Re: A Comment re: "Senior" HP Personnel

[rkathren@tricity.wsu.edu (Ron L. Kathren)]

Jim --

You have indeed stirred the pot.

Sounds like age discrimination to me.  Perhaps some -- even many -- of those
'senior' members (I know of at least 2) were already retired and there on
their own, still contributing.  And, I suspect that the age distribution of
those attending the HPS meeting differs significantly from those in the
profession as a whole and thus is not a valid basis for your conclusion.  As
for the dearth of jobs, it looks to this observer (from very limited and
biased observations) that there has been a turn around, and there is in fact
no longer a surplus of HP's, at least in the USA, and at least for CHP's.
Canada, however, appears to be the opposite.

Surely you do not propose a mandatory retirement age, or worse still, favor
the Blessington method!!!!  

Ron Kathren



 >
>     
>     Please allow me to "stir the pot" if I may.
>     
>     I attended the recent HPS Annual Meeting in Seattle
>     which was my first, and was very impressed with the
>     quality and quantity of the topics and discussions.
>     
>     There was one observation I made that I would like to
>     put forth and possibly open the floor for discussion.
>     
>     It seemed to me that there were a large percentage
>     of "senior" HPS members in attendance. By senior, I mean
>     persons who look to be prime candidates for a happy, enjoyable
>     retirement.
>     
>     Now, assuming that most of these folks are not already retired, 
>     wouldn't a solution to the current "dearth" of job openings in our 
>     profession be evident here ??
>     
>     Am I way off-base here ?
>     Is HP such a satisfying career that we all want to die with
>     a geiger in our hands ? or,
>     Is HP so "non-lucrative" that none of us can ever afford to retire ?
>     
>     Any Comments ?
>     
>     (BTW - I do not need a job, but I do know some younger people who do)
>     
>     Jim Presley
>
>
>