Dee worked in Detroit Michigan for GM. 51 years old and just laid off.
The economy is bad. "At least my three girls have grown up", she tells me.
A few years ago, (actually 9 years) she was a very successful product manager.
She knew what she was doing.
She executed her "system". Her GM team followed a formal CMM level 5 software development process.
The primary team all knew their jobs and had worked together for 3 years, some longer.
She was making good money, head hunters were chasing her down, and her products were the envy of the world.
Smiling, she tells me that she had the skills of that "lean-mean-fighting-machine" that everyone needed.
Looking down at herself, (40lbs overweight), not so much now.
At 17 Dee was a single mom with three young daughters.
No education, living in a single room apartment.
She tells me that one of her coworkers at the Dairy Queen, "Roxy", and her won a trip to Las Vegas.
Those were the good days.
That weekend Dee won $50k. "Boy was I lucky", she whispers with tears in her eyes.
She used the money to get an education and turn her life around.
Who would have guessed it? One thing led to another and she eventually became a product manager.
At the end of the interview, she looks up at me.
Is this a common cycle with product management in general, or is it just me? I told her I didn't know.
What do you folks think?
Is it Luck-Skill-Feast-Famine and repeat?
Comming out of the dot bust, it's clear that tech careers are for the young. The middle got laid off and looking management or just older is a sure way to become one of the missing millions or a migrant tech worker. Yes, it is common. No, if you get caught in a layoff, it won't matter who you were or what you did.
If you get laid off, plot a course to something requiring vision on your part. Something far away. If you stay, statistics say it takes six years to get back to where you were. You could get a whole new MS degress in a different field at that rate.
BNET recently published an article in their newsletter that said don't hire older people, because they have baggage. Well, what happens when you hit 38 in the software industry. Surprise! You are it. School didn't even seem that long ago did it?
So it's the economy. And, like American Pie, working at the burger flipper, particularly one of those gourmet ones, constitutes full-time employment. "The older person serving you now was once the VP of ...."
Welcome to the new world of labor abundance.
Well now just wait one minute. Something seems to be a bit fishy here.
It sure seems like Dee has some solid PM skills. Now living in the Detroit Michigan area is not necessarily the best hunting grounds for finding your next PM job, but there is no mention about what her plans are now. There is always a need for good PMs, you just have to look in the right places...
As to David's comment, man - life is not like the movie Logan's Run (there is life after you reach 30). We all have an obligation to keep our skills fresh and stay on top of industry trends. If you don't, then you can find yourself out of a job no matter what your age is.
- Dr. Jim Anderson
www.TheAccidentalPM.com
"Home Of The Billion Dollar Product Manager"