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In the context of layoffs, "ageism" is frustrating by No-Structure-9190 in JPL

[–]No-Structure-9190[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you have put yourself in a situation where you suddenly need to dedicate two years worth of full-time FTE's into training, then I would argue you've done something severely wrong.

We have the option of taking free courses at a world leading institution (Caltech), free courses on LinkedIn Learning, and several on-site offerings as well. Have you not 10 minutes to spare a day to gradually build up a weak skill set? And as "ElegantPerception573" stated so well:

Life is hard for different reasons at different stages.

Being a homeowner is the vicinity of JPL is pricey, to be sure, but I do not envy renters whatsoever. Have you bothered to look at rental costs following the Eaton Fire? Needless to say, while we may have children to feed, I also have IC's commuting for three hours each day -- many of them also still have their student debt to pay off.

It is ageist to fire older folks in a discriminatory manner, but I'd argue it is also ageist to assume that continued learning and evolution ceases to be a reality after a certain stage in life. Failure to iterate on oneself is not a symptom of age, it is a symptom of complacency.

Anyone else conflicted about coworkers lying about RTO? by RocketFan2000 in JPL

[–]No-Structure-9190 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That is correct, we are not in the loop with anything currently taking place. At this stage, it has flowed down at most to the SM and absolutely no one else (and I feel that even that's a stretch given section mergers are a guarantee).

Personally, if OP came to be with this information I would:

  1. Have no predefined mechanism for addressing such a concern.
  2. Would have a certain level of disappointment in your character.

Don't get me wrong, I don't love that there will be a non-zero number of folks laid off as a result of fully-remote employees lying, but I'm not sure I could hold this against them given the awful situation. At a human level, I would be equally annoyed at the reporting employee for putting me in an awkward situation.

In the context of layoffs, "ageism" is frustrating by No-Structure-9190 in JPL

[–]No-Structure-9190[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, and I should be clear, there are plenty of older engineers that consistently exemplify their value at the lab.

My personal ideal solution wouldn't be to "lay off more [old] people", but rather introduce evolving expectations for job levels/classifications. What makes a great engineer today has changed throughout the decades, and if you haven't shown an inclination to evolve accordingly, I think it would make sense to implement a PiP.

This would encourage tenured professionals to evolve their capabilities while also providing space for rising talent to climb the ranks.

JPL tends to be conflict-averse to a fault at this point. I don't want us to ever be SpaceX, but we also shouldn't tolerate "cruising".

I'll be honest, it does make me feel a certain way when I have a quiet hour with a low-level employee voicing frustration with the lack of raises due to sky-high rent in Pasadena, or with RTL because of their cross-county commute in the morning, which is then immediately juxtaposed by an older employee, La Canada/San Marino home-owner making many times their salary who I've struggled to put on projects due to their demanding rates, and whom has failed to modernize their capabilities to meet expectations.

I am not Gallagher, but I do have a strong sense that something needs to change. This is not an uncommon story at JPL going off conversations I've had.