• Mister Neon@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I’m going to be 40 next year. My entire adult life was struggling to find stable work. I never had romance let alone a family to call my own. I’m so worried about the future and my age damning me to poverty.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Everything gets harder and social expectations on you just grow and grow. By your 40’s you’re expected to have a set of skills and work experience that would qualify you for being hired for specific roles and positions, so it’s hard as hell to get an entry-level job literally anywhere, when there are younger and more energetic people applying for the same positions, people who are willing to work for less and put up with more.

      Ageism is real and it’s everywhere and nobody really talks about it because everyone shares the same attitudes. It’s one of the last socially acceptable discriminations.

      • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
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        6 months ago

        If someone is willing to work for less and put up with more, that’s not ageism (as far as the law is concerned). Ageism is when the employer selects a younger person over an older person, due to their age, when both applicants agreed to work for and put up with the same amount

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          No, I’m saying that people see an older candidate and assume that they won’t be as willing to work for less as someone younger, it’s biases and it has a lot to do with age; employers select different demographics for different roles, because there are innate assumptions about what kind of hire someone will be based on their age. Older hires are more often brought in for specific skills and high-value type contributions, and younger candidates are generally assumed to be looking for that same experience and expecting to start lower on the chain.