Jobs I'm Too Old For

It’s my birthday month so my blog posts are all going to be about me.

Since I’ve just recently gone back to work my brain is stuck in interview mode. There’s something about having been through the interview process and the preparation for the dreaded “Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ question that makes me think about the jobs that I’m already too old for. I’m turning 42. Statistically, and in accordance with the longevity of my family, I’m at about half my life expectancy. But as we all know there are jobs that I won’t be asked to apply for as a 42 year old woman. Here are some of my thoughts.

I’m going to discount jobs like professional cheerleader or supermodel. Yes, they are behind me but they really weren’t realistic career choices for me anyway. I can put professional soccer player on the list as that was one of my goals when I was 9 – along with concert oboist and President of the United States [more on that later].  I am definitely too old to play pro soccer even if I had enough talent. Those women who won back to back World Cup trophies were my contemporaries and even they are retired and broadcasting from the booth. But thank goodness for Title IX that this was a possibility for some women.

Now, while I’m not too old to be a concert oboist I am old enough and self-aware enough to not put any one I like through the pain of listening to me anymore. Every again. You are all lucky that no symphony will take me. Really. 

If you have Netflix Streaming you might have noticed that in January they showed the James Bond movies. That got us to thinking when in the careers of each of the title actors did they begin playing that role. [I’m going to stick to the major film actors here.]

·         Sean Connery – 32

·         Roger Moore – 46

·         Timothy Dalton – 41

·         Pierce Brosnan –42

·         Daniel Craig –38

Except for Roger Moore each of these actors began their work in this quintessential role before or around their 42^nd birthday. I’m not knocking Roger Moore, as these are the Bond movies I grew up on, but most people don’t consider these to be the Best of Bond. However, as trends go, if you want to be James Bond you need to secure this role while you can still pound down the martinis, run a lot, and not need a body double for ALL of your body.

In truth, President of the United States is the only job I can think of with a minimum age requirement. [Well, other Constitutional officers do as well – such as Congressional Representative and Senator.] So, I guess that while many jobs are never going to be open to me again I can always hold onto the fact that the highest elected office in the land is available to anyone as long as they are

• a natural born citizen of the United States;
• at least thirty-five years old;
• a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years. 

[Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution]

And, of course, as we all know James Bond can’t be elected President so it leaves just one more job open to some of the rest of us.