OK, here’s the story. After working for over 35 years for a steady paycheck, I found myself on the unemployment line. My first layoff came in February 2007 when Rainbow Media, a division of Cablevision Systems let go of almost all of its IT managers in an effort to save some cash and I guess to make the shareholders happier than they were already. The first time is the hardest, after all, it’s not something your ever really prepared for. Nine months later, I finally landed an IT position with a not-for-profit close to home so all was good as my unemployment had run out three months earlier. Too bad I got blindsided once again when after only four months on the job I got axed again for “cost saving” purposes.
Who ever really knows why you get laid off, management has its reasons but are usually loathe to share them for fear of a law suit for wrongful termination. Anyway, I was back on unemployment for another four months when I landed a one year consulting job working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on a huge security project. That one ended in August 2009 in the midst of what the media was calling the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. All I can say is thank God for a Democrat in the Whitehouse as the unemployment checks lasted almost two years while I was sending out hundreds of resumes and getting few interviews and no offers.
As you’ve probably surmised from the length of my employment record, and my more formal than what passes for writing these days prose, I’m over sixty now and not exactly what most employers are looking for in a prospective employee. Age discrimination, maybe, all I know is that the economy stinks, and when faced with both a younger and older candidate, most employers choose the younger.
I was actually more fortunate than many in that my wife has a great job with benefits and I was old enough to collect early Social Security, so food, shelter and health insurance were not huge problems for our family. The big problem, was that a highly intelligent, creative human being with loads of experience in Information Technology and creative design had stopped producing and contributing to the world. If you let it, unemployment takes a severe psychological toll and creates a downward spiral which becomes all-consuming, I’ve been there and I’ve known many others who have been there as well.
This tragically common tale of woe, brings me to the point of this post, reinventing yourself. Once I finally realized that I may never again find employment in my chosen field and that I could easily live for another twenty years as one of the non-working wounded, I knew I had to take action to regain control of my life. I started by watching as many videos as I could on Lynda.com in the areas of web development, HTML, CSS, Flash, Photoshop and Illustrator. I scrapped together some cash to purchase a faster desktop PC and large LCD and worked on upgrading my design and development skills. This was rewarding in itself and gave me the purpose and direction I had lost.
With my enhanced skills I’ve landed several design and technical freelance jobs and continue working on marketing through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and old fashioned person-to-person networking. This is the most difficult part of the process as you have limited control of where and when your next assignment will materialize. However, with my new outlook on what’s possible, and lots of hard work on my part, I know that the future will present opportunities which I am now prepared to accept with an open mind and full heart.
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I admire your perseverance and flexibility. Oh, and I agree that lynda.com is very useful!
Thanks Kim. It has been a struggle but I learned that you can never give up. I owe a lot to Lynda.com.
Thank you for sharing this, it really helps to know you are not alone in this world of (as you put it) “highly intelligent, creative human being with loads of experience in Information Technology and creative design had stopped producing and contributing to the world”. Sounds like my story.
Thanks Laura. A lot of us are in the same situation. Keep on moving forward. I try to learn something everyday.
Andy, great post…very difficult for me to read. For anyone reading this post, I was fortunate to have worked for Andy. Beyond all that he contributed to the organization he was in fact a manager who cared about his employees. I’ll never forgot the moments Andy stopped and noticed times when I was struggling with the loss of my Brother in the south tower of the world trade center. Most would keep going about their business, there are deliverables to meet…times a wasting, besides who knows what to say in moments like that. Andy sat down with me, shared his own stories…showed he cared and there was comfort. How does a person of this quality get overlooked, I don’t know. As I move forward in my own career, I take with me lessons I learned from you, Andy Brown. Ones that transcend Manager and Associate, to something of value not found in every day business. Best wishes to you, and your family.
Thanks for the very kind words Mike. Those were difficult times for all of us, especially you and your family. Glad to know that I was able to bring you some measure of comfort. The suffering felt that day puts a lot of things into perspective and makes us realize that our day-to-day struggles aren’t really that bad. I’m doing what I enjoy now and things are going well. Thanks again for your reply and staying in touch.
I want to first and foremost commend you on this article which I am going to share with some friends who need to hear a story like yours. I have been a disc jockey for 17 years and was doing ok while in my 20s. As my children got older I realized that I needed a subsequent solution to establish real savings, retirement, health insurance etc. I went to college and got a degree from MTI and started working as an Network Administrator for a charter high school. When the economy took that downturn, I was threatened with a layoff but due to having a unique skill set (IT, 3D FX, web design, DJ/sound engineer etc) and the school’s marriage of left and right brain educational pathways, I was saved. It did incline me to ensure that I was so rich in knowledge of every related field that the idea of letting me go from any place of employment would garner laughter from my boss. I decided that school was going to be a staple throughout my life…both formally and informally. Then I started teaching myself different software using the youtube, videocopilot, forums etc. Lynda.com was a godsend and I almost feel like I am cheating a bit. I am not complaining.
Thanks for the comments Deejay. Glad to hear you’re still in the game and not giving up. I’m constantly upgrading my skills and looking for new opportunities.
Thanks for sharing your experience, great post! I agree, Lynda.com is a very powerful resource.
I can only say “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow”
Thanks for the kind words Elisabeth. Glad you found what you were looking for. Looking forward to sharing more on this and other related topics.
Thanks for this terrific post and also for mentioning Lynda.com. I’d never heard of it! I’m in a similar state of reinvention, an erstwhile writer who needed to expand my marketable skills. More power to you!
Thanks Barbara. I wish you success in your reinvention and future endeavors.
Hi Andy — First of all, what an inspiration you are to me. I have been working as a Graphic Designer for 23 years, then suddenly got laid off — twice. At 46, I may have an impressive resume, but my age shows and yes, I get turned down. I am slowly but surely finding my way to be self employed. As self employed, I get occasional free lunch from the restaurant I design the menu for. I get to take care of my dad, who has cancer.
What a wonderful life I am having right now. It may not be a big paycheck, but I know it will come one day.
Lynda.com has been such a blessing for me to this day. I immerse myself daily to better my Graphic Design skills.
Thank you once again.
Thanks for sharing your story Aleli. Life is a constant journey of discovery. Sorry to hear about your dad and hope he is holding up under the strain. Best of luck in all of your endeavors.
I am a lyndadotcom subscriber. I really needed to read you story tonight,and it has given me courage. I am a student at the local university trying to get my degree in art and visual communication/digital media.
I am also unemployed single, female, and old(er). In 2009 when I started back to school and there was a school population of 27,000. There are two major universities in my town, and one of them is Brigham Young University, the other is Utah Valley University, where I go. By the spring semester of 2010. The university increased to 30,000 then 33,000, and the demographic of that increase was not fresh out of high school. That increase in population was the now unemployed IT personnel and most of them were well over age 40. I am not an IT person, but I had been employed for 17 years when I was let go.
I need to read this article again and again to remind my self that I will get my degree, and I will be able to become self employed, and make even better wages than if I were a work-a-day schmuck.
Thank you for the article. Like Gloria Gaynor once coined in a song. “I will survive”, and I add “thrive.”
Thanks for your wonderful comments. Best of luck in your future endeavors.
I can totally relate to what you’ve written as an IT Systems Engineer I too have run into the problem at the age of 57, it is difficult to find the jobs now and so the photography does help, but it gets harder each week to make those ends meet. What’s amazing to me is that in all the papers and Seek , you see many ads for IT people and yet no one is hiring.. go figure…
Hey Jon, It has been tough in the IT field and our age doesn’t help. This is why I decided to strike out on my own and become my own boss. Lots of luck in your search.
Hi, it’s great to hear your story, I myself went to university, did a degree I didn’t like as I listened to people (I shouldn’t have) I fortunately had started making websites when I was at college just playing around in my free time and before I knew it it grew into a company, I have worked for others in the feature industry and they treat you like a slave, now I’m back doing my own thing with Lynda.com and a few others at my finger tips, running my own show again, roll on another 15years, I’m building media for portable devices, and although not as strong and determined as I used to be, I will succeed and another venture I have going on I am going to trademark tomorrow.
It’s pretty exciting actually getting something you acted trademarked, I cannot wait. In regard to my continuous professional development I went onto teach myself php, although only procedural I built a content management system in it which is used on my own site, when I go to interviews instead of paper I take an iPad optimised site with me and blew them away, this I really hope to take further and push it to other portable media.
Graham barnes
Sorry was writing on iPad, that’s supposed to say creative industry, can’t work the long hours asked for due to a small form of epilepsy but I still continue doing what I enjoy.
Thanks for sharing you thoughts Graham. I agree that the rewards of being self employed can mean more than anything an employer can provide. The monetary compensation may not be as great but the satisfaction in doing what you love more than makes up for that.
Hi Andy,
I’m really glad I came across your article. Being a single mom and interested in Graphic Design, I started working on my degree’s about 11 years ago. I felt the girls would soon be out of school and I would have my chance to really get in to what I want to do. I received my Associates and my Bachelors and diddle daddled around freelancing over the years as I worked in administration for the income I needed to raise my girls. Soon after their graduations they all became young moms and now I have 6 grandchildren. The direction I’m taking is that even though I’m in the process of getting my MBA with a concentration in Marketing, I’m still no where close to what I want to be doing. Time is the main issue as I help my girls with all the little ones. But reading your article make me feel better knowing that I can still do this and I will work in updating my skills to where I can build my confidence and get my freelancing career going. Thank you for sharing your story! I look forward to following you on Facebook and twitter.
Velinda
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Graphics-By-Design-and-More/141037642579849
@velann3
Thanks Velinda. Sounds like you’ve got a busy life. I encourage you to keep developing your graphic design skills. Nothing like doing what you love. I just Liked your facebook page.
Andy,
You’ve spoken from the heart, and it shows. Every now and again, others need to hear that what they are going through is the norm, not the exception. You are an inspiration to anyone who has been kicked to the curb, despite a great career track record.
Thanks Jo.
Andy
Thanks for the post (which I found through a retweet from Lynda.com). I had over 13 years of doing print design and now I am in the junior stages of web design and development and trying desperately to catch up. I am too junior for web at this point but too expensive for print it seems so I know exactly what you are talking about. I am not alone in this regard among my peers. Freelancing is what I am doing now but everyone is still cautious (even with contract employment). I also had a short career in broadcasting from which I was laid off from and no one in the media seems to be safe. Its important to work on the stuff that has meaning to you (and try to make ends meet with other p/t work in the meantime). It’s encouraging to know that I am not the only one going through the struggle and I am glad that I found your post.
– Steve (long time Lynda subscriber)
Thanks for the comments Steve. It’s still very tough out there, so I agree, keep building your skills and doing what you like. Also, very important to maintain a high profile using social media and blog. I checked out you website, very nice work. Best of luck going forward.
Andy
Hey Andy,
Your story and other comments make me concerned for the future of this field as a career.…IT that is. Many industries are going to cloud computing and wrestling out the smaller folks. It is depressing to think that the degree I just paid 10k to receive will eventually be somewhat useless. One thing I did learn during my countless hours doing homework, writing papers, designing websites, etc is that there is the ability to get the skills you need to stay relevant through sites like Lynda.com, Khan Academy, and the countless other low to no cost solutions. While I am not currently seeking freelance as a professional goal, your post has made me think of it as an option in the future. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Tom, thanks for you comments. Don’t get discouraged, I’ve been around the IT field for over twenty years and had my share of ups and downs. Change has always been a big part of this profession so keeping your skills current is extremely important. That’s why sites like Lynda.com come serve as a great resource. Freelance is a good way to keep working and practicing what you learn. I’ve also done lots of very low cost work for nonprofits to work on skill sets while I’m waiting for the dough to roll in. Stay well and do what you enjoy, the money will follow!
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Hi Russell,
You can follow my Tweets @andyztweet and on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ClickTwiceDesign