Your age
villapb
Trusted RegularPosts: 357Registered
We have being debating in our practise your age and its effect on your career.
I am 46 and went through a career change in 2009 but have experience of business since 1999.
The younger guys in our practise seem to think when they get to my age that they will be semi retired or chilling, but I seem to be working the opposite. Do us older guys and gals run out of time or is accountancy which I think, like a good wine that age actually helps you. Some of my younger work mates have poor life skills and experience imo.
Just interested in what the opinion is on here, what I hear some time times concerns me, p.s I am told I look 35 and people don't believe me when I say I am 46.
I am 46 and went through a career change in 2009 but have experience of business since 1999.
The younger guys in our practise seem to think when they get to my age that they will be semi retired or chilling, but I seem to be working the opposite. Do us older guys and gals run out of time or is accountancy which I think, like a good wine that age actually helps you. Some of my younger work mates have poor life skills and experience imo.
Just interested in what the opinion is on here, what I hear some time times concerns me, p.s I am told I look 35 and people don't believe me when I say I am 46.
Comments
I'm 27 and I left and turned our bookkeeping business into a full practice 4 years ago. Not only am I young compared to many partners in accountancy practices but I also look younger than I am too! I've tried to not let this worry me. I've generally been maturer than my age, leaving home at 16, bought my own house and got married at 18 and starting a family at 19. My wife is the same age and very similar.
I've used my age as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. Many clients comment later that at first they had reservations as to how young I look but I can engage in conversation with them very easily and put them at ease with my knowledge.
In respect of poor life skills I agree in general. We took on an 18 year old for a short period earlier this year and we were quite shocked by the lack of life experience in terms of just not knowing much about the general world such as what heating oil was and similar general life knowledge.
Ultimately I think if you have the knowledge and experience then age is irrelevant and shouldn't make any difference.
Burg
Burg
Whenever I reminisce about the person I was, even 5 years hence, I cannot help but look back and think wow.. you really weren't as clever as you thought you were.
If I look back 10 years I was pretty naive. It scares me to look back any further than that!
In younger people I have worked with business naivety (complete lack of commerciality) is a very common trait and a very difficult one to lose in a hurry.
Our young intern has just come out with amazing words of wisdom: "I've come to learn, that your past self is a knob, and your future self is a judgemental prick"
And he's only 20! Love it!
Before the credit crunch I remember reading articles in the accountancy press about how the impending retirement of all the baby boomer partners allied to the unwillingness of the next generation to aspire to partnership would cause all sorts of problems. It seems to me , as Ian has already noted, a lot of the baby boomers are still working as they can't afford to retire.
I think anyone in their 20s who thinks they can earn enough money by their mid 40s to head into semi retirement need to have a pretty good business idea and the ability to implement it, or perhaps find a rich spouse!