September 14, 2005

I should not be e-mailing at this juncture, since I have not finished the book, but the half I have read is so unexpectedly funny. I have some thoughts on it so far though; that the people you are talking about are trying to get back the same thing they have lost. In the world of corporate paper-pushing, that frequently doesn't happen. It is sometimes necessary to drop back ten and work your way back up. I know it's hard; my older brother was in this situation. He was a middle-manager who was pink-slipped when the company was sold. He ran a small business for a while, pretty successfully until he attempted an expansion that did not work and had to declare bankruptcy. He found another middle-management job for about 7 years and then was let go after a mild stroke, although his abilities were not impaired at that time. He searched diligently for another for months and finally took a sales job at Staples, whereupon he had a massive stroke and heart attack that left him disabled. He is now 67 and has been home for about four years. Oddly, he seems to enjoy not working, playing on the computer, reading, watching movies, going to physical therapy and generally enjoying his grandchildren. His wife works part-time and they both have social security and live comfortably if thriftily in a roomy 2-bedroom apartment.

What I am getting at is that maybe a lot of the people trying to get back the same types of jobs should be doing something else. The jobs that are available and well-paid are usually skill-type jobs that are more essential than occupations that involve meetings and advertising. Sometimes the best bet is to simply get re-trained in a skill in demand and go from there. Yes, I know, people have bills to pay and training takes money, but there are plenty of loans and programs and pounding the pavement for months or years looking for work does not pay bills or improve the skill picture. I was always taught that investing in oneself is never wasted; how many of the people you saw and heard from had considered that? This is not a society in which anyone is owed a job; yes, I know what it is like to lose jobs and even to get fired. I have quit jobs and gotten new ones and quit those. At 45, I went back to school on credit cards and took a degree in pharmacy. Since graduating, I have been able to call the shots for working, since pharmacy is much in demand. I don't know if you discuss that, but will be interested to see if that comes up in the rest of the book. At any rate,thanks so far for an entertaining read. I was reading over coffee in the bookstore and laughed so hard I spilled my drink and had to stop and clean up. Maybe I will get to finish tomorrow. (I also liked "Nickel and Dimed . . ." my husband and I both read that and I have given mine to family and friends.) . . . I know you must get zillions of e-mails, so if you never read this one, hope whoever screens these will let you know we REALLY like your stuff. Keep on writing . . . Sara Spector

September 14, 2005

I just finished your book this morning. It would be nice if the book would actually start enough controversy to get people talking.

I am 58 and just finished a legal assistant program at my local community college. I quit my job so I could go full time and get done more quickly. Although I attended college as a teen, I never finished. Going back was a big accomplishment for me. Law classes are not easy and I did well. However now I face the problem of getting a job. I can tell you that age discrimination is alive and well at virtually every level.

I imagine I could get a job at one of our local fast food emporia. However I have problem knees and can't stand for long periods. I sold real estate for 20+ years until I got tired of that rat race. I started looking around for a job and discovered that my real estate sales had no relevance to most employers. I was perplexed since other people I knew had been able to make the transition to other jobs. Then I remembered that they were a good bit younger.

I interviewed with MBNA. That was a treat. They had me spend over 5 hours there. I'm glad I wasn't working. At the 3rd interview of the day, a man young enough to be my son called me in. He looked very annoyed and told me he hadn't had the time to look at my resume. (That was MY fault, obviously) He then looked me straight in the eye and asked me if I thought I could learn their systems! I was astounded but replied that as long as they were Windows-based, it would be easy since they are all basically the same. He was kind of taken aback by that statement. The company called me back but I had accepted another job. I did tell the person who called me back that I got the impression that MBNA did not want someone my age. That got her sputtering and stuttering!

I can almost always tell when an interviewer thinks I'm too old. I walk into their office and they get that "deer-in-the-headlights" look. They lose their train of thought and start describing the job without asking me any questions. Of course that seems to be the way a lot of "interviewers" do it anyway.

It worries me that I won't be able to get a decent job. I'm not looking for a huge amount of money: I would leap at 30-32,000. I keep reading about how there aren't enough younger people, how older people are going to be more and more valuable. Well, I'm still waiting........

Great book. I would love to see you explore the whole age thing more in depth.

Larraine F.
Abingdon, MD

September 16, 2005

Dear Ms. Ehrenreich,

This is something I rarely do, but I felt compelled to affirm your own experiences from what I discerned about your book from the article in "USA Today". I would buy your book, if for no other reason than to affirm my own experiences, except for two things: 1) I don't have the funds to spend for it; and 2) I'm already quite aware of the problem....What I need are solutions!

I realize that the demands on your time must be great, so I'll try to keep this brief. If anything here should spark your interest, I'll be glad to answer any questions or to fill in any details you might wish to have.

I graduated cum laude with a BS degree in Business Administration and minors in math and Bible. I pretty much became a programmer/analyst on mainframe computers by accident rather than by intention. However, historically, I have been considered one of the best, most effective people in my field by employers and co-workers. The longest period, except for a few months when I attempted a career change, that I was without a job was either one or two weeks...until 1999. In my last job, apparently the last one of my career, I was contracted to work on Y2K projects, earning $50 per hour. In March, 1999, my last contract ended and there appeared to be no other mainframe positions available, either for a contractor or a permanent employee.

After 9 months of searching, I finally decided to start my own business, a franchise called PostNet, offering small business services, shipping, packaging, etc., something like Mailboxes, Etc, except that I offered a great deal more. I worked harder with longer hours than I ever had in my life, but I absolutely loved it. However, I ended up bankrupting myself before the store became profitable enough to support me.

Since that time, I took 2 or 3 years out to care for my mother until her death, but had also been looking for some kind of job with which to support myself. After my mother's death, I moved to upstate NY where my younger son was beginning his surgical residency. After a few months of searching, I finally found a job as night auditor in a motel, which I did well even though it was somewhat boring to me. It did pay the bills...barely. Then I changed to a different motel at $8 per hour, a relatively significant pay raise, but quickly learned that my takehome pay was less because I had to pay all of my insurance premium. (Since I had been recently diagnosed with a kidney disease and with medication-induced diabetes, I felt that insurance was absolutely necessary.) When I took the new job, it was with a discussion, and, I thought, agreement, that I required fulltime work. Sometime last winter, my manager cut me back to only 4 nights per week. As a result, my son, still in his residency program with limited income, has been required to assist me financially with up to $600 per month just to pay my minimum bills, but he may not be able to do that much longer, even for this month. My diet consists primarily of beans, potatoes, cornbread, etc, and I very rarely buy any food that costs over $1 per lb. I only drive to and from work, to my son's house about once a month (to pick up money, of course), don't have TV reception nor an ISP at home, though I do read a lot, getting books from the library. Virtually all of my takehome pay is spent to pay my rent and for gasoline for my car.

I have a tremendous amount of business expertise, from management to clerical work, and of course, computer skills. A few mainframe programmer/analyst jobs are beginning to open up again. But regardless of the positions I apply for, I rarely get an interview and then, when I do, I'm not hired. I'm quite aware that part of the problem is my age (I'm 59 years old), but I strongly suspect that there is something else as well, though I have yet to discover what it might be.

So that's the story of my struggle to survive financially. I'm almost ready for a bankruptcy hearing which should get creditors off my back, though I don't like doing it, but I'll still owe IRS something like $150,000 from having withdrawn all my savings and investments (IRAs) to get my business started and to help my son through medical school.

I do appreciate the research you've been doing for your books and sincerely hope that something positive results from your efforts, if not for me, then for others who come along at a later time.

And DO have a GREAT weekend!

Kenny C. Rodgers

October 16, 2005

Dear Barbara,

I was just flipping channels and hit upon you speaking on CNN. I just wanted to add to the issue of downsizing and say that many of those who are downsized are also over 50. This happened to my husband who had a job with EDS in the Disaster Recovery/Business Resumption field. More than half of his team was laid off after 911 due to poor sales at EDS. There was no work for the consultants. Over the past three years my husband and I both took jobs at call centers mostly to help with health care costs. We have moved three times and downsized our possessions to what I call skeleton status. My husband applies for jobs all over the country in order to get back into the type of job he once had. He has been taking computer college classes where he works in order to keep current in that field. It seems that even when he does come close to getting something it always goes to someone younger. Even though my husband is only making a little over $10 an hour now that doesn't seem to matter. He no longer asks for a large salary. He doesn't bring up money at all at this point. He has read through and had his resume changed and updated but that doesn't help. Those doing the hiring seem to have the idea that he is over qualified and perhaps over 50 which make him unmarketable. It has been very hard for us both but especially him. Going from a 6 figure job to a $10 an hour job is hard on the ego as you can imagine. I'm proud of him for being humble enough to accept a low paying job just to pay the bills and have health care. Not many men would have that good an attitude. If only those who are hiring knew what great work ethics and good attitude as well as honed skills they are missing by not hiring my husband.

I plan to buy your book (when we get some money) : ) and hope you continue to find ways to keep the word out there.

I also agree with your assessment that many of the most knowledgeable people have been laid off and those who are left are stressed and do not have the skills that their predecessors had. I believe big business has hurt themselves a lot by letting those who REALLY know their jobs be replaces by those who know little to nothing about what they could be in for. Thirty two years of business, computer and disaster recovery skills are presently answering phone calls for the post office for those buying stamps. Sad, huh?

Thanks again for letting others know what is truly going on in the job front.

A reader in Utah

Hello,

Thank you so much for caring about us. I am a substitute teacher. That means I have no benefits and yet have all the credentials of a regular teacher. I have been underemployed as such for eight years and looking for a regular teaching job for three and one half years since I was told to get certified, returned to college and studied education for eighteen months while unable to earn and work. I graduated "with distinction," have incredible references, oodles of experience as a summer school teacher, and additional certification for working with "at risk" kids (those expected to fail) and I have the added attribute of having seen into the classrooms of hundreds of teachers as a sub. Kids like me and I like them. The thing is I am 58 years old. I also have a master's degree which apparently isn't valued because it means I cost a bit more to hire. I am in perfect health but I have been told that health insurance costs rise based on the ages of the teachers hired. Experience is not an asset if it means one is older, I guess. So. I owe 17,000 dollars for education costs as well as major master card bills I acquired while trying to exist without a job while I did my student teaching, all for a certification that essential means I can keep the same terrible paying job without benefits as a substitute. I sub in the jail. I sub in the alternative school. I am used. Abused. What happened? The headlines read "Impending Teacher Shortage." I don't believe in anything much anymore. It's definitely a "bait and switch" environment out there.

I enjoyed your other books and articles as well. I am a socialist sympathizer. Since I live in a rural community, I am inactive politically except in the local town meetings.

This "no child left behind act " really needs to be exposed for the sham it is. Budget cuts are everywhere. Teaching is becoming all about test prep. It's so fraudulent. I can no longer encourage students to continue their education without misgivings about how they will pay for their very expensive, sometimes worthless degrees.

Thanks again.