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I became a startup founder when I lost a position at a startup because they hired a younger (cheaper) person. I have 20 years of experience with several patents
by nirvana 14y ago
I became a startup founder when I lost a position at a startup because they hired a younger (cheaper) person. I have 20 years of experience with several patents, etc. Literally we were expanding the team, I interviewed the person, he got the new position, then I was let go. Totally age discrimination, but I couldn't prove it, of course.
Even 20 years ago, Microsoft, et. al. focused on hiring kids right out of college... they're young, easy to mold, cheap, etc.
I won't say the job market is closed to you, but I think that the best power you always have comes form making something yourself. IF you have trouble getting a job in this field, building your own startup -- and I mean, a real business that sells someting to people, SaaS, or whatever business model works for you- something like patio11 -- would be making your own job.
These days we don't need the capital concentration that companies represent, you no longer need to do time as an employee. You can make your own job.
- aliguori 14y agoIf a company thought someone could do your job for less money and let you go that is not discrimination. That's a healthy labor market. They may have, mistakenly, undervalued your experience but that's a bad leadership decision, not discrimination.
- jamesjguthrie 14y agoYou can't legally be fired for that reason though.
- kragen 14y agoIn what jurisdiction? In the US, most jobs are "at will", and you can be fired from them for no reason at all. There are some reasons that are actually illegal, but I don't believe "we think we can hire someone cheaper" is among them.
- biafra 14y agoIn Germany it is not allowed to fire someone because you found someone cheaper and can be challenged in court.
- jamesjguthrie 14y agoSame in the UK. You can only be fired for disciplinary or performance reasons; or if your position has been made redundant then they must offer you another job if one is available. I'm sure it will vary in the USA in different States.
- kragen 14y agoSame here, too, but I think nirvana lived in the USA before being accepted to Startup Chile, so that was probably where he was laid off from. And I don't think it does vary significantly between states in the US.
- nirvana 14y agoThe person they hired couldn't do my job, and the company imploded pretty soon afterwards. They were simply choosing to hire inexperience cheaply rather than build a real business. I think this is a result of the fact that their primary product was stock they sold to investors.