Stuck in my job at 55 with no ladder to climb
Getting a raise often requires moving into a leadership role, which is difficult when your people-management experience is twenty years out of date. Meanwhile, current employers frequently admit there is no internal path for advancement or fail to deliver on promised new positions. This leaves older professionals trapped having the same stagnant conversations every year, afraid to brave an awful job market that might judge their age.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Stuck in my job at 55 with no ladder to climb
- 1Taking lateral roles that pay lessDid this help you?
- 2Seeking private mentorship or networking through direct messagesDid this help you?
- 3Window shopping for jobs by quietly setting LinkedIn to 'open to work' for recruitersDid this help you?
- 4Staying put and focusing on high-visibility initiatives like security or disaster recovery to get noticed by upper managementDid this help you?
- 5Shifting focus to driving measurable business change to build an undeniable case for promotionDid this help you?
- 6Taking certifications to continue self-improvement while remaining in the stagnant roleDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’ve been told I’d be moving into a currently non created position for about four years, yet nothing has come of it.”source ↗
“I’m tired of having the same conversation every year with whomever my supervisor is at that point in time, but I also know the job market is awful and so maybe I shouldn’t be complaining and just be thankful to have a job.”source ↗
“Sounds very similar to my experience, where i was in a role for 8 years, built an IT department, implemented numerous changes, projects, etc.”source ↗
“Got to the point where I could have stayed for the long haul, but decided to challenge myself by moving on.”source ↗
“I feel like I've reached the ceiling of what I can accomplish as a web professional in my current role.”source ↗
“when I tried initiating a professional development conversation with my boss, he was blunt in saying there is no ladder for me to climb in my current role.”source ↗
“getting paid more means aiming for a leadership (Director or Associate Director role) with people management as the main feature of the job. I've managed people before but it has been close to 20 years since then”source ↗
“I am 55 years old. As a job seeker in the tech aspect of nonprofit work, I wonder what my chances are for advancing my career in this job market and at my age.”source ↗
“Been in your situation and managed to navigate it; seen others do the same.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4What to investigate first when revenue stops growing
- 20Why do I feel so far behind in my career compared to others?
- 22How to know if you need a career pivot or just a new job
- 3Does keeping to yourself at work hurt your career?
- 3How do I adapt my career to AI before I get laid off?
- 6Switching to the trades at 45 from a desk job