It might be great for people in their 20s and 30s, maybe even 40s, but for those of us who are in the above range things are not nearly as great. I'm 53, I've been looking for a year and I still can't get an offer that would be even worth considering. It's not that other companies don't want us, it's that they want our knowledge and experience but they don't want to pay for it. This has been disheartening, to say the least. So please, stop advising people to leave. We're trying. It's just not that easy for some of us.
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Search for personal fulfillment…even if it means a single mother can’t pay her bills because she replied on your bad career advice…no chance, personal fulfillment or whatever whole term you use can and will not pay someone’s bills…but ohhh, maybe you’ll pay them for her/him…ohhh just what I thought I guess not!
We ALL have bills to pay and we ALL deserve to find a career that creates opportunities for personal/professional joy in our lives.
Hope you're serving booze at this party pity of yours!
I agree. The market is hot but so is the competition. Especially for fully remote roles. I was able to get out after literally hundreds of applications with zero response. I did it by working my network. Reach out to your professional network, friends, former employers, anyone that might help connect you to an opportunity.
I also am in my 50's I've gotten several offers and turned them down, one institution made three offers different positions when I turned them down so there are jobs out there , plus I've had other offers
@3whm+1gg2gnPV seriously, if you are a single parent with kids. Fiserv doesn't give good work/life balance. As far as career advice. You should be advancing in your career/pay at a minimum of every two yeas. In the technology field you can't let your skills lapse, because it is an evoloving field. Todays systems engineers are tomorrows DevOps engineers, or cloud architects.
If i were a single parent with kids. I would be searching for opportunities to make more money to support my family. Seriously, Fiserv, doesn't pay anywhere near the median amount for an engineer. Just look for jobs at some of the top companies in the US.
The way Fiserv swings a hatchet any single parent relying solely on Fiserv would be wise enough to be looking for cover elsewhere.
Search for personal fulfillment…even if it means a single mother can’t pay her bills because she replied on your bad career advice…no chance, personal fulfillment or whatever whole term you use can and will not pay someone’s bills…but ohhh, maybe you’ll pay them for her/him…ohhh just what I thought I guess not!
Many who left are already on their second or third jobs.
And? So what? Leaving a job for an opportunity that seems like a better fit, even if you do it multiple times, is just fine. Stop normalizing people sucking it up in a role or with a company because the grass may not be greener anywhere else. Many of us have made sacrifices to our own emotional and mental detriment, and it's really not okay. It's total BS!
Let's INSTEAD normalize and prioritize the search for personal/professional happiness and fulfillment.
It took me over a year to find a job that was the right fit. I doubled my annual salary with better benefits after working at Fiserv for 10 years. Don't be discouraged. Use the interviews as practice, and pay attention to the questions that are being asked during the interview. If you find a theme of what people are looking for. Go grab a certification to get some experience in that area.
It's not age related so much as skill gap related, I've found. I'm 54 and it only took a few weeks, but I have experience with all the latest buzzwords and cloud environments. Being 50+ and amazing at everything you do, but it's all legacy and you haven't kept current on modern cloud skills... yeah, that's a bit harder, but still doable. Keep plugging away.
Its only as good as you find it. But for some disciplines like application programming, cloud, ML - the market is very good
I'm also 50+ and having a hard time. I am one of the ones in IT that got replaced by HCL. I'm getting interviews but it stops there. The hardest part is staying positive.
That is great advice. If your next job isn't better after one switch, keep switching until you find one that is definitely better. Just look at your example. Everyone found a better job and they only had to go through a few switches. Everyone will find a better place than Fiserv eventually. Always important to keep perspective.
I am in my late 50s and I was blessed to get a job in two months. More money, better benefits, and a company with a positive culture. It was a step up -- I did not look for a lateral job.. If I had, I probably still be at Fiserv.
As we’ve been saying even if you land grass is definitely not greener. Many who left are already on their second or third jobs. That is why listening to people give horrible career advice is dangerous.
50+ here. I think it kind of depends on where you are in your career. If you've made the jump to tech management (or even just tech lead, PM, or similar) things get a lot easier overall. The key is to go for the stretch goals - shoot for senior-level tech positions, or if you're management, shoot for Director-level slots.
A couple of tips I've found:
- get out of your comfort zone. Go for the jobs that seem just a little beyond what you're capable of.
- train yourself to be quick on your feet. Most interviews (including the BS tests) are designed to get you to think fast and to improvise, but to do so in a way that makes sense for the task, and to explain what you're thinking as you go through the exercises. They don't want a perfect test result, they want to watch you work.
- have an energetic personality. Don't fake it, but put some energy into your mannerisms, attitude, and personality. An energetic 53-year-old gets a lot farther in the interview process than a laconic 30-year-old. Double points if you can do it with a bit of humor.
Don't give up. I was at Fiserv for almost 20 yrs. I got a great offer and left. I'm 59. More money, much better benefits and 100% remote. I should have done it years ago. Best of luck!