7 ms·

Because most of us are middle aged with mortgages, kids etc. Not old enough to retire and live off of savings or 401ks, not young enough to start all over again

Because most of us are middle aged with mortgages, kids etc. Not old enough to retire and live off of savings or 401ks, not young enough to start all over again.

chasd00 1mo ago
This is me, if i can keep the train on the tracks for 10 more years I'll be able to stop dancing, collect my tips, and finally get off the stage. I'll be 60 then and may open a coffee shop idk yet.
johnnyanmac 1mo ago
Starting over isn't worth it anyway. Entry level is being hosed the worst, so this isn't an issue you can retrain yourself out of.
- WorldMaker 1mo ago
  Yeah, unfortunately in the US economy most of the rest of the easiest directions to start over are also knowledge work and also impacted by AI layoffs and reframing. I've got 20+ years of software engineering/software development. Three or four years ago I probably could have easily taken a side step into Technical Writing (presumably at the time for a pay cut). In the current economy, in reading between the lines of so many job postings, Technical Writing jobs are also getting replaced by Claude, Gemini, GPT, Qwen, and friends. I was offered an MBA for relatively cheap, but the sort of PM/Middle Management roles that most easily opens up are also feeling pressured by AI Layoffs and seeming to disappear from the job market. Even "relatively cheap MBA" doesn't at the moment look worth the opportunity cost. Of the suggestions from friends and acquaintances, the one that would have sounded bizarre to me four years ago that somehow sounds like one of the most viable suggestions I've heard is applying to Law School and getting a JD. That doesn't sound like a great use of my time either, and I do still have a mortgage to pay (even if no kids to worry about) if I did go back to school, but suddenly in this economy it sounds like one of the more useful suggestions I've heard in recent months since my last layoff.

Because most of us are middle aged with mortgages, kids etc. Not old enough to retire and live off of savings or 401ks, not young enough to start all over again.

chasd00 1mo ago

This is me, if i can keep the train on the tracks for 10 more years I'll be able to stop dancing, collect my tips, and finally get off the stage. I'll be 60 then and may open a coffee shop idk yet.

johnnyanmac 1mo ago

Starting over isn't worth it anyway. Entry level is being hosed the worst, so this isn't an issue you can retrain yourself out of.

WorldMaker 1mo ago
Yeah, unfortunately in the US economy most of the rest of the easiest directions to start over are also knowledge work and also impacted by AI layoffs and reframing. I've got 20+ years of software engineering/software development. Three or four years ago I probably could have easily taken a side step into Technical Writing (presumably at the time for a pay cut). In the current economy, in reading between the lines of so many job postings, Technical Writing jobs are also getting replaced by Claude, Gemini, GPT, Qwen, and friends. I was offered an MBA for relatively cheap, but the sort of PM/Middle Management roles that most easily opens up are also feeling pressured by AI Layoffs and seeming to disappear from the job market. Even "relatively cheap MBA" doesn't at the moment look worth the opportunity cost. Of the suggestions from friends and acquaintances, the one that would have sounded bizarre to me four years ago that somehow sounds like one of the most viable suggestions I've heard is applying to Law School and getting a JD. That doesn't sound like a great use of my time either, and I do still have a mortgage to pay (even if no kids to worry about) if I did go back to school, but suddenly in this economy it sounds like one of the more useful suggestions I've heard in recent months since my last layoff.