Laid Off Baby Boomers Seek Entry-Level Jobs

50-Plus Baby Boomers were hit hard by the Great Recession. Most saw their reitrement savings slashed and many lost their entire home equity. More have found themselves downsized as their employers struggled to stay afloat.

Despite financial setbacks, 50-plus Boomers can still retire. A multitude of real options exist once they learn to think outside the box. These include supplementing retirement income with home-based businesses or retiring to American enclaves south of the border.

Learn how other Boomers have overcome the economy and obstacles to enjoy rewarding retirements at http://www.babyboomerlifeboat.com/baby_boomers_retirement_book_guide.htm.

Al Kernek of CA 12:12PM May 30, 2011

im 54 yrs old and was employed as a crew leader at a manufacturing plant for 23 years making $20.00 an hour , 18 months ago i was laid off along with 35 others due to the slow down in the steel industry. i searched high and low for a job , i sent many resumes out via online job listings and going directly to businesses and giving them my resume even if they were not hiring at the time , In those 18 months i only got 2 job offers 1 for $12.00 an hour which was a temp to hire job - and a $11.00 assembly ( entry level ) job . You just dont know what that does to a persons self esteem ... I mean to be offered half the wage that i was making after 23 years is just plain insulting ! At 54 i dont have time to start at the bottom and work my way up . I honestly believe that employers are taking full advantage of the terrible economy and offering very experienced workers a very low wage knowing full well that we dont have many options at 54 and very few jobs to pick from, I was repeatedly asked at the few interviews that i did get " so how long do you plan on working before you retire ? " i would answer not for a long time ! My wife and I had to cash out my 401K just to survive and pay things like property taxes and repairs on our cars . I will never be able to retire !! my unemployment was running out i did end up taking a entry level assembly job for $13.00 an hr , although i do like the job it is very hard to go everyday knowing that my boss is taking advantage of me and getting a very experienced worker for what he would pay someone right out of high school with no experience what so ever ! I try not to think about because it just drives me nuts...but i have no choice...I have to have a job and i am greatful to have a job period but i feel that this is going to be the norm...The so called experts say that the jobs will not recover until 2013 that makes me 57 which will make it even harder to get someone to hire me ...i really thought that i would retire with a pension someday but i guess thats just not in the cards for me ...i will never be able to afford to retire i will have to work until i die !

starting over of PA 6:29AM July 03, 2010

I got laid off in Jan. 2009 and am now working for a wage that is 56% less than when I got canned. 59 years old. It's tough out there.

Cathi May of IN 2:22PM February 26, 2010

The times are very uncertain, and likely to remain so for many months, if not years. I believe, we citizens tend to confuse democracy with capitalism. Fairness in employment practices is an ideal of democracy, not a tenant of capitalism. We worship youth in America, not only because of the vitality it implies, but because of the new perspecives it has always brought to the marketplace since the founding of our free market economy. Our children are encouraged to be "winners", "first in everything" and to never settle for "second best"...second place is reserved for the first loser. Why would we expect the job market to hold different values? The new generation is younger, faster, cheaper and thirsty for blood. This is a very American trait. We are no less warriors in the boardroom than on the battlefield. We war for the sake of business because business is war. Flags are the stuff we drape coffins with and wave at political rallies. Old Boomers, such as myself, must accept that it is time to pass the torch, and the wars, to the next generation...it's an American tradition. The value of a nation's people lay only in their ability to sustain that nation's capacity to wage battle in the marketplace and on the battlefield, if necessary. The old and infirmed cannot do this successfully...only the young can...so it has been, and so it shall always be. We may not like the way things are, but we must accept that things are as they are. On the day of my birth I was born a naked, penniless American...I will likely die, no less. I have seen enough blood shed to last two life times, and I've lost count of how many WWII veterans lost their jobs to me during my career. And the only thing I am certain of at sixty-three years of age is...no one lies on their deathbeds wishing they had spent more time at the office, or savoring the lives they took so Coca-Cola could be sold in Berlin or Saigon. In the end, it's all pretty pointless...those things we stress about, but matter little in the bigger scheme.

Michael Redman of OH 11:09AM November 24, 2009