[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Samurai

7 Essential Qualities

• Risk taking
• Drive and resilience
• Original thinking
• The ability to visualize the future
• Team building
• Being an active communicator
• The ability to catalyze others to action

Sometimes the future actually lies in the past. Sorry if that sounds like the plot summary for Avengers 4.
Other than the technology used (which is admittedly a major chunk), the buying habits can be usually attributed to human tendencies of hoarding and showoff. I hear that most sales pitches are anyway based on fear. Fear of losing out on deals for example.

Originally Posted by androdev

As long as you can think and build a product that the market needs (market-fit is the most difficult part), you have no particular disadvantage compared to any other entrepreneur.

The right product at the right price will always attract buyers. I think the challenge would be in how to remain competitive by creating a USP for your product/ service as against those offered by competitors.

[bluevolt]

It was quite demotivating to read the thread for me as an IT professional having less than 5 years of experience.

From what I have gathered, almost all profiles are in the same fate. Programmers, BAs, Managers all are vulnerable once you are in your 40s. And it's not all about IT, all other sectors are facing this issue. I just read the news where Jet Airways is asking some of its executives, ground staff and even pilots to leave! Now every private job is vulnerable, you will find doctors, pilots complaining about the vulnerabilities of the job in their respective industries.

We have talked about problem in greater detail but I can not find something concrete on the solution. While it is true that it may not happen to everyone, but with changing dynamics it is better to be prepared for dealing with such challenges in the most productive way.

To be honest, I never felt so gloomy reading a thread on Team-BHP.

I know it sounds difficult, but please cheer up guys and help/guide people like me who have spent entire savings of their parents in completing education and then taking IT as their career!

PS - I don't want to start preparing for government exams by reading all this!

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

It was quite demotivating to read the thread for me as an IT professional having less than 5 years of experience. To be honest, I never felt so gloomy reading a thread on Team-BHP.

Eh, don't feel gloomy. You've got years ahead of you, and forewarned is forearmed.

Ensure you have a healthy savings plan, don't commit to lengthy EMI stints (e.g. fancy apartments, keep it simple), and don't assume that you'll be in an IT career until you're 60. You'll do just fine.

Be grateful that you've got this eye-opening warning this early.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Eh, don't feel gloomy. You've got years ahead of you, and forewarned is forearmed.

Looking at the picture in this thread and owing to my future planning, I have finally secured a job in sales leadership position with a conglomerate. Hoping that when I turn 40; my experience of demographics, consumer behavior and sales strategies will turn me into a valuable asset and not an expense.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

It was quite demotivating to read the thread for me as ...

From what I have gathered, almost all profiles are in the same fate.
.
And it's not all about IT, all other sectors are facing this issue.
.


To be honest, I never felt so gloomy reading a thread on Team-BHP.

PS - I don't want to start preparing for government exams by reading all this!

True that. All profiles are going through this cycle. And there are more challenges than that too. AI for that matter. I have seen a few very basic but high headcount (low cost) processes getting shut down, thanks to AI in Finance & Accounts in a couple of Captive BPO's.
Once there is an example of a successful implementation, there's no looking back. More and more companies will join the AI bandwagon to reduce cost and increase quality. Which means more and more people out of jobs, and most vulnerable being those in their 40's.
AI has started with taking over basic stuff but it wont take time to catch up with some complex things as well. And there's really nothing too complex in the accounting domain, if you leave out the audit, finalization and reporting.

And what arunphilip said is correct. You are still young and you have been forewarned already.
There are people like me in the mid-level management and almost touching 40, and at this stage we have to start facing the challenge of AI, when we already have LT commitments in loan EMI's, Growing education costs of children, etc etc.

Dont feel gloomy. Being so young, if you feel so already, what should a person like me feel then?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

It was quite demotivating to read the thread for me as an IT professional having less than 5 years of experience.

Hey not at all, you're actually in a much better position than us folks who are discussing their issues here. Profiles such as yours are in greater demand than our 'more experienced' ones. Your most productive years are ahead of you. The industry will correct, a lot of dead weight will be shed, but younger folks can benefit.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Ensure you have a healthy savings plan, don't commit to lengthy EMI stints (e.g. fancy apartments, keep it simple), and don't assume that you'll be in an IT career until you're 60. You'll do just fine.

Be grateful that you've got this eye-opening warning this early.

Can't get better advice than this!

[ampere]

The biggest point I think being missed out, is that stalling of the learning curve, the moment we come out of education. The more its alive through the years, the more one can offer to the company even at later ages. Apart from the skills needed, the differentiation comes from the breadth, foresight and leadership and reliability which one would have built over the years. If thats not the case and N years of execution excellence is all one can offer, then surely one is bringing less to the table.

Please note, with years behind, the learning curve stalls and also one has diverse interests and priorities in life. But one still should have the zest to get up and look forward to another day in office to try out that new thing (not just to keep the job, but the true interest in one). And hence to counter the stalling of learning curve, one needs to put that much more effort for the same understanding, as one could have gotten earlier in life.

Yes, its true most look at jobs as a means to a livelihood, but I truly believe one needs to go far beyond that to make a meaning out of that exercise.

[nrahul]

This is not limited to India, the age discrimination in IT is quite common in most countries. Take a look at this heart-wrenching article from NY https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/n...-new-york.html.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by nrahul

This is not limited to India, the age discrimination in IT is quite common in most countries. Take a look at this heart-wrenching article from NY https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/n...-new-york.html.

Morbid to say the least. Jobs are such a ....hostage situation.

Everyone trying to figure out ways to stay employed, I have advice for you. Everything you do centered around YOUR job is only a vicious circle that you can never exit. Start planning for exigencies beyond your job, cut wasteful expenditure right now, get rid of things you dont need, stop buying new things, identify retirement homes in a village in your home town where your great grandfather once lived, do everything possible for a plan B that will allow you to exit at 24 hours notice from a high stressed, high cost, and high maintenance environment that you currently live in. Yeah and stop visiting the new car launches threads around here.

Make Plan B's for your kids and wife, sit them down and do a meeting and go over things. Breach the topic multiple times, get everyone comfortable with it. So when the time comes, its an easy move and nobody panics.

When the time comes, and the inevitable happens, you are not scurrying around in panic about a new job. Just take Plan B and get out. The man above did not have such a plan B, he stuck around in a high cost environment and burnt through all his savings. A quick trip to Thailand or India, and he would have had a gala time here and probably still alive. Many many people have done this. Maybe even start a new life with a new wife.

I repeat, your Plan B should be to leave this high cost and high maintenance environment. Once you move to an easier place to live in with sufficient funds in the bank, allow time to decide what alternative career you should undertake. Dont have to break your head about it right now. Obviously a supporting family is highly essential, hence garner that support well in advance by talking about such scenarios. They need not be doomsday scenarios, just alternatives.

The way our economy is structured is the bane of our lives. Such issues do not exist in economies like New Zealand, Scandinavian Europe, or even Canada.

Now I have two worthwhile examples:

1. one friend, his wife and his mom - all decided to beat the job curve, bought a bit of farm land on the outskirts of bangalore, quit their jobs (the wife does some content work from home), and have moved there 2 months back. They are having a good time, and living well well well within their monthly incomes. The friend is trying to become a farmer - which he does not mind turning into in about 3 years. They cut back on all expenses a year or so back and decided to work hard towards this goal as a family. This guy has no fixed investments in realty or otherwise in Bangalore.

2. Another friend (with a kid and wife) keeps telling me his job is no longer secure and will not be around a year or two from now. He has got farm land near Hosur, has already made plans to build a small house, his father in law has a proper bungalow there adjacent to that farm to house a family or two - he has no qualms getting out of Bangalore after putting all his properties on rent and therefore live in a low cost environment. He hasn't yet decided about his son's education in such a scenario, but he did mention that selling a property to fund his son's education in a hostel or something can easily be done.

[DigitalOne]

I wonder if this thread will end up as a Self-fulfilling prophecy.

IT professionals above 40, reading this thread already thinking about a Plan B. Bosses looking at IT professionals above 40, start to think of them as liabilities. Like in the movie Inception, once an idea is induced in the brain then the people will follow towards it.

Further Reading: Stereotype threat

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

I wonder if this thread will end up as a Self-fulfilling prophecy.

Might work the other way too
I have decided not to mention maximum experience requirement in job description. If skills and budget match, age shouldn't matter.

[nrahul]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Make Plan B's for your kids and wife.

Instead of considering a plan B, I'm inclined toward FIRE movement. I don't have EMIs, tracking my spending to reduce the money leaks and investing more than 60% of my post tax income.

I really like what I do but I'm less dependent on my job. The lesser dependent on the job now actually helping me more as I focus on my areas of interest and do it really well.

[Ferruccio]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Looking at the picture in this thread and owing to my future planning, I have finally secured a job in sales leadership position with a conglomerate. Hoping that when I turn 40; my experience of demographics, consumer behavior and sales strategies will turn me into a valuable asset and not an expense.

Sorry to break your lovely dream. The pyramid shape turned into a flagpole shape recently in a conglomerate that I know very well. Dozens of talented, experienced, never-missed-a-target 40+ guys are overnight now 'consultants'. Go figure!

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by Ferruccio

Dozens of talented, experienced, never-missed-a-target 40+ guys are overnight now 'consultants'. Go figure!

Enough said, preparation for IAS starts right from tomorrow

[HKap]

Almost all the suggestions that I've read point to a debt free life. As long as we're not signing up to be slaves for banks, we'll be fine. The industry trend is moving toward younger and cheaper talent. One of the problems in India is the quick rise for almost everyone in their professional life. It's almost a requirement to be promoted every 2/3 years. This leads to an overcrowded management/senior layer that is often overpaid. How do companies cut costs when there is an ever increasing pressure on margins? The easiest way is to cut this flab.

You higher a relatively junior talent at a low salary. The talent is motivated to do well and you also have the rewards (promotions) to offer him/her. 10-12 years later this talented person is going to be in the same boat as the 4x year old person that he/she replaced. This will happen unless one of two things happen

1) We slow the pace of promotions/salary increase (maybe a lower % increase instead of double digits every time)
2) We start facing problems similar to countries like Japan where the younger population is dwindling and isn't enough to support the country. This seems like a problem India will face after 2050.

Originally Posted by nrahul

This is not limited to India, the age discrimination in IT is quite common in most countries. Take a look at this heart-wrenching article from NY https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/n...-new-york.html.

Sad. Extremely sad that something created by God (a human being) had to cease to exist because of a man made system (read capitalism).

However, we are part of this system and while we may not agree with this way of life, we still have to survive and thrive in this environment. What could this person have done differently? Maybe he could have held on to one of the jobs that he quit because of seniority issues or the position being offered to him. He was 61 and he could have easily survived a few more years doing whatever he was doing at those jobs. If you consider a retirement age of 65, and assume that he would have been let go at the age of 62 or 63, they would have paid him enough by way of a severance package to almost match his income for those 2 years. We do not know how much money he burnt through in those years or what was his financial situation.

I often discuss "retirement numbers" with my friends and we've generally accepted that in 25 years time if you were to retire at the age of 60, you would be more than comfortable with about 4-5 crore in the bank/investments not including the home you live in and no debt, of course. This is the cost to survive in a city like Mumbai. If you were to move to a T2 city like say Ahmedabad then you can easily cut your living expenses by 30%. Simple math says that if you can generate about 8-10% returns on the 4-5 crore then you would have about 2 L per month to manage your expenses. Today, an average family needs about 50-60k per month to live a comfy life in a city like Mumbai, if the EMI monster has managed to stay away. I'm guessing that inflation will eventually slow down and you will be able to live a similar life in about 2 L per month in about 25 years.