Grey
One of the big concerns moving to Australia was employment, not just because it was a new market with new business practices (business is business, after all), but also because I’m getting into age-discrimination range [thanks, Kate]. Working on the margins of IT, I get the searching questions, the off-hand remarks – sometimes – but because I also work in HR, for the most part it seems that my interviewers know better than to make a serious and overt effort to exclude me based on age. But it is a significant problem for many people here, and recent examples of the trend in Australia have appeared in the daily newspapers; articles on older-age apprenticeships, for example, or TAFE course work in hospitality and similar industries. For a country that has prided itself on the strength of its labor movement, it’s almost surprising to encounter these ideas. It’s also disheartening sometimes. Back in the States, I knew that it was going to be increasingly a problem for me. My bosses would get younger, and they’d want to bring their friends in. The technology has continued to outpace me, as has the jargon. But no matter what you call it or how you code it, I know what I’m talking about and I can make you understand it, too, so don’t let the grey hairs fool you.