Factoid of the day: Middle-aged free agents

Published August 13th, 2008

One-third of American men between the ages of 51 and 61 are self-employed.
(Source: NDE, citing a Boston College study)

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3 Comments

Sally Gelardin on August 13, 2008

Whether self employed or employed by others, connecting with creative people such as you make my day.
Richard Posey on August 15, 2008

That’s an interesting factoid. While I believe that real entrepreneurship drives some of that, I suspect that a high percentage of that number is driven by age discrimination and obsolete workplace skills. It gets hard to find a job at that age.

And when you can’t find a job, you have to create one.
As Albert Shapero’s studies of entrepreneurs indicated, the rejected, the refugees, and the misfits often find their place in society by running their own businesses.
Tom McKay on August 15, 2008

First, thanks for referring to us old farts as middle-aged! Music to my ears, Daniel.

Richard P is right. No question there is age discrimination at work. In my case, the last two places where I worked went belly-up, and the third was sold and closed the department I used to manage. These gentle nudges from the universe finally pushed me into self-employment, which I had craved but was too chicken to pursue.

I quickly came to the profound realization that I have a LOT more security working for myself than working for anyone else. Having 100% of my income coming from one source does not lead to sound sleep. It’s a lot easier to land a new client than a new job (especially when the interviewer is younger than your own kids!)

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