Invest in Skills Now for Working Past 65
Michael Schrage, writing on Harvard Business Review, has a message for you: You probably won't be retiring at age 65. You can read the piece to find out why, but his bigger message is this:
The skills you need to do your job today aren't the ones you'll require to continue working after retirement age. Schrage asks,
"Based on your current skill set and competences, what do you think your workday will look like when you're 70? Are you comfortable with the probability that you will be managing employees younger than your grandchildren? Temperamentally, do you think you'll add more value as a mentor, a partner, or part-timer? More important, what will your (much) younger boss think?"His advice is to spend 15 minutes today to contemplate a number of questions, what he calls the 15 minutes that could save five years.
Here are four of them.
- Do you honestly believe that, when you have to work five more years than anticipated, you can get away with not being more facile, adept, and productive with emerging technologies?
- Whatever your 70-year-old workday scenarios may be, what new or novel skills or experiences do they demand?
- Are there personal or professional development initiatives you should be undertaking now precisely because those five years present opportunities that the earlier deadlines don't?
- Who are the 70+ year olds whose presence, energy, and effectiveness might profitably serve as the benchmarks for your own? Who are the two 75-year-olds who you would professionally emulate?
What are you doing to prepare for working after 65?