Reply #3: The corporate out to pasture age used to be 55

[Warpy]

and it caught up with my dad after he'd won top sales awards in a very large corporation three years running. It just means "Oh, well, we're not going to promote him to upper management because there isn't a vacancy and he's earning enough money that some green kid with poor sales will actually earn us more, so cut him loose."

Your main problem was that you laid out of full time work for three years, you cancer slacker. Yes, it's unfair. Yes, there should be laws protecting older workers but don't forget, that's what unions were for, back when we had them. Now the corporate expiration date is getting younger and younger, especially for women. You are not overqualified. You are at the top of your game. However, they'd rather hire some fresh faced twentysomething who's eager to learn and pay him or her peanuts.

It could have been worse. Some engineers are finding their expiration date is in their mid 30s.

This is one reason this country needs a major change in how business is conducted.