This can be a real bitch, eh! I have had a career that has been ridiculous, I think I have set some kind of record for being downsized, and yes once you hit 40 something, it is now the age or explicit ageism in the hiring practice.

I have lost my job 12 times due to mergers and being the duplicate employee at the new company or companies going bankrupt, each time it gets a little harder to re-start. I just quit my last job because the company was heading down an all too familiar path of failing, at least now I see the warning signs, and as they owed me a lot of back time and vacation I decided to take it back by quitting and getting it paid out rather than having it trapped inside of a bankruptcy never to see my wallet like the last couple of times. Luckily I have always lived below my means, and my wife has a really good job that allowed us to bank enough that we can ride things out for a long while if need be.