Does it seem like the average team age has dropped dramatically lately? It used to hover around 30s and 40s, but now it feels like most teams are just a bunch of 20-somethings with one token older person. What happened? Is it layoffs or are the more experienced folks simply choosing to walk away?
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Some of us older folks read the tea leaves, volunteered to be RIF'd ... and rode off into the sunset with healthy severance packages :)
same place we all go one day, Longmont
Yup. A lot of senior folks were asked to leave and because of this a lot of them didn't want to handle the aftermath, they also left
if they planned well, they're enjoying their retirement, even if they were helped along, whereas others learned what they already knew, that once you're beyond 50'ish landing an equivalent role and comp is tough going
@1zyf+1vRDhg4e in this industry Seagate is not alone in their approach
Is 40 old? Wow...welp thats the problem of not having engineers to design new stuff that has been based on existing designs, and removing the problems. So a PCB designer with a few years experience...isn't going to be able to design the latest speeds for PCIe and SATA. Is wizardry at its best to get the SI to behave on copper and fiberglass. And then its the high speed interface to the flash...seriously. Yeah I've done it when I worked for a competitor. You need experienced engineers for the design work. So if they are all gone...just means the new kids learn as they make the mistakes and eventually they will be productive at 40 and get RIF'd.
I'm 61. Still a productive and important member of my team. I work in defense. They know who the important folks are. They take care of me, and pay me a decent wage. Another 4 years and I'm done, maybe. Or do part time mentoring the kids.
I see you are finally waking up to Seagate's blatant age discrimination practices a bit late. You may notice that 99% of older employees that remain have 15+ years and are on the critical list. Yes, such lists are made to identify old people they can't fire without measurable business damage. The number of older people hired on in the last 5-10 years is very small. I can think of 1 or 2. Nearly every opening is for college graduates only. That's corporate code for no old hires. Its a huge mistake to think hiring older experienced people for a bit more cost is a disadvantage, but this company leadership believes that because they think an we are all the same cogs for the machine. So, why not go with the cheap one that lasts longer. That's how they view employees for real. If you've been around for awhile you've seen all recognition programs and awards for service length disappear. Might be a big clue. I had an executive tell me to my face that all the engineers are just replaceable cogs so what I'm saying is not a theory. So yeah, if you are aging which you are you better figure out how to become critical for the business and keep training if you want to remain employed here. Lot's of the older folks are also cashing in and retiring as well. So, you may notice there's really old employees and really young employees and not so many in the 35-45 range anymore. New grads don't typically stay with companies that long anymore.
My observation is the last two layoffs (Nov 2022, May 2023) took out a disproportionate number of senior people. It seemed blatant to me, at least our Director is notorious for favoring young engineers, but I suppose they can claim many were voluntary. Plus there have been an uptick in attrition with senior people sick of the mgmt running things into the ground.