Old man in trouble

It happens in diagnostics as well. I and 3 of my friends, all age 50 plus, were given poor evaluations by a horrible company formerly called Cytyc. I left before they were bought by Hologic. They promoted twenty somethings into management and then they proceeded to work together to get rid of the older reps that made the company what it was. Not that we were all old retreads who got lazy either. We all worked hard and continued to do well. All of a sudden the 3 of us in the midwest, plus others in other parts of the country, were experiencing the same exact thing. End result is that they have maybe 3 or 4 oldtimers left, by seniority, and the young managers are doing everything to get rid of who they consider to be Grandpa and Grandma. How times have changed. You are right, they feel we are disposable.

 

I hear you, In the same situation here as well. Maybe try this!

I was at my son's parent/teacher conf. last night and the teacher was a former salesperson and like all of us and was sick and tired of morons at the top making stupid decisions and making life difficult for him.

So.....he went back to school and got his teaching degree. Since he already had his bachelors - it did not take long at all. Now the guy has a great job, teaching what he loves and get's 3 months off and gets paid for 12.

I am strongly considering this as well. He said between he and his wife's earnings they got it pretty good and mostly his job is secure until he retires.

Good luck, have faith!

 

I would try other careers such as teaching but who would hire a teacher at age 64, which I would probably be when I got finished with school.

 

First time post. Never thought I would be another old man in trouble, well here I am! Over three decades in big pharma outstanding reviews and I am trouble, worst ever review and I am not sure whats next.
2009 was a challenging year for many of us who seen the ups and downs of big pharm. Sales were off for most. I have seen these types of years in the past, but this is different. The sense of urgency to get the numbers is now the new normal. Miss them once and your out. The ambiguities of what we need to do is over the top. I remember a time when Pharma selling created and maintained bonds between the organization and the customer. The firm hand shake, a voice of conviction and product knowledge sealed the deal.
There is alot to be said about common sense that the gift of the salesman or saleswoman is a gift of the person!
Effective sales people know that they have to develope relationships with our customers to have an effective reciprocal selling relationship. We project ourselfs with a confident persona. We know the sales person is as important as the presentation. We know that a true salesperson distinguished himself not as a sample droper or a one liner...but someone who has the ability to combine the feeling of familiarty and empathy for the Doctor and his patients. To fullfill a greater need.
This seems to be lost today. Get the numbers!!! in the cry from management, be damed the relationships you worked hard to develope. Just get the numbers. Not sure what the future holds. It is very uncertain. All I know that I hold some truths that I have lived with for 30 years. I treated all my customers with the respect they earned. In turn I have been respected, and rewarded with loyality and sales.
Lets keep this discussion going my friends, what we say here may have little impact or change, but it will allow us to look back at the the way it used to be.

 

I hate to say this but,…you bought into the loyalty lie that is big pharma. I am 50 and I only spent 3 years in “big pharma” and worked hard and networked my way to a now prominent biotech oncology company. It wasn’t so prominent when I took the “risk” may years ago to go there but honestly if you stayed in big pharma/mass market for more than five years you only have yourself to blame. I earnestly do not feel bad for all those laid off who didn’t diversify themselves and take some risks along the way. Sample/detail rep jobs are for recent college grads…period. If you stayed there that long you became stagnate and very replaceable. Unfortunately it’s too late to turn back the clock so honestly your best bet is to take whatever job in whatever industry you can get.

 

Thanks for the heads up Nostradamus, I mean really, did that you make you feel better. The guys ask a legit question and you act like an all knowing pricking.

It is better to be quiet and thought a fool, than speak and be known one!

 

I am the original old man that started this thread. I am still employed outside pharma, making a lot less money but have stability. With all the pharma downsizing, many younger reps are now looking to get into other areas, dental, home care, vet etc and taking huge pay cuts just to have a job. The competition is fierce. I am staying where I am, at lower pay, as at least I have a job. I have a few more years to retirement and will just enoy the lower stress which also means lower money.

 

PLEASE: Heed your own advise.

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt"
is the actual quote from Abraham Lincoln.

Poetically, "silent" is often a much better word to use than "quiet". Not always, but I think most of the time, in my reading. And it never hurts to provide the author of the quote, or at least one of the supposed authors, if nothing else.

 

Hey idiot, maybe you should take heed, #1 it was paraphrased and #2 the actual quote comes from Proverbs.

Now fix me a sammich!

 

consider some time retraining-look at things like physical therapy assistant as an example-they make about 40k and it is low stress-probably wold take about 16 mos in a tech college or look at course offerings from vocational schools-you dont have long to go before you will get medicare so you need something transitional-if you are trying to get a much better paying job that is another story and will likely be difficult-i would go for low stress and maybe do a couple of things-are you in good shape? could you train in personal fitness and start a company training the older set-combine a pt assistant diploma with a fitness trainer certification or health coach certificate online-Duke offers one. I think you have got to think out of the box (arg a pharma/corporate term i know) figure you need something you can actually do for awhile that is not going to make you sick with stress and will pay the bills-doesnt have to be great-i wonder how much you have in 401k-hopefully while you were working you puy alot back and it will recover over time before you have to use it- if that is the case stop contributing except the company match and increase your cash position immediately-is there a spouse? get her/him working too and putting cash back just put it in a cash acct-forget returns for now-if you are not married consider finding a partner-you need an economic machine to weather this storm good luck

 

Hey "old man". I work for big pharma in an "elite, hand-selected" team, I was told. Youngest is 35, median age is 45. We have a few in their mid 50's. Much of our remaining company would probably fit this demographic also. My answer to you, there really aren't any highly qualified younger reps out there. No companies have really been hiring for five years. Age is limiting you in your head. YOU know your job, YOU know your customers, and YOU know your business. You have been there and done it. Get your head right and go get the job. I am sure you can find something making $60,000 at least, probably more.
I believe in you, Bro!

 

I feel everyone's pain here. Just got word from EEOC that my age discrimiation claim
is dismissed, that I have the option to sue at my own expense. I was on leave of absence
when I moved to another part of the country three years ago and applied to a lower division to sell a product I had experience and success in selling. When I interviewed and
did not get the job, I was told the person hired had a "burning desire to sell xxxxx". I was 51 at the time, and the person hired outside the company was a stunning 30 yr. old. Do you believe that crap? Anyway, anyone out there know a labor lawyer I can bring this case to?

 

Here is a 2 year update from the original old man. I made #10/200 in the company last year, got a great annual review and raise, and am now up to my base pay from my pharma job of 3 years ago. Of course, the bonus is less, but who knows how bonuses are today in pharma anyway. I am in good shape and am thought to be much younger than I am. I enjoy my job so figure I can stay here for 2 more years and then get full retirement. It took some struggling to deal with the low initial salary but it paid off. And, I have to say, I do really like my job. A friend, in GA, is in a similar situation in the veterinary sales field and is still working at 70. He loves it and the stress is low. Sometimes the old guys do ok, other times it is impossible. It took me a long time to be able to survive on this job. But, I did it!

 

You may want to forget about trying to sue. It is very difficult to prove unless there is a trend of letting older reps go. Most companies downsize a mixture of ages to avoid litigation. I don't say it does not exist but I know it is hard to prove in a court of law.

 

48 and laid off after 24 years. Unemployed, wife makes about 50, I will take a huge pay cut if I can find a job. We are going to adjust out lifestyle to fit our income. The things that have made us happy over the years hasn't been because of money. I used to think I could retire early (remember the 80's) but now I think I will work until I die. I have been without a job for 6 months, and really can't imagine not having a job even if I could afford it. I lived in a trailer once and I can do it again.
The point is, find a job you enjoy, and live life at that level. I wish I had realized this earlier, but you get caught up in providing for kids, etc.

 

Then its time for you to move!!
Just out is the jobs market and its getting alot better per month!!

 

I also was turned out at 61 with sky high quotas etc sold diagnostic equipment!!
Before that I started in Pharma 1977-1979. I knew than that medical sales was iffy and I never felt comfortable having managers above me tell me you need to do this or that only to find out these guys got lucky with good territories or new someone in the company and sucked up!!The guys I've known in the industry always had something going while using their current medical job to support them. Alot went into realestate and even though its tanked over the last 4-5 yrs they have made a boatload of money while many who just worked their pharma job have come-up with nothing to show for all those yrs but bills!
In the meantime I was making sales rep of the year and big commission checks,but I lived like tommorow was my last day! So i started a small business not related to medical that was a hobby of mine. 15 yrs later I am now running a successful company that employs 12 people and I couldn't be happier. Face it most of you young people need to understand that you need to control your own destiny and no company is going to provide you with a lifetime job or retirement.

 

While I agree with your premise that reps can be around 10-15 more years, I don't think that will be the norm. I was lucky. I just retired at 61 years of age from a company with 35 years of service. Those kind of tenured reps are few and far between now and will be extremely rare in the future. There will be no pension plans for younger reps so maxing out roths and 401Ks will be the key to retiring. Companies really do not want long-tenured representatives as they cost too much.

Many are going to contract sales forces to add impact when a new product is launched and then that contract is stopped when the noise level does not have to be at a high level. Plus they do not have to expend any long term benefits to thpose reps.

As for the original poster---you have a time crunch. You need to go into a very quick change of perspective by living well below your means, addressing only needs and not wants, and get out of any debt that is possible. Tear up credit cards (debit cards will do the same thing) and start saving as rapidly as possible. Good Luck.