perform over the next 15 to 20 years.

My "kids" are all over 18 now. I don't have the same distractions as younger people with school age or younger kids. Thirty years of experience allows me to solve problems very rapidly. I make a point of recruiting new members of the staff to learn those special skills so they will be able to take on that part of the workload in the future. The average college grad arrives with a little book learning and little practical experience. It takes time to develop that potential into a reliable core member of the organization.

18 posted on 03/04/2006 6:45:38 PM PST by Myrddin
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To: qam1; ItsOurTimeNow; PresbyRev; tortoise; Fraulein; StoneColdGOP; Clemenza; malakhi; m18436572; ...
Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.  

19 posted on 03/04/2006 6:49:30 PM PST by qam1 (There's been a huge party. All plates and the bottles are empty, all that's left is the bill to pay)
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To: 2Jim_Brown
The aging workforce is becoming a significant concern for technology
employers in the U.S.,


Yeah, that's why the US tech sector "retired" millions of US workers
over the past five years...

The availability of workers on H1Bs and outsourced workers will keep
the tech companies more than full of warm bodies.
20 posted on 03/04/2006 6:50:42 PM PST by VOA
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