7 ms·

>He was nearing the bottom financially. “I’ve gone through my savings. I’ve gone through my 401(k). My unemployment last check is next week. I have about $2,000

>He was nearing the bottom financially. “I’ve gone through my savings. I’ve gone through my 401(k). My unemployment last check is next week. I have about $2,000 to my name, and after that, I don’t know.” I don't mean to be callous but as he was spending down his 401k why didn't he get a lower level job somewhere? A lot of this story seems to be about an older man in tech that was too prideful to get any job he could get until he found work at the caste level he was accustomed to in the past.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
jpindar 8y ago
If he tried, they'd just reject him for being overqualified.
- war1025 8y ago
  There are plenty of jobs where the bar you have to clear is "shows up on time and isn't strung out on drugs". Don't even need a resume for them.
  - jpindar 8y ago
    They still make you fill out an application listing your past jobs.
    - loco5niner 8y ago
      And as long as he "shows up on time and isn't strung out on drugs", he can still get hired and stay employed.
      - Aeolun 8y ago
        Not as long as there’s 26 year old less qualified people applying for the same position.
        loco5niner 8y ago
        There certainly are. Still, plenty of jobs. Just move on to the next one.
- loco5niner 8y ago
  He doesn't have to tell them how qualified he is. He could be a waiter, or work at a grocery store.
  - Broken_Hippo 8y ago
    It doesn't matter: You still need to write down your job history. If your history includes well-paid jobs that you either need degrees or expertise for, it isn't a stretch to guess how qualified one is. Even for grocery stores, gas stations, and the like. Even if you do not write down the salaries you've made. You could leave that stuff off, but then you also are lying on the application and will be expected to explain the lack of job history.
    - loco5niner 8y ago
      Sure, put the job history out there if asked. No need to lie. It's easily explained by the truth: "I'm changing careers", "The job market is tough", "I've always loved acting", etc... Heck, before I got married I thought it would be fun to be a waiter at my favorite restaurant a couple nights a week. Meet people, work on my people skills, good food, occupy some time without getting myself into trouble...
      - ip26 8y ago
        I thought it would be fun... And did that actually happen? Or did you just think it.
        loco5niner 8y ago
        I just thought it. And was young.
      - Broken_Hippo 8y ago
        "It's easily explained by the truth: "I'm changing careers", "The job market is tough", "I've always loved acting", etc..." Here is the thing: This sort of thing doesn't help much. I knew a dude that was told to his face, multiple times, that they didn't think he'd be happy making the money the place was offering and that they thought he'd be unhappy in a low position. The result was not getting a job. It didn't matter what he said. He simply needed a job. The money didn't matter so much because him and his wife downsized and owned a house and car, but he still needed a little income. He really didn't want the stress of management. No job. It doesn't matter what the truth is if it doesn't get past the filters of the person hiring. And that is if you even get to the interview portion where you can explain that sort of thing. Online applications for low-paying jobs are pretty basic. (of course, so were the paper ones they were replacing).
- ken 8y ago
  Does this actually happen? I went from software development to a much lower paying field, and nobody looking at my resume or interviewing me ever suggested that "over-qualification" might be a problem for me. All they wanted to know is if I could do the job.
Broken_Hippo 8y ago
As the other poster said, it is hard when your last jobs meant you were overqualified. These aren't things you can simply leave off your application without absolutely lying. What else are you going to put down for job history other than your job history? If you are doing a job that either requires a degree or expertise, it doesn't matter if you put down your salary or why you want the job. I knew a dude that wanted a simple job. His wife and him had downsized their house, had no car/house payment, and a basic, stress-free job was enough. He was told by a few companies just didn't think he'd be happy at the wages they were paying and refused to hire him. This was despite explaining that he just wanted to do a job without the stress and go home. This was despite explaining he didn't need as much money now as his needs were less. It did not matter. Now, eventually he got a job or two. One he couldn't stay at, since the gas station had no system in place for actual breaks, he wasn't allowed to eat at the register around customers, and he was diabetic and needed regular snacks. Another eventually worked out for a while.
- rifung 8y ago
  > As the other poster said, it is hard when your last jobs meant you were overqualified. These aren't things you can simply leave off your application without absolutely lying. Is this really lying? And I guess more importantly is that even ethically wrong? I think it's one thing to say you did things that you didn't do but it's another to not list everything that you have done. I'll fully admit that I do this. I had a job I was fired from after 3 months after failing their "trial period" and another that I quit after a couple months. I leave both off my resume because it doesn't add anything.
  - pessimizer 8y ago
    Leaving insignificant jobs like those off your resume is substantially different than leaving a job you spent five years working, at a major company, in a senior position, off your resume.
    - Aeolun 8y ago
      Or having a blank resume at 50. But really, if you are at a balance of zero, why wouldn’t you fake a resume. What do you have to lose?
albertgoeswoof 8y ago
It’s really hard to swallow your pride - he was a senior manager previously and probably saw himself as continuing down that path. Would you go back and be an intern now if you were qualified for and only one good interview away from a top job?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
papito 8y ago
I think all of us have to think about this, and be ready for it. I imagine after 55, I might have to exit the industry and work some menial job to not blow my 401K. But in the meantime, plan your life accordingly. Pad your 401K, pad your Roth IRA. No one is coming to save you. For younger people, this is even more dire, as the safety net will quickly deteriorate over the next few decades. I would imagine if you really keep up and keep your skills fresh, and you are a good engineer, you can probably find a job maintaining some crap legacy software that no one wants to touch. It's not glamorous, but it will still pay the rent.
- sjg007 8y ago
  Well people could vote.. and vote for people who won’t cut safety nets.
blinkingled 8y ago
What about the divorce? Aren't you required to keep paying your alimony at the same level as before or go to jail? I am no divorce settlement expert but isn't that a reason one would want to keep up the earning levels?
- sjg007 8y ago
  Depends. But you can get the court orders re-examined. One issue is the lawyer fees though.
- cheez 8y ago
  Jail might have been better for this guy. 3 squares, tv, shelter.
  - blinkingled 8y ago
    Except for that pesky pride part.
- kamaal 8y ago
  Better jail- where you get shelter, get fed thrice a day, television. Than work yourself to death to pay for a sour relationship years back, all while the lady sips margarita at the beach while work your hands to paralysis.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

jpindar 8y ago

If he tried, they'd just reject him for being overqualified.

war1025 8y ago
There are plenty of jobs where the bar you have to clear is "shows up on time and isn't strung out on drugs". Don't even need a resume for them.
- jpindar 8y ago
  They still make you fill out an application listing your past jobs.
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    And as long as he "shows up on time and isn't strung out on drugs", he can still get hired and stay employed.
    - Aeolun 8y ago
      Not as long as there’s 26 year old less qualified people applying for the same position.
      - loco5niner 8y ago
        There certainly are. Still, plenty of jobs. Just move on to the next one.
loco5niner 8y ago
He doesn't have to tell them how qualified he is. He could be a waiter, or work at a grocery store.
- Broken_Hippo 8y ago
  It doesn't matter: You still need to write down your job history. If your history includes well-paid jobs that you either need degrees or expertise for, it isn't a stretch to guess how qualified one is. Even for grocery stores, gas stations, and the like. Even if you do not write down the salaries you've made. You could leave that stuff off, but then you also are lying on the application and will be expected to explain the lack of job history.
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    Sure, put the job history out there if asked. No need to lie. It's easily explained by the truth: "I'm changing careers", "The job market is tough", "I've always loved acting", etc... Heck, before I got married I thought it would be fun to be a waiter at my favorite restaurant a couple nights a week. Meet people, work on my people skills, good food, occupy some time without getting myself into trouble...
    - ip26 8y ago
      I thought it would be fun... And did that actually happen? Or did you just think it.
      - loco5niner 8y ago
        I just thought it. And was young.
    - Broken_Hippo 8y ago
      "It's easily explained by the truth: "I'm changing careers", "The job market is tough", "I've always loved acting", etc..." Here is the thing: This sort of thing doesn't help much. I knew a dude that was told to his face, multiple times, that they didn't think he'd be happy making the money the place was offering and that they thought he'd be unhappy in a low position. The result was not getting a job. It didn't matter what he said. He simply needed a job. The money didn't matter so much because him and his wife downsized and owned a house and car, but he still needed a little income. He really didn't want the stress of management. No job. It doesn't matter what the truth is if it doesn't get past the filters of the person hiring. And that is if you even get to the interview portion where you can explain that sort of thing. Online applications for low-paying jobs are pretty basic. (of course, so were the paper ones they were replacing).
ken 8y ago
Does this actually happen? I went from software development to a much lower paying field, and nobody looking at my resume or interviewing me ever suggested that "over-qualification" might be a problem for me. All they wanted to know is if I could do the job.

Broken_Hippo 8y ago

As the other poster said, it is hard when your last jobs meant you were overqualified. These aren't things you can simply leave off your application without absolutely lying. What else are you going to put down for job history other than your job history? If you are doing a job that either requires a degree or expertise, it doesn't matter if you put down your salary or why you want the job. I knew a dude that wanted a simple job. His wife and him had downsized their house, had no car/house payment, and a basic, stress-free job was enough. He was told by a few companies just didn't think he'd be happy at the wages they were paying and refused to hire him. This was despite explaining that he just wanted to do a job without the stress and go home. This was despite explaining he didn't need as much money now as his needs were less. It did not matter. Now, eventually he got a job or two. One he couldn't stay at, since the gas station had no system in place for actual breaks, he wasn't allowed to eat at the register around customers, and he was diabetic and needed regular snacks. Another eventually worked out for a while.

rifung 8y ago
> As the other poster said, it is hard when your last jobs meant you were overqualified. These aren't things you can simply leave off your application without absolutely lying. Is this really lying? And I guess more importantly is that even ethically wrong? I think it's one thing to say you did things that you didn't do but it's another to not list everything that you have done. I'll fully admit that I do this. I had a job I was fired from after 3 months after failing their "trial period" and another that I quit after a couple months. I leave both off my resume because it doesn't add anything.
- pessimizer 8y ago
  Leaving insignificant jobs like those off your resume is substantially different than leaving a job you spent five years working, at a major company, in a senior position, off your resume.
  - Aeolun 8y ago
    Or having a blank resume at 50. But really, if you are at a balance of zero, why wouldn’t you fake a resume. What do you have to lose?

albertgoeswoof 8y ago

It’s really hard to swallow your pride - he was a senior manager previously and probably saw himself as continuing down that path. Would you go back and be an intern now if you were qualified for and only one good interview away from a top job?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

papito 8y ago

I think all of us have to think about this, and be ready for it. I imagine after 55, I might have to exit the industry and work some menial job to not blow my 401K. But in the meantime, plan your life accordingly. Pad your 401K, pad your Roth IRA. No one is coming to save you. For younger people, this is even more dire, as the safety net will quickly deteriorate over the next few decades. I would imagine if you really keep up and keep your skills fresh, and you are a good engineer, you can probably find a job maintaining some crap legacy software that no one wants to touch. It's not glamorous, but it will still pay the rent.

sjg007 8y ago
Well people could vote.. and vote for people who won’t cut safety nets.

blinkingled 8y ago

What about the divorce? Aren't you required to keep paying your alimony at the same level as before or go to jail? I am no divorce settlement expert but isn't that a reason one would want to keep up the earning levels?

sjg007 8y ago
Depends. But you can get the court orders re-examined. One issue is the lawyer fees though.
cheez 8y ago
Jail might have been better for this guy. 3 squares, tv, shelter.
- blinkingled 8y ago
  Except for that pesky pride part.
kamaal 8y ago
Better jail- where you get shelter, get fed thrice a day, television. Than work yourself to death to pay for a sour relationship years back, all while the lady sips margarita at the beach while work your hands to paralysis.