Hi guys and welcome back to the Building Financial fitness podcast. Today we're back with us again, Yvonne, and our topic today is navigating careers in your 50s. Welcome back.
Thank you, June, for having me back again.
The last time we spoke, we were talking about the amazing work that you and Daniel are doing as a family unit. And the power dynamics in a couple, but today I wanted to get you back on to talk about another topic which I think is relevant, especially in our current aging society, which is career navigation beyond your 50s. But before we go into the meat of it, Perhaps you would like to give the audience some context
about your journey as an amazing mom, as a career woman. Like, tell us a little bit about where you came from and where you are now.
Well, I graduated with a bachelor in civil instructor, so I was a civil instructoral engineer. People were surprised, like, yes, I was. And then I kind of navigate my career into logistics sector. Again, then I chance upon, of course, you know, mentors in my life who really, you know, like. my career path progressively. So from logistics, I joined Petrochemicals. Petrochemical, I was there for 20 odd years already in two MNCs.
So that is my humble career. Also done many roles in that 2 petrochemical companies, and business transformation. In investment projects, in marketing, so dabble in different roles and then progressed quite nicely through my career.
One of the often talked about topics in my gerontological studies when it comes to job marketplace is obviously ageism in the workplace and have you experienced that? How do you, if you have experienced that, how have you cope with that or Have you seen it in play, even though it may not be directed at you, because to be honest, you're quite young.
Thank you for that compliment, quite young. Yes, yes, I'm just touching 50. A is a reality. I've encountered some managers who are, well, in a way, they were trying to be subtle, but it's so obvious to me that, OK, I prefer a younger one because they are more mallable than a senior one. Those kind of comments are. Sadly, I've actually encountered myself. But for me, it's a, well, a little bit senior work in a corporate world, I like to mix with the young ones because that's why
we learn, we mingle, we cross as change. So for me, I tend to also cross that learning with the younger ones, on technology, on what's happening, and all that because I've got two teenage kids at home. So for me, it works pretty OK how that cross has change happened, but I think ageism for me is a reality. And also in the study also that we we know that by 2030, 1 in 4 Singaporeans will be 65 and above. And there is a rising 10% from today, that's 1 in 6.
So it is a reality, we have to accept it, and we have to just embrace that. There will be more senior workers in the workforce. And looking also down at myself, coming from the Gen X profile, we have been through also really major financial. In 1987 was the Black Monday, the stock market crashes. Also in 2008 and 2009, also the recent COVID pandemic. I think we've been through a lot in our generation. So I would say we are resilient, we are adaptable.
At the end of the day, it's really the individual who have that mindset, you want to learn, you want to upscale. You never stop being active. Like for me, I do a lot of sports. I do sports every day. I swim, I go to the gym. They are cheat dates, of course, but um, on average, I do it almost like every other day. I do rock climbing, I do tracking. So I think at the end of the day, it's really down to the individual, how you want to live your life. Positive mindset and keep learning. And you
raise a good point there because people, when they think about age in the organization, they always think about chronological age, like they look at your welfare and and that is a number on the HR on the employee database, right, that increases plus one every year. But chronological age is so different from our biological and functional age, because somebody who is 50 or 40 could be very different in terms of energy, in terms of attitude, in terms of the zest that they bring to the job.
So I think that you raise a good point there which is, you know, if somebody who's in their 50s and they're thinking about career navigation or worrying about, you know, whenever there's the next job cut, they always feel that the ones who are older and getting paid more will be the ones to go first. Like it or not, and it may not be good to hear that, but it is the truth, sometimes the unspoken truth when there's looming job cuts.
I would say yes, that's again, the reality, right, given the choice between a more senior versus a young one that has many more years and energy to contribute. I've seen that as well that happened in in some of the job cuts. But I'm a believer myself that I work in a company, I would step down when it's my peak performance days. So I haven't mentioned that I've left the last company after 11 years. Why so? Not
that I'm afraid of being cut. Because for me, it's when I'm at a peak, that's where I have this mindset that I need to step out to embrace another step change of myself, to challenge myself that I can do something else. There are still colleagues of mine who are still there, you know, probably waiting for a good package of retirement, but to me, it's not working for me. I'm not saying that it's the right thing or wrong thing, but to me, I don't believe in that. I believe in me taking control of
my life. I believe in me making a difference in my life. It might not be easy. I won't say this is all rosy because when you leave a cushy job, right, a big income, you start to wonder, am I doing the wrong thing? Am I making the wrong decision for the family? So a lot of consultation, a lot of, uh, thinking being done before I decide to say, I'm done. I need to find something else to do. Yeah, so I'm gonna have career break now, Juniors as we speak, yeah.
Yeah, I I appreciate the honesty when it comes to doing that and like you said, it's not easy to step out of like cushy job, you know, like the golden handcuffs kind of analogy, and it's also not easy to step up when you're at your peak. Because people would often think like why and there's a lot of questions that you need to feel, but when we think about our lives, the most precious assets is actually the time that we have here.
Then with another 10 years in this cushy job make sense in the grand scheme of things, which is our lifetime. I think that's the perspective that you took.
Right, right, exactly. So I took that bold steps. So for me, the next 10 years has been really, really wonderful. It will get just get better because when you are in that in this age that you will know yourself even better. Who you are, what kind of environment that you strive better? What kind of contribution you want to meet? Is it just financially? For me, it is not. Otherwise, I wouldn't left that cushy job. So for me, the next 10 years is a golden 10 years that I will be fitter,
I will be stronger, and I will be happier. So that's my definition of that golden 10 years. That's why I decided to take a step out.
I
love that. And I got to know you right lovely, you know, June and many other friends.
I certainly appreciate that. I'm very excited for your next decade as well. How do you move beyond the financial goals? When people think about their jobs and they think about in the context of their retirement, often people are thinking, let me maximize my most economically productive years, and then they are indeed waiting for that big payout. I think we're all familiar with people who are in jobs,
especially in their 50s. In certain companies, there is a certain age, which is 55 or something, as a partner where you receive the grant payout and people would really make sure that even no matter how hard the job is right now, that they will stay to that. How do you shift from From maximizing financial goals to a more holistic view of all the other goals that you want to achieve in life.
So I think to begin with what kind of lifestyle you want to live for your retirement, for your family, that's number one. Number 2, have you done your homework before you call a day at the cushy job? I've done my homework, I've done my sum. Am I done yet? No, I'm not done yet. So I would say the next 10 years could be something even maybe more interesting. Could be another career, right? So again, that provide, again, the assurance that it is time for me to really step up
from that cushy 11 years. I think importantly, is that really for me, when I, you know, in my 30s or 40s, I always make sure that I have no. I clear my debts, I clear my housing, I clear my car, whatever I have is really just assets. No liabilities, all paid off. So that allows me to have that freedom to say bye bye boss, because that's not the kind of life, the work that I want to lead. Yeah, so that gave me the assurance since I was young, I have that mindset,
yeah. I think in the fire circles, the financially independent retire early circles that usually it's called FU money. But yeah, it's the same concept where you basically have accumulated some where you know that you can be comfortable and you're not reliant on the job to pay for all the financial obligations that you have.
Yeah. But having said that, I think, again, I want to go back to that ageism and also in the workplace, right? It doesn't mean that we, we have this mindset of that and then we are done and we, we give up easily. No. So it's still being professional, it's still committing to our work. But we don't have that kind of burden. You know, no matter how upset we are, you know, how angry we are, we just stay with the job. I think that's not the life that in your 50s
that you should have in my own definition. Yeah, you have more freedom of choosing what kind of work that you want to have a more meaningful contribution for your family, for
the work. Would you have envisioned the step that you took when you were in your 20s or 30s?
Good point. I think it's a progressive thing. When I was in the 20s, I was just busy, you know, finding the next career. Letter, what is next, what is next? Only when I have kids like in my 30s, a bit late, I start to plan when it's a time that it should be a time for me to really go to this point X and then I call it a day. So it's a progressive planning, but you know you're ready. And it's always a baseline, it's always being prudent, do your sum,
do your saving, do your planning. There's a baseline. Yes,
I love that. And I think it's also seasons of our life. Different priorities come into play in different parts of our lives, and I guess we wouldn't regret the last part of it in the 20s and 30s if you are like hustling and spending a lot of time on work, but that actually helped build a financial foundation, which is important for you to be able to enjoy the rest of your life. Life, pursuing other goals and the foundation of it is like you said, the savings and investments, ensuring that you're
covered from an insurance perspective. And that is a good foundation to actually build the other parts.
Yep, absolutely, June. For me, I think it's exactly what you just mentioned, right? Be able to have that financial safe haven and also do that progressive planning. At the end of the day, you're well taken care of and you have that freedom of choice at this age to decide the kind of life you want.
If you had like a parting phrase to people who are in their late 40s, 50s, who are thinking about a career change, even though it might seem scary, what would your advice be to them?
Firstly, do your sum. Are you ready for it as a family unit, consult your family, get a consensus. Number 2 is also to be clear. What you want to strive in your next career. Are you ready for a change or are you ready for a step down? If you're ready for a step down, then it's a different equation, right? Maybe you're happy with just a 9 to 5 job, you know, something that you can easily navigate and have more time for yourself, family. So that could be one, or you still want to
have a step up in a career. In that case, then I think it's also It's important to mention that keep the network active, social network, also the trends, what's going on in the market, keep that active to be able to come back to the market and to be even stronger in the market.
That is actually very useful and solid advice. So thank you so much, Yvonne, for coming on. Really appreciate you sharing.
And most welcome to join us again. Thank you so much.
Many thanks as well to all of you out there for tuning in. This has been a fantastic conversation and we would definitely love to hear what you think about it. If you would like to get in touch with us, you can reach out to us through the email podcast at melisten.sg or at my Instagram at misfitfi. Aside from that, if you enjoy what you're listening to and want to hear more, please help to spread and grow the show by subscribing on Me Listen or Apple.
Podcast or by following on Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Finally, the Building Financial Fitness podcast is an original production from Media Corp and recorded at Skate Live Studios, the pod, powered by Audio Technica and City Music. Episode production is done by Junes Yu with editing and support by Danny Cordy and Gareth Fernandez. Once again, I'm your host and BFF Junes Yu. Until the next time.