I don't like what Exxon has turned into, but I'm still not rushing to leave. Sometimes I wonder what it would take for me to actually switch jobs. More money sounds nice, but is it worth the headache of starting over at this age? The older I get, the more I realize I’d only move if the pay bump was big enough to make up for the stress of leaving.
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Yet I am 61, in the peak of my career. I have been given even more opportunities to do fun exciting things in the last year! Am i looking forward to retirement? YES! Do I enjoy the work? YES! Why am I working still? I need insurance, like most. So once I can get medicare, the days are numbered or at least go part time, keeping benefits. As long as I feel engaged with the work, I will stick with it.
You get one life to live, and once you realize that you have wasted it working for a worthless company and worthless cause, the feeling will be very deep and sad.
Most of you are so tainted by now that you will get the hit of reality only when you are on your death bed. At that time you can remember how beautiful the world was and how much you missed out on a real experience as you worked under a fake culture and fake experience of ExxonMobil.
If you’re in your mid-50s and you’re still working full time for anyone other than yourself, then you got some important things very wrong.
Oh yeah, nobody actually likes working for someone else, so you can all stop saying how you enjoy coming to the office to Zoom in person with your fellow mouth-breathers. Exxon knows you need the money. So does everyone else.
@g3 you can do the best work and be the most cooperative and least dramatic cog in the machine, and still get PIP for no reason other than you are HC10 and above 45. That’s what so many of us experienced, for years we ranked well and were an asset, then suddenly were managed out. In fact if there’s no ageism, then there’s no need for this policy of NRE can’t be PIPed/ terminated.
@eg as per policy NREs are not PIPed, they get a DPC, and are highly unlikely to be terminated regardless of the outcome. It’s not that hard to wait out the NRE period and retire, if you can deal with mental discomfort and don’t mind being an obstinate a-s I suppose. Better to just continue to do good work (a novel idea in this forum) and avoid the drama, imho.
@d9 that’s my mantra! They can’t hurt my feelings! I’m staying and not moving until I get my retrenchment package
@d9 This my friends, is why we have the PIP.
Don’t worry, they will just pull you off all meaningful projects, give you soul-crushing grunt work, freeze raises, and force you back to the office 5x per week.
You’ll eventually take the hint and move on. Probably more sooner than later.
@aq Because working until death is some kind of a virtue with these boomers/early GenX.
I can truly understand the question by OP and the sentiments of @b6. I am retired from the company. The last years weren’t as good as the previous years. Here is the issue: At EM, the retirement benefits are currently really good. Most EMPT’s retire at age 58-59 and are in great financial shape and able to have a much better life than when they were working. Everyone in management and the ranking sessions knows this. So, as we get older the opportunities for advancement dry up because it is expected that you will retire soon. No sense in investing in a person whose career will be ending soon - plenty of younger people to develop. And in that ranking session and there are younger people who managers want to reward, the argument to drive you down the ranking goes like this “well person A and B are the same CL but A has much more experience than B does and while A may be contributing a lot when you take into account his additional years, he isn’t performing as well…so he should be lower ranked” - then it is a tumble. Maybe you are given a warning year at NI. Maybe direct to NSI.
My recommendation is to understand that it is not personal. It is the system. We benefitted on the way up. I didn’t do this step so well. Garner as much benefits as you can. Go as long as you can. Make it to 55 and get retiree medical (that is worth a lot - not many employers have it). Then get out, don’t look back, enjoy yourself.
They will have to have security escort me out.
I’m not making it easy and they can’t hurt my feelings.
I am still looking for the imbecile that said 50 year old are too old to work in this business. Reminder to all id--ts, that time changes for everybody. If you do not adapt, you will fall, and does not matter the age.
oh fuzbuh! I changed jobs in my mid50's, and I'm doing GREAT!! I interviewed by phone on Monday, in person on Wed, and offer was made on Friday. I have majik skill sets, and they knew it. Looking forward to retirement everyday since I started 6 years ago!
What are you saying? I see no one staying past 65….except for the random few who maybe cannot imagine a life outside of work. Rather, I see most saying 55 is a ‘career well done.’
Between 55-65, your quality of life is still peak. If you plan ahead, you have 10 of your best years ahead of you. And anyone observing knows that the company will also want you gone sometime around 55 too.
So if you are mid 40s to early 50s, best to ramp up your retirement savings, plan a moonlight career that doesn’t conflict with any post-retirement policies, and feel good about what you have accomplished. There is only so long fish can swim up river.
ExxonMobil would have been far better off making the mandatory retirement age of 65 for all employees including the executives.
For many years, if you were CL-30+, you were required to retire at age 65.
Leaving ExxonMobil in your 50s isn’t an easy decision, it was the hardest one I’ve ever made.
I walked because it was about reclaiming my worth. Never realized, until it happened to me, how many loyal, long-tenured employees are pushed into NSI, not because their contributions faded, but because of a process that undervalues experience and erodes dignity. It’s the company’s way of reminding you that their loyalty doesn’t extend as far as yours.
That’s when the realization hits: money alone isn’t enough. True success is working where your skills are recognized, your contributions matter, and you’re given the flexibility to live the life you choose - not one dictated by a corporation or a zip code. Even if it means earning less, that trade-off is often worth it for the dignity, freedom, and self-respect you gain.
Not everyone would make the same choice, but I couldn’t spend another moment with people that discarded my contributions so viciously. It wasn’t “business” it was personal and it was crippling. Happened 1X to me and that was enough!
This could be a psychological study: what are the thresholds when people stop returning to their abuser? #WAEM.
Why are you talking about changing jobs in your mid fifties? You should be retiring and doing better things.
The real problem is hiring people in their mid-50s.
When I hire someone, it’s because I need specific skills, as well for them to blend well with the team they’re being hired into. What I’ve seen happen is that people in the 50+ age group refuse to learn new methods/systems, refuse to take/apply feedback, and have serious issues with following guidance from younger managers/team leads.
Instead of turning this post in a dissertation on every issue that most people over a certain age seem to have with functioning in the modern workplace, I’ll just say “you have amazing skills and experience, but I’m not hiring you.”
Source: built my own global remote-first business after a short tour in O&G.