Over-50

Aging - Is That the Big Bad Wolf Chasing Maria Bartiromo?

Is there a big bad wolf that Maria Bartiromo is afraid of? Sure seems like it. And the result is that she, like Greta Van Susteren, is deep-sixing her career,

Some recall how both on-air personalities at Fox stood loyal to Roger Ailes when he was first investigated for alleged sexual harassment.

The two had different fates. Van Susteren left or was pushed out. Her next job - it was at MSNBC - didn't pan out. And, now she's doing Sunday morning. That's "Full Court Press." It doesn't seem to be catching fire. She's not a Sunday A.M. kind of persona. Also, there is speculation that she had had a stroke. 

Well, Bartiromo held onto her position at Fox. But the issue is now: For how much longer?

Very recently, she has been vilified by media critics for her non-interview of Donald Trump about the election. Instead, as it's being positioned and packaged, she provided a platform for Trump to do his usual ranting. So much for her credibility. Essentially she let the interviewee control the interview. 

Is aging the big bad wolf Bartiromo seems to need to placate?

If it feels, looks and talks likes some entity is chasing Bartiroma, maybe there is. Could it be aging? In general, television is not kind to female on-air personalities. Fox, post-Trump Administration, may find her a vestige from the past. Therefore, a liability. The cable network will have to adjust to a new Administration. There probably will be many changes.

Like Van Susteren, Bartiromo could be gone. The odds are, if she winds up looking for a new job, its branding will represent several steps down. 

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Baby, It's Cold Outside - And, We're Saving a Bundle Retiring/Semiretiring in Midwest

The conventional wisdom is this: You go warm when retiring/semiretiring.

But, warm has become increasingly expensive.

With middle class folks unable to afford California any more, they fled to Arizona. That migration drove up the cost of living in the one-time Paradise for the aging.

The deep South isn't dirt cheap any more.

And, you would have to search hard to find a location in Florida that rents for peanuts or whose residential property is a steal.

Outside the United States? Gone are the days where you can be an expat making it on $700 a month. The exception might be bits of Eastern Europe. But good luck struggling to learn the languages. They aren't the Spanish and French you learned in high school.

Amid all those gloomy realities is a part of the United States which allows retirees and the semiretired to live within a budget comfortably - and happily.

That's the midwest. There, Baby It's Cold Outside. Also, there's snow. Tomorrow, residents of Ohio anticipate 4" to 8" and the beginning of a harsh winter.

But OH is among the states in the midwest in which the cost of living can be significantly below average.

For example, in the Youngstown metro area, at Hillbrook Apartments a studio is $545 and a one-bedroom $590. The apartments are large. All utilities, including heat, are included with the rent. Lake Erie is an hour away. Pittsburgh, 90 minutes.

In the Toledo Metro area, Maple Creek provides small one bedrooms, with private entrances, at $425 or $475 (the latter is renovated and has a microwave). The only utility that has to be paid is electricity. Canada is a doable day trip. University town Ann Arbor is an hour away.

Bitter cold only goes on for about three months. That's a short-term "price" to pay for low living costs. 

A New Yorker, I have been in the midwest for 5 years. My budget has allowed me to replace my aging car, start investing again and travel on weekends. This holiday I was at resort town Geneva on the Lake. I can also be more selective in the assignments I accept for my communications and coaching boutiques. Yes, I can "afford" to be picky.

Now and then I audit my finances. I play with the idea of going warm.

Admittedly, it's a burden to heat up and, if there is snow, dig out the car. "At my age," as the saying goes, I have to be vigilant walking outside if there is ice. Too often I change plans because I feel "It's too cold outside." 

Whatever decision I make, I will always be grateful for these years in the midwest which brought me financial security.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Retirement - College Towns Meet Most of the Needs

A couple, five years from retirement, submitted their wish list to MarketWatch. On it are cultural-rich location but not too big a city, affordable health care and moderate weather. 

What meets just about everything on such a check list is the college town - at least one beyond the frigid midwest where the couple currently resides. Of course, that rules us iconic places like Ann Arbor, Michigan.

But there are plenty of others, ranging from Austin, Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico. 

The culture is deep. Usually the university posts free lectures and hosts no-charge special events such as dramatic productions. Also, emerging movements frequently take root in college towns. Those present the thrill of fresh perspectives.

The counterculture began in those towns in trendsetting California, then spread eastward to Madison, Wisconsin and, yes, Ann Arbor, MI. By time "The Revolution" reached Manhattan university niches it was, well, fairly standardized. 

This particular couple has a substantial nest egg. Those who don't, though, might not be able to buy a house or even rent in the college town. No longer does genteel poverty prevail. Even the local thrift stores are savvy about the value a college town provides to non-students and cashes in with relatively high prices.

A compromise for retirees/semiretired on a tight budget is to settle in near a university in a location not blessed with an ultra cool brandname or particularly good weather. Take Toledo, Ohio.

At the end of December, I am relocating to an apartment complex I can afford with no draconian cutbacks on my budget near the University of Toledo. Actually I can peddle my bicycle there.

Another example, is Youngstown University in very affordable Youngstown, OH. At Hillbrook Apartments, a one-bedroom with all utilities (yes, heat too) paid is $590, an efficiency $545. 

Ann Arbor, where I spent seven years as a graduate student, and even nearby Ypsilanti, MI where I resided when employed by Chrysler, are currently too pricey, at least for me. Meanwhile, nearby university town Bowling Green, OH is affordable but there is always a waiting list for rentals. Juggling the endings and beginnings of lease dates can be too formidable for the over-50. That can result in paying extra rent at both locations.

Takeaway: You just might be able to find the Promised Land near a college rather than in a location totally an old-line college town. 

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8 Skills You Need Now, As Future of Work Bleeds into the Present

" ... 97 million new roles may emerge that are more adopted to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms." - The Future of Jobs 2020, World Economic Forum, October 2020. 

That means that the creation of new kinds of work tasks can more than make up for the 85 million jobs which the World Economic Forum forecasts automation can eliminate by 2025. Such a scenario is welcome good news during these times of "double disruption" triggered by accelerated technology developments and COVID-19.

According to the World Economic Forum, the worker skills employers of the future need include:

• Critical thinking
• Analysis
• Problem-solving
• Self-management
• Active learning
• Resilience
• Stress tolerance
• Flexibility.

Among the buzzwords we'll all be hearing more often are:

 

Speed of disruption

Global reset

Public-private collaboration

Automation, in tandem with COVID-19

Upskilling

Reskilling.

 

Anyone who has searched for work or who feels insecure about current employment knows that the future is bleeding into the present. Thriving professionally requires time travel.

 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Knocked Out of the Box in Hollywood - Hang In, Do Career Transition, Float (choose option 3)

COVID-19, mergers and executives exiting for other careers. 

That's the new Hollywood story, reports The Wrap.  

In addition, as Variety hammers, the business model is shifting from the studios being in charge to personalization. The viewer is now at the center of the marketing and distribution processes. Massive layoffs are at all levels. 

The hopes for a comeback in the Hollywood loop have been blown up. As the pandemic goes on and on, folks have gotten out of the habit of leaving home and ponying up about 15 bucks to take in a movie at the mall. They'll continue nesting. There they will consume DVDs, streaming and even old-line broadcast television. New players providing such entertainment provide fresh competition for Hollywood as we have known it. 

Obviously, this industry joins editorial, hospitality, theme parks and myriad others in being disrupted. The result for all - and there will be more - is this: The workforce will have to find another way to make a living. 

An option is, of course, career transition. 

But career transition has two distinct drawbacks. Both financial, notes Forbes. 

One is that money usually is not coming in while learning a new skill. And, two, the training involves an outlay of funds. For instance, becoming licensed as a long-distance truck driver can run between $1,500 and $10,000, documents the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A law degree, calculates Nerd Wallet, can represent an investment of $130,000. 

In addition, once the training is completed, demand in the new field might have dried up. There had been a forecast of a shortage of truck drivers. Then, the recession overtook the industry. The new entries were stranded in unemployment and with loans from truck-driving schools.

Given the financials and risks of career change, there are some in Hollywood who will struggle to stay put. They might entertain magic thinking that they can hold on in a job or through assignments.

What could play out is the dynamic overtaking the collapsed field of editorial. Typically on digital job board ProBlogger, there are gig assignments (forget full-time jobs) for 2-cents a word. Here is a typical example from We Write Blog Posts. At one time, such an assignment might have been billed at 75-cents a word.

Given the extreme deflation in compensation, many content-providers in that niche would make a better living delivering pizzas for Marco's. 

One middle-aged man in Toledo, Ohio, burnt out from being a troubleshooter in IT, is doing just that. He not only had been able to buy a new car. He is getting estimates for extensive dental work. To his surprise and everyone else's, he is okay without a clear professional identity. 

And, that's the third option for those in Hollywood and others whose industry has been disrupted. That state of being might be called "Floating." 

Its advantages are clear:

• Money is coming in. Some declare the new game is about ensuring a steady stream of income. 
• No investment is being made in some possible Next.
• There is no compensation deflation. Many temporary gigs are in demand. 
• The opportunities are there to test out other lines of work. The former IT expert is having an inside look in fields such as food, delivery and customer service. Regarding the latter, the tips provide much insight.
• Anyone in that loop can develop multiple sources of income. Conventional career paths, for many, may be going kaput.

In the early 21st century, the lucrative executive communications industry tanked. After the Enron scandal, executives went low-profile. Then the post-9/11 recession cut budgets for any remaining demand for vendors providing ghostwriting and speechwriting. 

 

A coach recommended I "float." That included gigs in loss prevention, manning the front desk in a hotel chain and syndicated blogging. From those vantage points I could pick up on how the labor market was changing. I had enough information and insight to create a new startup. On that platform I have developed a career coaching service. Its special expertise is the displaced professional, along with new entries to the workforce. 

 

You may be able to pivot from your current unemployment or underemployment on your own - DIY. But if you discover you cannot, I am here for you.

 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

 

Real-life Jobs Are Manpower Intensive - Virtual Whatever Isn't (be ready to be laid off and earn less)

There had been plenty of grousing about the kinds of jobs the Walt Disney Company operated in its theme parks. But at least they were jobs. And in the resort towns those entertainment empires created the kinds of employment which are ideal for the over-50. That ranges from real estate agent to hotel front-desk clerk.

In short, real-life is manpower intensive. COVID-19 closed down much of Disney's real-life businesses. Since last March, Disneyland in Anheim, California has been shuttered. 

So, it's expected, as The Wall Street Journal reports, the corporation is laying off 32,000 - with more job cuts due. 

Disney's core competence has shifted from creating happiness in its theme parks to streaming. Probably never again will it require such massive manpower.

In myriad ways Disney is a microcosm of the long-term shifts in labor demand. It's become a management platitude that the service jobs chopped during COVID-19 aren't coming back. Some of them have been transformed into other kinds of work such as in fulfillment and delivery. It's in those slots older workers can land on their feet.

About the compensation. The grim number is out there. ProPublica documents that those over-50 who are laid off have only one chance in 10 to every earn what they had. 

The solution? What has proved out are multiple sources of income. When one industry goes kaput, your ability to make ends meet doesn't. You just hustle for more hours at some of you other gigs.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Career Transition - No Room for Certainty

You are in career transition. Few times in your life have you experienced such vulnerability. The former career path is over. As for the new way you will make a living, that's an unknown. 

The worst approach to career transition is to go into it with a fixed hypothesis. The example would be: Digital marketing is hot so that's what I will be become certified in. The step you take is to hunt up statistics which confirm the supposed demand (which don't take into account if you are suited for it). Then, you investigate programs providing affordable certification programs in digital marketing. And, you are feeling secure, for the first time in a long time.

That sense of security, of being comfortable, of finally being able to let go of the past will probably come  at the cost of your success. For instance, you may not be a good fit. Sure, demand is there but so is the talent. There could even be a glut. Is you feel for technology intuitive? The compensation could be too low for you to make ends meet. To support your family you need a higher weekly salary or project fee.

If you can delay the need to be comfortable you can use a whole different approach. Here is my book, a free read, on exiting traditional comfort zones. 

     

That mindset I label "Raw." You have no fixed idea about what direction you should be gravitating toward. You do not gather data which agrees with where you think you want to go and then put all that into neat boxes. You do not inform those who care about you that "now you have your direction."

Instead, you plop down in the total uncertainty.

Amid the flow of the world without any control over it, you simply sit there. You don't sort.

That flow is going on right in front of your eyes, that is if you keep your eyes open. You observe people who are similar to you who are making a good living. You ask for 10 minutes of their time. Then you ask for candor. The top issue is: What would I need to get where you are? You add, I have a hunch I can get there.

The flow is also happening on the help-wanted online bulletin boards. For example, on Craigslist - Sites you open every category of work. You analyze the requirements for each category. You ask yourself two questions: Could I do that? Would I be good at doing that and enjoy it? 

Flow also goes on at training centers. Make an appointment to talk with the admissions officer or guidance counselor. Ask about career paths such as substance abuse counselor or long distance truck driver. Sit in on course instruction. Talk to the students. Talk to the graduates.

And, let the flow move freely within yourself. What makes work not seem like work? Tap into that natural passion for what you could be doing to earn a good living without undue stress.

Where the Raw Method can transport you is to simultaneous career success and satisfaction. 

This can be DIY. If you sense you would find a guide useful, I am here for you.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Relocation On-hold, So Bored (and lonely), Pondering Weighty Legal Matters: Holiday Season in COVID TImes

First, Pennsylvania issues its version of a travel ban. Those in cars entering from other states would be subject to a COVID-19 test within 72 hours and/or a 14-day quarantine. 

Now, it's happening at the borders of the Big Apple. Bloomberg reports:

"New York City will have vehicle checkpoints at key bridges and crossings, and will strictly enforce the travel quarantine ..."

Abruptly, similar travel bans could be declared at the borders of myriad other states. 

Those were the dots I had to connect about my carefully made plan to relocate from the midwest to Arizona. Yes, I had given the Ohio landlord the required 60-day notice. Yes, I had begun the good-byes with acquaintances. Yes, I had bought a car which could hold up for the 2,000 mile trip.

Then, I envisioned myself, quite realistically, trapped in a motel for 14 days somewhere just within the border of St. Louis, Missouri or Dallas, Texas. Then, it was not unthinkable the whole thing could play out again and again at just inside other state borders.

You bet, I have had to scramble.

Here in OH I went in search for another apartment to rent. Not easy in this era of Landlord Nation. Property managers have the upper hand with demand so high. Few can afford to purchase a house. An Ok, Boomer I had sold the family home years ago. Echoing the Christmas Story, at so many apartment complexes I contacted there was no room at the inn. Or the rent seemed way too high. 

Yesterday, I landed a one-bedroom costing more than what I had been paying or what I would have been paying in AZ. 

Meanwhile, I feel foolish. And probably look foolish. Those who no longer follow COVID news are unaware of the travel bans. They size up my backing out of relocation as being stuck. Yeahyeahyeah, she's just another one of those who talk up the dream and don't follow it.

Within borders there has also been the return of constraints on socializing. There is lots less to do this holiday season. The Lucas County Public Library, which functions as a Third Place, has been shuttered again. Will the iconic Toledo Museum of Art close? Those in my fav support group fear we will soon be forbidden to meet up in-person.

Floating around is the horror scenario: The majority will refuse to take the COVID vaccine.

A recent University of Michigan survey found that two-thirds of those in Detroit are unlikely to line up for the COVID-19 vaccine. That mirrors public opinion in other locations throughout the U.S.

Of course, there is plenty of legal analysis in the media if vaccination can be made mandatory. 

On the federal level, that's unlikely. On the state level, there is the authority to do that and it has been done in the past. 

A more likely play-out is to make a long list of whatevers contingent on proof of vaccinations. Those could range from receiving a passport to attending a concert. Recall that in order for us Ok, Boomers to be admitted to those overcrowded classrooms our parents had to pony up the vaccination data.

The biggest issue for most is this: Does their employer have the right to mandate vaccinations? After all, having to go to work essentially is the one ought imposed on most adults, even in a democracy.

Here's the data on this NPR provides:

"The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has stated that employers can legally impose a flu vaccine requirement on their workforce, but employees have the right to request medical or religious exemptions under federal anti-discrimination laws. Each claim must be evaluated on its own merits, a time-consuming process for employers."

There may be COVID fatigue but how it impinges on our lives is a brutal backdrop.

The legal questions generated, especially related to the workplace, are already unfolding. They can shape myriad policies about the Future of Work.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Inside the Beltway, Age Can Be a (big) Asset - What Did in Dianne Feinstein

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she will not serve as chairman or top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee next Congress." - Madison Adler, Bloomberg Law, November 23, 2020.

The reason is probably not her age - 87. In the U.S. Senate age can be an asset since during all those decades alliances had been formed, favors granted and enemies publicly punished. An insightful study of how Inside the Beltway operates is Hedrick Smith's "The Power Game."

According to Bloomberg Law what did in Feinstein was how she was perceived handling the confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Barrett. What was needed, some posit, was more aggressiveness. 

That will be especially needed to balance the Joe Biden persona of boring. Boring is a strategic personal branding after four years of the bombast from Donald Trump.

If it isn't balanced by more aggressiveness than the Feinstein type of liberal politico has demonstrated, Biden could wash out in the first all-important 100 days. He may not receive the usual honeymoon period. The nation remains deeply divided. Trump supporters could be major mischief-makers. Biden could be assessed as not able to bring that under control. That's a primary reason he requires seasoned street-fighters, metaphorically speaking, around him. 

The lesson here is that Feinstein did not change her own personal branding and political stylistics enough as times changed. All Democrats should be doing an audit of how they have positioned and packaged themselves and what in that still is a fit with crazy times. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

COVID-19 - Isolation Deepens in Ohio

What had opened is locking down again.

Among those is the Lucas County Public Library based in the Toledo, Ohio Metro Area. That functions as a Third Place for seniors.

Now, it is again closed to walk-ins. Books can be ordered online and picked up in the lobby of a branch or the main library.

The timetable for shutdown is for three weeks. But that depends on what is happening in the pandemic. Currently what is happening in COVID-19 throughout the midwest indicates it is not under control. So, three weeks could be a number on a wish list versus projected reality.

Meanwhile, those in recovery programs who have been allowed to meet in-person fear their meetings are the next to be shuttered. Much of those addictions are rooted in isolation. Without in-person touchpoints there could be relapses.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.