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The Collection Wed, 05 Feb 25 |
Multiple stories, multiple perspectives, one theme worth your time—every week. |
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I turn 25 next week. So when we published the results of a survey on how long subscribers think a reliable career would last these days, I was perplexed.
A huge chunk of the 550 subscribers who took the First Principles survey believe that the conventional “40-year career”—something taken for granted for decades—just isn’t possible anymore for 20-somethings entering the workforce.
The results were a wake-up call, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised.
If you look at the pieces The Ken has published on the subject over the years—most based on wide-ranging subscriber surveys—you’ll realise the writing has been on the wall for some time, evident in the precarious situation many professionals with decades of experience find themselves in.
In this week’s edition of The Collection, I sift through our archives to put the spotlight on the problems and solutions both. Because while this is a story of despondency, it’s also one of hope and opportunity.
On the wane
Even as early as 2018, the rapid shrinking of opportunities for professionals over 40 was becoming quite stark, especially in fields like tech. A generation that rode the rise of the internet, shrugged off the dot-com crash, and survived the 2008 recession was finding the advent of the automation era a far tougher nut to crack.
“Unlike a doctor or a lawyer, where years of experience is marketable, in tech it is certainly not. Somehow there is a feeling of shame associated with saying I have 25 years of experience.”
Tech companies now disregard the first 15 years of experience. They only want to know what one did in one’s last five years. And that pits the Gen Xers squarely against people with five to eight years of experience.
[…]
“40-year-olds are the hardest to train and the most expensive to have,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, founder & CEO of Greyhound Research, an advisory firm. “So they are being replaced by bots and boys, and that is scary.”
40 and outdated, May 2018, The Ken
That was over half a decade ago. Now, it’s an affliction no longer confined to tech.
“Unwilling retirees” are common across professions—people aged between 40 and 60 who work in “fractional roles” or as “part-time executives“, “consultants”, or “freelancers”. As are “unhireables”, people in senior roles in overfunded, overvalued startups who find themselves priced out of the market in the post-ZIRP era.
Nearly half of India’s 200-million-strong workforce is now over 45, and this is an expanding demographic, which means an increasing number of people are being shoved off the “traditional” career path every year.
You only have to look at the results of a career longevity survey The Ken ran in 2024 to discern the magnitude of the problem.
We wrote about the making of these “unwilling retirees” in great detail in this April 2024 feature—including the long route to irrelevance, the discrimination and disincentives built into the system, and the sectors where shortening career spans are most visible.
Why more 40-somethings are becoming ‘unwilling retirees’
With careers now lasting only 20–25 years, those in their 40s and 50s are grappling with longer job hunts, mounting stress, and financial pressure, finds The Ken’s survey
If you are thinking, “What’s the big deal? Isn’t FIRE all about retiring early?”, my colleague Anand Kalyanaraman has a reality check for you.
To quote a financial planning expert featured in Anand’s 2023 deep dive into the topic: “Less than 1% will be able to retire early. It’s not the story of the common person.”
You can retire at 40. And that’s a lie
If you have struck it rich as a high-ranking executive, an entrepreneur, or while working abroad, you may skip reading this piece
Inoculating against irrelevance
Close to 40% of the 303 people aged over 40 who took our 2024 career longevity survey believe the best way to avoid involuntary retirement is by reskilling or upskilling themselves. Taking up a variety of side gigs such as consulting and coaching also seems to be a popular choice, even if it isn’t a complete solution.
There are a few areas where the market is still quite rewarding for this age group.
In marketing, for instance, many companies are now trading in chief marketing officers for channel specialists, creating space for “fractional CMOs”.
We explored the many ways one can stay “forever employable” in this June 2024 piece.
Careers after 40: the trick to being ‘forever employable’
In a world where new companies and many new jobs are constantly emerging, unwilling retirees prove that they are far more capable than just passing the baton of knowledge
Of course, not everyone is going to be satisfied with just staying employed. As much as growing older increases the risk of being left behind, it also offers a wealth of experience that can be turned profitably towards high-value ventures—such as building a business of your own.
In an episode of First Principles, our leadership podcast, Waycool founder Karthik Jayaraman speaks specifically about starting up at 40. Jayaraman founded an agri-tech startup despite spending most of his “employed” life in the automobile sector—all because of a midlife crisis.
If you are someone with a yen for entrepreneurship, it’s a great episode worth a listen.
Please write to [email protected] if you have any thoughts or feedback on this newsletter.
See you next week!
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Rahul leads the promotion and distribution efforts for the journalism produced by The Ken. He works at the intersection of the publication's editorial and business operations.
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