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Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Hey, Mr. Saletan, come to the reality-based community
Posted by Jill | 5:46 PM

William Saletan obviously lives in a dream world where there's no age discrimination.

My experience is that it kicks in at 40 and really starts with a vengeance at around 45. That was the age at which I interviewed at a major television network for a Web development job. The first part of the interview was with the HR guy, who asked me a number of questions about cultural phenomena obviously designed to find out how old I was. The question that finally got me branded was one about slide rules, because yes, I did use them in high school chemistry.

He then left the room to get the guys in the department, came back, and I went off with the two guys who ran the department. They spoke to me about the job for five minutes, asked if I had any questions, then took me back to the HR guy -- without even interviewing me. The HR guy, his demeanor entirely different now, said "I don't think you'd be a good fit here."

There are many of us who are north of 40 (I will turn 50 this year) who still work long hours, work hard, keep up with new technologies as required by our jobs, and are just as valuable employees as anyone else. But when we get laid off, most of us can't find work at anywhere near the same level. No one wants to hire a 50-year-old or a 60-year-old when for far less money they can get a 23-year-old who they can delude themselves will stay for 30 years.

So why guys like William Saletan are still claiming that people can now work until they're 70, I have no idea, unless they live in the same fantasy world that the Bushistas live in. Oh, they CAN work, but one can only work for as long as someone is willing to hire you...even as a consultant.
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