This job vulnerability often comes as a shock to 40-somethings who feel that they are at the top of their game. At 46, Frank N. Rodriguez Sr., a Houston machinist, thought he wouldn't have a problem finding a new job after a labor dispute threw him out of work. But even when he outscored them in tests, younger workers got the new jobs. Though he's earning more than ever, at a new job at a silicon wafer plant, he's worrying more, too. But Ripken may be a role model for mere mortals.
Age can hurt.
Of course, the mere act of blowing out 40 candles shouldn't dim one's career prospects. Most of us aren't trying to hit 98-mph fastballs. Yet a growing number of employers believe experience is a handicap when they're trying to make or do something brand new. It is sort of like the Army. Seniority, which once protected job security, has become the career equivalent of a laser dot on the forehead.