O’Connor without a clear next step, a higher-up put him in a
management position, but it wasn’t to O’Connor’s liking. “Super-
vision is not my thing. Over the course of my career, I have not
been happy with it,” he says. “Any time I could get out of it, I did.
I do so much better as a programmer/analyst.”
So he talked his way into a job on the Windows client-server
side of the house, supporting the city’s Tidemark Permit Plan
system for people in various departments using SQL Server and
Crystal Reports — a job he now loves. “It was totally alien to me. I
had to figure out what in the world I was doing,” O’Connor recalls.
“I’m sure there was some apprehension on the part of my
manager that I was being dumped on them, but as it turns out,
he has been more or less pleased,” he says.
Loyal No More
If high-tech watchers and older workers agree on anything, it’s
that the onus is squarely on IT employees to keep themselves
current and capable. They shouldn’t expect the industry to
behave as if it owes them anything.
Traditional loyalty has disappeared on both sides over the past
30 years — companies in general are no longer paternalistic, and
workers don’t think twice about jumping ship when they get a
better offer. Still, there are some glimmers of hope for an under-
standing between older workers and hiring companies. Michael
T. Abbene, who in 2009 retired as CIO from St. Louis-based Arch
Coal, says “companies still have a responsibility to make training
available and encourage people to update their skills.”
And on the corporate side, there are operational reasons for com-
panies to consider retaining their older workers. “There is a need for
institutional memory, even in a fast-moving field,” Abbene argues.
U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, 2009-2010
25-54 yrs.
2009 2010
55+ yrs.
2009 2010
All ( 16+)
2009 2010
Total population
8. 2
8. 5
6. 5
7.0
8. 6
8. 9
All professional
All computer and math
Architecture and engineering
Life, physical, and social sciences
Community and social service
Legal
Education, training, library
Health
Arts, entertainment, sports, media
4. 2
5. 1
6. 2
4. 3
3. 8
3. 6
3. 8
2. 3
8.0
4. 1
4. 5
5. 2
4. 2
4. 7
2. 7
4. 1
2. 3
8. 1
4. 3
6.0
9. 9
4.0
4. 3
2. 8
3. 7
2. 1
7. 4
4. 6
8. 4
9. 4
5. 5
2. 9
2. 3
3. 6
2. 7
8. 4
4. 4
5. 2
6. 9
4. 5
4. 3
3. 4
4. 1
2. 3
8. 4
4. 5
5. 2
6. 2
4. 6
4. 6
2. 7
4. 2
2. 5
8. 9
Male all
Male professional
Male computer and math
9. 1
4. 5
5. 1
9. 2
4. 3
4. 3
7.0
4. 6
4. 9
7. 7
5. 1
8.0
9. 7
4. 8
5. 1
9. 8
4. 9
5. 1
Female all
Female professional
Female computer and math
7.0
4.0
5. 2
7. 6
4.0
5. 1
6.0
4. 1
8. 9
6. 2
4. 1
9. 4
7. 4
4. 2
5. 7
7. 9
4. 2
5. 7
NO TES: RATES ARE PERCEN TAGE OF TOTAL WORKERS IN EACH CATEGORY. DATA COMES FROM THE FEDERAL CURREN T POPULATION SURVE Y OF ABOU T 50,000 U. S. HOUSEHOLDS
CONDUC TED MONTHLY. MARGIN OF ERROR FOR THESE DEMOGRAPHIC SLICES WAS UNAVAILABLE. WORKERS ARE COUN TED IN A PROFESSION’S UNEMPLO YMEN T POOL ONLY IF THEIR
PREVIOUS JOB WAS IN THAT FIELD AND IF THEY’VE BEEN IN THE WORKFORCE WITHIN THE PAST FEW YEARS, THUS FACTORING OUT BOTH NEW GRADUATES AND THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN
OU T OF THE WORKFORCE FOR SOME TIME.
