After the bad luck of getting repeatedly assigned to a string of bad project lines over the course of a few years, I thought I could contribute more toward achieving positive outcomes.

Thinking that if only I could get the opportunity to help drive change with improvements on work prioritization with an end result to deliver quality work on schedule, I took some courses to complement my experience in an attempt to transition to more leadership positions. 

At the time, my employer was experiencing growth and we were winning work. Knowing there were upcoming projects on the horizon, I scheduled some time with my Engineering Manager to discuss my options. 

My hope was to land an upcoming Project Manager position.  Realistically, I thought it more likely a Deputy Project Manager position would be in the cards.  I would have happily settled for a team lead position of some sort. 

The meeting was short. 

After letting me share my career goals, the response was: “I’m sorry, you’re just too old.” 

At the time, if I were to retire at 65, I still had over 20 years of the grind left.  As I trudged back to my lowly cubicle I walked past and counted those in leadership positions (of age both older and younger than myself).