Too Good to Fire, Too Old to Hire, Too Young to Retire

I find a disturbingly common situation amongst my cohort in the Information Technology realm: they feel stuck in their current job. As is typical with people who feel stuck in their job, they are not as productive as they should be--or as pleasant to be around as they used to be.

Part of this feeling comes from the current economic downturn, but a large part of it was present even during the heady boom times. That large part seems to be professional equivalent of the French idea of "a woman of a certain age." Women of a certain age are desirable, but with an expiration date. These professionals feel that they are required in their jobs, but only for the present.

Why are so many good and very good programmers and sys admins and db admins I know are languishing in limbo, unmotivated by their current job but unable or unwilling to find another job? I would characterize their plight this way:

• I'm too good to fire
• I'm too old to hire
• I'm too young to retire

Too Good To Fire

From the dawn of the business computer era, non-IT people have lived in fear of what would happen if the computer guru quit, taking all his (it was always a man) experience and special knowledge with him.

In or around 1968, I was a young lad interested in computers. Soon after the dawn of computers, I was saving my first programs onto paper tape in a closet at school, dreaming of some day saving my programs to mylar tape. Trying to be supportive of my unfortunate interest (wouldn't I be happier as a doctor or a lawyer?), my mother brought me into her place of work to meet the "the computer guy" (TCG).

It was obvious that at least that TCG in that organziation was regarded as strange and as a necessary evil. They would have liked to fire him, but they could not afford to lose him. My mother recounted in tones of awe that TCG had a light next to his bed in hist apartment across town that alerted him to problems with The Machine, the might mainframe computer. She was impressed with his dedication but also repelled by his lack of boundaries. This was and is a typical response to TCGs the world over. Hence "too good to fire" because it captures both the "we need him" and "we wish he were not here" aspects of many information technology jobs.

Over time, I have come to see that TCG as an archetype: a middle-aged man who is one or two technology waves behind the times, who is still critical to current operations but not part of future planning. He can see only an endless treadmill of doing exactly what he is doing now until he either drops dead in his office, makes it to retirement, or is made obsolete by some technology shift. What a waste: experience and talent turning into sullen bitterness.


Too Old To Hire 

Why doesn't  TCG just go find another job, in a place more congenial to tech types in general, or to him in particular? That is a good question and one that I have asked various TCGs over the years. The answer is usually "no one will hire me. I've looked."

Is this self-pitying drivel, a reflection of TCG's personality issues, or a prevailing prejudice? I suspect that it is that last one. If you are TCG and you are looking for a new job at a new company, I believe that you have two choices: either the tech-oriented nirvanas such as Google, Apple, Amazon or Microsoft or a tech-oriented division of non-tech company.

(In theory, TCG could start or join a start-up, but that is a rather rarified nitch and requires many more personal resources than being a computer guy requires. However, these days, every TCG seems to be an embittered potential entrepreneur: "I could have started Twitter/Facebook/YouTube.")

The first category is only open to the best techs, since there are more applicants than there are jobs. TCG may be the best {fill-in-the-blank} you have ever met, but he might not be great as compared to our entire industry.

The second category really does seem to have a barrier to entry, a distinct ageism. A tragically common theme in our business is that young hirees are best because:

• they know the new and/or current technology
• they don't cost as much
• they are more adaptable

All this is more-or-less true. But is this collection of truisms relevant? Is the sum total of these factors powerful enough to outweigh institutional knowledge, domain expertise or experience? Sometimes, perhaps. But usually? I hope not, or it's Logan's Run for us all. Remember: all it takes to turn today's bright-eyed, cheerful recent grad into TCG is the passage time. Someday, you too will be in that position, unless you quit or die first.


Too Young to Retire

Sadly, TCG is often too young to retire, and that seems to be his only option. The commonly expected arc of a career seems to be this:

1. get hired as a bright young current IT footsoldier
2. get even better with real-world experience
3. consider management
1. if "no" to managemet likely stall as you are pigeon holed in what used to be current tech
2. if yes to management, get promoted to team leader
3. possibly get promoted to area supervisor
4. possibly get promoted to manager,
5. possibly get promoted to VP

Note that your choices are often to stagnate or get ever farther from your core competence.

Note that if you were a "people person" you quite likely would not have started slinging code in the first place. So you are stuck with some unappetizing choices:

• Limbo
• Being a manager even if you don't like dealing with people

Many of these guys can't imagine moving into management, so they think of themselves as "too young to retire" which seems to be a cute way of saying "stuck in a job I hate but feel I cannot leave."


What Does This Mean To Me?

So now that you have read this far, you may be wondering what the point of this diatribe is. Here is the context-specific point:

To the co-workers of poor old TCG, I say this: remember that his sour puss may have more to do with being stuck than with being a misanthrope.  More importantly, you are going to be hard-pressed to find a stick that will motivate TCG: his life already sucks. Try to find carrots instead, such as interesting small projects or chocolate or whatever it is that is safe, legal and appealing to TCG.

To the managers of TCG, I say this: you are probably kidding yourself if you think that TCG doesn't know that you plan to jettison him as soon as you can. You might find that sending him to training and showing other interest in his future is a better way to motivate him than pretending that you value him while counting the days until you can retire the system and fire TCG.

To TCG I say: find an interest in the future, even if you feel stuck. Without an interest in the future, you will end up bitter, hard to get along with and unhappy. Either embrace what you see coming or find another track or work your network to see if there is anything out there for you. Even false hope is better than despair.