Ask HN: Laid-off readers over 50, have you left the tech workforce?
I lost my last permanent job in London at the end of 2008, at the beginning of the financial crisis in the UK.<p>I applied for about <i>two thousand roles</i> in 2009 alone, and from 2008-2013, about 3,500 roles in total... In about 6-8 countries in multiple disciplines.<p>I averaged 30+ applications _per day_ at first... and 1 interview per year.<p>From 2009 to 2013 I got 2 months of paying work in total.<p>Reason? I think it&#x27;s because I was 41 when I started.<p>I used to mainly work in support, from 1st&#x2F;2nd&#x2F;3rd line to sysadmin, systems design and spec, network architect, everything. I do Windows, Linux, Mac OS, networking, comms, some programming knowledge, training, all sorts. But I&#x27;m too old to get work as a techie.<p>I eventually moved to the Czech Republic. I&#x27;m in my 3rd position in 4 years, having nearly doubled my salary from its lowest point since I moved here. Mainly because I&#x27;m a native English speaker and we&#x27;re in big demand here.<p>I can _turn down_ work I don&#x27;t want over here. But I did have to move to a new country, where I don&#x27;t speak the language, and accept an initial pay cut to about one quarter of what I hoped for in London.