Technology - Retiring Baby Boomers

An Older Generation's Impact on the U.S. Workforce

Advice Seeker: Dear April,

The talk of baby boomers' retirement is on the tips of everyone's tongue, yet it seems to me that many boomers will stay working. Either because they need the money or they enjoy their work, most of the people I know plan to continue working. Are employers doing anything about the pending shift if they do choose to retire, and are employers doing anything to retain boomers as consultants or part-time workers?

Sincerely,

Blooming Boomer

April Masini's advice:

Dear Blooming Boomer,

Boomers will have to stay technology-educated in order to stay in the workforce -- and many of them will. Sandwiched between adult children who want to indulge their Gen X-ness and stay home and aging parents who are living longer and need care that the Boomers will have to give or oversee, Boomers have a lot more on their plates than adults their ages in previous years and decades.

One thing is certain about the job market. Technology is here to stay and anyone who can't keep up will be relegated to the "non-tech ghetto" a group of people I describe as such because they are not able to command as much in the work force because they have something in common: lack of knowledge of technology. Eventually these people will take on the same tags as unskilled laborers have.

One edge Boomers will have is that telecommuting makes working from anywhere easier to do, so they will have a bigger work load if they choose to stay in the workplace because of necessity, but they will have more options if they keep up their tech skills.

The two areas of the workforce that will open up as a result of Boomers in the work force in their 60s and 70s is there will be a lot of jobs for keeping Boomers up on tech skills. The education and re-education of Boomers will become a growing field. Another growing field will be geriatrics because so many people will be living so much longer. Medical schools will have to accommodate this field as will pharmaceutical and care giving industries.