Is it true that no one will hire older engineers?

[Locrian]

Actuary is rated the best job for 2013. Low stress, good work environment, and decent pay.

The stress level is VERY high for most US health actuaries at this time.

 

[Ben Espen]

I don't know your dad's situation, or even what country this event occurred in, but I will reproduce the US law for reference. Note: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.

Age[/PLAIN] Discrimination
Age discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) less favorably because of his age.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) only forbids age discrimination against people who are age 40 or older. It does not protect workers under the age of 40, although some states do have laws that protect younger workers from age discrimination.

It is not illegal for an employer or other covered entity to favor an older worker over a younger one, even if both workers are age 40 or older.

Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are both over 40.

Age Discrimination & Work Situations
The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.

It is entirely legal to pass over an older applicant for reasons other than age. Clearly, no employer in their right mind would tell you they passed you over because you are too old. Some other reason would be given.

 

[pi-r8]

The stress level is VERY high for most US health actuaries at this time.

Kinda seems like the stress level for ANY job in the US is very high right now. Too many unemployed people breathing down your neck who could replace you at any moment if you're less than perfect.

 

[Locrian]

Kinda seems like the stress level for ANY job in the US is very high right now. Too many unemployed people breathing down your neck who could replace you at any moment if you're less than perfect.

If there are unemployed health actuaries, it's by choice. There's a real shortage right now, and it's terrifically hard to replace anyone. I'd go into more detail, but it seems off topic.

I just want readers to be aware that actuarial work differs a lot by area of specialty, and those articles tend to do a poor job of describing the discipline.

 

[mathnerd15]

thanks very much! so actuaries do a lot of integrals and interesting math? I always wanted to be a physicist and go do grad study somewhere like Princeton and I love the Feynman biography Genius by Gleick...
here's an interesting article on actuaries, Wikipedia has a lot of great information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuary

it seems like passing actuarial exams can't be that difficult? and 50% passing rate seems very high

 

[Evo]

Having been on the hiring end, a degree is usually never considered except for applicants with little or no job experience. Depending on the needs and the budget, an experienced applicant is preferred over an inexperienced applicant. (Obviously an experienced applicant will have a degree, it's just no longer important) This is where budget comes in. A younger inexperienced person can be hired for much less than someone with experience and good credentials. This also means that an older experienced person will be excluded if the position doesn't require a great deal of experience.

And harborsparrow makes a very good point, networking. In the position I was in, we only hired based on internal references. Legally, we would have to advertise the job, but we already would have the person we were hiring based on being referred from within the group.

 

[DiracPool]

I heard that beginning financial analysts/quants have terrible job security and have to work 120/hrs week.

Is that right? That's 20 hours a day if you take Sunday off to watch the game.

 

[Locrian]

Is that right? That's 20 hours a day if you take Sunday off to watch the game.

I think the terrible job security/120 hours business is not true of quants/analysts. It is sometimes true of front desk traders at investment banks.

 

[ShanCiera44]

Hi,
This is not true, Dell is hiring qualified candidates of all ages, its just about finding the right job that fits your skill set. Dell has a variety of careers for software engineers, in addition to other related engineering jobs with openings all across the U.S., Canada and overseas. Hope this helps Good Luck

ShanCiera

 

[mathnerd15]

is fuel cell, energy research a good field that is well funded? it seems there would be more funding for biomedical engineering, medical applications like medical physics, radiology/imaging, proton beam therapy, nanoparticle pharmaceutical research
personally I love pure mathematics but it's not always possible to have the career we would like