Do you think that career advancement generally ends? And you're just treading water to the finish line. (Still putting in good effort, but just realizing it is what it is.)

White collar or Blue?

Everyone has a different ceiling. It also depends on what industry you're in and what conpany you're at. The peter principal says you will continue being promoted until you're bad at your job.

I know people in their 40s that have hit their ceiling and they dont realize it. They just arent talented enough to climb higher in corporate America. I also know people in their 50s that I expect to continue to advance their careers once the timing is right.

White collar jobs.
My theory is 55-57 is the top age.

I agree with Chem. Totally dependent on the individual and somewhat the industry.

Some people "have it". Some don't.

It is also very much role dependent. Some of my teams can't move past a level II. If they want to move up past that they have to look at another team (and job type) as the type of work just doesn't necessitate a higher level position.

If based on age, I would generally think mid/late 50's but of course there are exceptions.

I will say this. Work existed before the Fall.

We are creatures called to act.

Regardless of retirement status, always act. Always seek work.

Serve others.

HaroldShipmanAg said:

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If you are white and male you have no shot really...Also, have fun trying to climb the ladder only be fired/or laid off when it suits the company.

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I'm the only mid level person left from my team since the beginning of summer. The other 5 got laid off. Mostly replaced with cheap non exempt idiots. I got a downlevel and pay cut. Stay far away from data viz and analytics kids.

The white male part is completely irrelevant

Buford T. Justice said:

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White collar jobs.
My theory is 55-57 is the top age.

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Having spent nearly 30 years in the Fortune 50-100 world, I agree with this. Or at least somewhere in the mid-50s. Some top out sooner, but if you are one of those that keeps producing and remains a success at every step-up in responsibilities, then this is the age range where the max is. Anyone older than that is not typically getting a bigger chair than the one they already made it to/sat in before.

I can't cite the study bc I read it 9 years ago but it said on average that income leveled off and began to drop at 40 for women, 47 for men.

In my experience, it was around 35. Thats when I got my last promotion. I changed to a different group in the same company, and even 5 years doing that couldnt get promoted. Changed jobs to a startup and got laid off because it was a ****ty company. Now consulting and hoping to get picked up full time eventually.

If you are a white male and aren't a yes man, your career trajectory will be very short.

HaroldShipmanAg said:

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If you are white and male you have no shot really...Also, have fun trying to climb the ladder only be fired/or laid off when it suits the company.

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Thanks to corporations, free markets, and all that mumbo jumbo that people here get orgasms about.

Cromagnum said:

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In my experience, it was around 35. Thats when I got my last promotion. I changed to a different group in the same company, and even 5 years doing that couldnt get promoted. Changed jobs to a startup and got laid off because it was a ****ty company. Now consulting and hoping to get picked up full time eventually.

If you are a white male and aren't a yes man, your career trajectory will be very short.

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It's all luck with a lot of factors some in your control, some beyond. Location matters. Corporation matters. Boss matters. If any of this is bad, you are screwed. Working in America is no longer how it was before the 90s. Many Boomers don't realize this and think "in my time....".

Anyway work life is depressing.

I am working now in AI but not sure for how long. Everything is so lame. I don't get euphoric about a new model that came out like I guess I might have been years ago. Who cares, life is short. Death is approaching.

I might even think of retiring early and relying on my investments to carry me through. Luckily that worked out for me though many things in life have not.

I feel like I've probably topped out at age 37 for the situation I'm in at my law firm. Fortunately, I don't hate it, AI is presently making my life much easier, and I make well over $500k. I will probably ride this out as long as it makes sense, save up as much as I can for retirement and kids' college, and then look for an in house gig or an of counsel position somewhere working less once I'm in my late 40s.

I hope the economy at least doesn't crater for the next 15 years so I can continue to rack up net worth while the getting is good.

I'm in my 50s. I need to work another 10. I feel I have one more rung to climb. But that last rung is getting harder and harder to reach. My boss would love to replace me with AI, which is impossible…but nonetheless.

Bunch of victims up in here

If only I worked in that industry.

The Chicken Ranch said:

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If only I worked in that industry.

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So, you're a pimp?

Not even that lucrative.

idAg09 said:

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Bunch of victims up in here

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Yep. I was in an industry which rewards incompetence and I had the audacity to be very good at my job and better at other people's jobs than they were.

superunknown said:

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HaroldShipmanAg said:

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If you are white and male you have no shot really....

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what's it like having a minority female boss? Ill hang up and listen.

I've thought about this alot. Im in my late 30s and I think I have 2 promotions left in me at my current (large) company. Can I last 20ish years here and how hard do I want to work for those 2 promotions? We will see...

Having only worked at large public companies, I see layoffs and "efficiencies" all the time and I really think about that happening in my 40s and 50s and it's a little nerve wrecking. Now if I could time a exit package with retirement, that would be perfect.

SJEAg said:

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Anyone in this position and not care or actively don't want to move up? Approaching 50 and think my final promotion was 3 years ago. Not lazy and don't despise my job, but at this point I just want to run out the clock and get to (early) retirement ASAP. Another 10-20% salary at this stage isn't going to significantly change my financial forecast much. Last thing I want is more stress, more meetings, and less free time.

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I was in a similar situation. You get to a point financially when if you were paid $100k (hypothetical) more it doesn't change your retirement date. Weigh that against more responsibility, more scrutiny, and more politics one can conclude it could even put your job at risk. Not having any DEI points doesn't help. So I continued to do my job as quietly as possible until the clock ran out and I walked away a winner. Quality of life is much more important than non-life changing money.

HaroldShipmanAg said:

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superunknown said:

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HaroldShipmanAg said:

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If you are white and male you have no shot really....

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what's it like having a minority female boss? I'll hang up and listen.

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yeh the 7 owners at my company are all white males. Mostly 50s.

"I think it really depends on the profession and the individual. There's no specific age where you're automatically considered too old or too youngexperience, performance, and how you continue to develop matter much more."

SJEAg said:

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Anyone in this position and not care or actively don't want to move up? Approaching 50 and think my final promotion was 3 years ago. Not lazy and don't despise my job, but at this point I just want to run out the clock and get to (early) retirement ASAP. Another 10-20% salary at this stage isn't going to significantly change my financial forecast much. Last thing I want is more stress, more meetings, and less free time.

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Me. I'm 45. Last promotion 2ish years ago. When they talk about succession planning, I state I am happy to fill a role for a period of time, but not permanently. I also think in the next 5-7 years I want to actually take on less responsibility than I have now. I often joke that my last few years "I'm gonna go pet dogs at Vet Med".

I think I might feel differently if I didn't also have a second full time job (personal business) in additional to my full-time job.