I first thought to delete my account on PM and through away all the code i ever wrote as well as my hand library and forget about everything related to programming.

Don't!

I'm not yet 60 but I've been semi-retired for over a decade (I only work from home; only on projects that interest me; and the only meetings I'll attend are telephone meetings, and then only those with 5 people or less taking part), and trust me, you'll need the mental stimulation.

For all the satisfaction you can derive from all those jobs around the house and garden that you've been promising yourself you'll get to one day -- building a wall; laying a patio; making a replacement screw for the one you lost whilst changing the battery in your watch -- you'll still need the mental stimulation that comes from tackling hard, logical problems like programming. At least I do.

I'd say that is 95% of the reason I still come around this place after 12 years; the supply of stimulating problems to wrap my head around. It is just a shame they are so few and far between these days.

(Sorry to hear you got fired.)

One of my coworkers is a retired lady in her mid 70s doing COBOL as a freelancer.

Many projects are still running Perl applications but failed to train personnel.

The only drawback might theoretically be the need to show flexibility and move to a new location.

But truth is that mentioned lady is now working 100% remotely.

I'd say conditions for elderly experts are getting better and better recently .. :)

All the best!

PS: and if you are just looking for an occupation, schools are desperately hiring even untrained teachers to provide IT courses.

Sorry to hear that, especially since it sounds like a job you enjoyed. However,

As i'm aged 60 + i guess i'll never get a new job. ... I consider that Donald Trump must be impeached as soon as possible

That figure which you deplore so much has recently landed a new job. He's 70. If that utter failure can get a new, prestigious job, so can you. You are better than him in pretty much every way (I've not seen your hairstyle) so let that be your fillip.

Go get 'em!

>  He's 70. 

But one orange year equals seven human years!!!

#Fake_news #So_sad #Perlmonks_total_failure #Sind_so_kleine_Hände #Barron_do_my_homework

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language and ☆☆☆☆ :)
Je suis Charlie!}

the work market is a shaggy beast and I understand your guess and even if 15 year younger I've the same fear in the case of been fired.

Anyway do not give up! you have for sure a good knowledge of Perl and surely about many other IT related things. A job is always possible to find (I hope at least in germany..). As free lance, telecommuter, teacher..

In any case do not leave PM and do not throw away what you have done of good with Perl. I understand your rage but do not point this rage against yourself or your programs.

Try to transform your rage into something benefical: reinvent yourself using this rage to demonstrate to the world that your brain and knoweledge is still usefull to the community and that your employer is a piece of shit.

best regards and best wishes for your future!

L*

My dear brother Karl,

You have my sympathies, truly. Getting fired sucks. Financially, it can range from a minor inconvenience to a full-blown disaster, but it can also be a bitter blow to one's ego.

As my Mother says, from her Growing Up in the UK During War-time Voice, "Never mind, better days ahead!" Stick around .. the company here is great, and it's wonderfully stimulating to read about the technical challenges people face, and all of the interesting solutions that are offered.

I would recommend, see what you can do to help out an open source project or two. If there's a local User's Group, stay in touch with them. Opportunities will pop up. Stay positive, and keep on trying out new things.

You'll stay here, immediately!

But it isn't so easy. I spent the last 20 years with this stuff.

And that's why. Being fired is a heavy blow, but that's no reason to think you and your experience are useless. That's what they think, not us, and neither should you. It's them that fired you, not us.

Many esteemed Monks have left, for whatsoever reason. And each one is a sore loss. Think zentara, our perlTk guru. He's around occasionally, great. I miss Zaxo, diotalevi, tachyon and so on, blazar died, well, he won't come back for all what I know, neither does almut. Imagine what this site would be without experienced programmers.

Do some regression tests with yourself, as with any seasoned software.
Regressions advance with age. ;-)

And share your memory whilst you have it.

(I'm close behind you btw, aged 55, and also prone to be spit out - just a gut feeling.)

sorry to hear that you got fired. But don't despair, and don't delete your account. You are still a very valuable individual that can contribute to many things, such as open source projects or other things. And you might even get a new job, even if it might be with different conditions.

My two cents' worth of personal experience. I am 61 now, and I got fired from my job nine years ago. I thought at the time that I wouldn't find a new job with a regular employment contract. So I decided to move to free lance work. And since I was fortunate enough to have a real expertise on the customer administration and billing system of a major telecommunication operator, I succeeded to work full-time as a freelance contractor during eight years. Better yet, last year, the company for which I was working as a freelance subcontractor figured out that I might be tempted to go to their competitor and offered me a full-time employment agreement at age 60, so that I am no longer free-lance for the time being. And if I succeeded to get hired at age 60 in France, I'm pretty sure you can also in Germany, where it's probably easier.

Meanwhile, during these nine years since I was fired, I learned a lot of new things that make me more valuable on the job market, including becoming much better at Perl and even learning a new language, Perl 6.

In brief, you can probably find a new job, even if this implies some changes in the specific conditions of employment. And you can contribute your talent and knowledge to many other things.

As i'm aged 60 + i guess i'll never get a new job

I wouldn't count yourself out. One of my coworkers is in his 90s and as best I can tell, we've got plenty of work to keep us all busy for the foreseeable future.

(Not impossible for our customers to throw sand in the works, of course.)

At least for myself, I'm never going to stop writing new software - paid or not - until I just can't do it anymore.

Please don't delete your PM account or any of your code. I think you would end up regretting that. And I think you make positive contributions to the PM community.

Sorry to hear that, but I concur with the rest -- don't rage-delete all of your stuff... As mentioned before there's always freelance work, teaching, or even consulting. Lots of companies have huge perl environments -- I know my location does.

Just hang in there, take a breath, and figure it out when the emotional distress has largely subsided.

I'm now almost officially old enough where I can say I'm "pushing 50" (f**************ck). It doesn't stop me one bit, though. It's all a frame of mind. I look at it as a hobby which I enjoy. Kind of like the woodworker out in the garage making stools and chairs for the challenge and joy of it. As far as a job goes, my brother-in-law is pushing 65. He's job-hopped like almost 10 different employers in the past 10 years as a software developer. I'm sure it's tougher to get a job, no doubt, but it's not impossible.

My heart beats for you good man.

It's unfair and unapologetic, but also temporary. Take your moment respite, allow the bitter pill pass.

Take comfort that there are opportunities. Knowledge is power and someone will want to gather yours. 20yrs experience of true programming prowess goes a long way in an age of point-and-click assembly of 'code'.

The zen was not in your office, or on your computer, in those books or hard drives. Please reference Book 9 of the Tao of Programming. And know I mean it in the warmest and most positive light.

There is more to your story.

Hang in there ... age matters little in this industry.