My wife and I went over the hill to Boulder last week-end to visit our daughter and some old friends (Old here refers to the length of time we’ve been friends not chronological age). My best buddy since middle school, John, is without a doubt the hardest working, most conscientious person I have ever met. He always had a job. He had a paper route as a boy. Before he could drive he was a ticket taker/usher at a movie theatre. Throughout high school he worked part time as a sacker/stocker at a grocery store. He was a dishwasher in the local hospital cafeteria. He changed jobs because he always found one with more pay. He was never fired from a job.
After high school graduation he chose not to go to college, mostly because the tab was going to be on him and he didn’t feel he could afford it. So he took full time work filling orders at a local warehouse. It was hard work, lifting and being on his feet all day, but he was young and it was good money. After a few years, he became warehouse manager. That company went out of business and John moved on. The problem John faced was that the jobs he could do were disappearing due to improved technology or being sent overseas to a cheaper labor market. About 10 years ago he found himself at age 50 without a job and without many prospects. His age was working against him. His knowledge and skills were no longer needed in this economy, or no one would pay him a living wage for them. Over the 32 year span from graduation to age 50, the economy had left John behind. Like so many 50 year olds, he couldn’t find work suited to his skills at a wage that would sustain him. Finally, he got a job driving a school bus, and thanks again to his hard work and making himself indispensable, he was promoted to dispatcher, where he serves today.
John was actually lucky because there are still a lot of 50 -60 year olds out there who have given up trying to find work and feeling they are too old to reinvent themselves. I’ve used this story with my kids to remind them that it is so important to keep advancing your skills and adapting them to where the global economy is heading. Your job may not always be around. See any encyclopedia salesmen around? How about gas station attendants? Switchboard operators? How long before stores go completely to self-checkout and human checkers are no longer needed?
I know many of you who read my blogs are retired or set in your careers, but pass this along to your kids and grandkids. The world economy changes more rapidly now than ever and you need to keep up your skills and education with what will be needed, or you might be left behind.
Mike Berry is a Registered Representative offering securities through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker/Dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisor Representative, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Legacy Wealth Management, LLC and Cambridge are not affiliated. Cambridge does not offer tax advice.
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