Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are some traditional, conservative industries where its ok to take a "slow" career growth trajectory. i seen 50 year old, 60 year old employed as analysts (not sure if they were there whole career or what), probably just cruising and laying low until retirement. At a tech company , that probably wont fly.
There are some traditional, conservative industries where its ok to take a "slow" career growth trajectory. i seen 50 year old, 60 year old employed as analysts (not sure if they were there whole career or what), probably just cruising and laying low until retirement. At a tech company , that probably wont fly.
There's a lot of places that have 'task-oriented positions' for older employees.
My mom worked for IBM until she was over 70, doing computer programmer related tasks. She was hired there when she was well over 60.
I think in the end she made around 80K and had good benefits and was nowhere even close to having management duties.
Other task-oriented careers I can think of are MEP Engineering, structural engineering, auto insurance adjustment, tax preparation, etc...
To the OP: a LOT of companies now include Technical and Management career tracks - and both are equal to the other in terms of level and career progression. If anything, Technical track usually pays more (and requires more years of experience to qualify) than management track because it's geared for those who want to be Subject Matter Expert in their field.
This is not a new trend, as more and more companies have started to realize that not everyone wants to manage. There are those who would rather be in research lab day in and day out, or learn new technologies - and they are the ones who will help these companies to be the most cutting edge in a competitive tech world.
I suggest you talk to your boss or your HR rep to get a better idea of all the career tracks available in your company.
What advice do people have for people like myself who are not management material, and who are unable to retire early? I suspect most of the people who plan to retire early are single or at least have no kids.
This is something that seriously worries me. I am not management material. I really am worried about what career options I have available to me once I get to the point where management is expected of me. Unfortunately, as others said, employers only want very young employees in technical roles. Even if I was willing to take a pay cut down to their salary, such an option would not be made available to me.
Your in tech right? Find a company that hires senior/staff engineers. About as close as you can get to management while still being close to the work.
Around here, it's almost impossible to get a government job, since everybody wants one. Getting a government job is like winning the lottery. If you don't get one right out of college, you won't ever get one. So, that is not useful advice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by usamathman
Your in tech right? Find a company that hires senior/staff engineers. About as close as you can get to management while still being close to the work.
I'm a civil engineer. Not sure if you count that as "tech".
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
