Lost my job today.
Kinda.
The word used was "downsized." I'll continue as a freelancer on a part-time basis. Trouble is, my bills are full-time, and I'm on the "upsize" of 50! Finding a new job means entering very frightening, very unfriendly territory. To make matters worse, while my age had nothing to do with my situation now, that age is against me as I look for a different job. That's why I decided to go for my Master's in the first place: to make myself more marketable. But I don't know if it WILL make any difference.

My age and experience is the very reason I SHOULD be VERY marketable. I can do it all, because I HAVE done it all. But no one wants it anymore.

I have an enormous number of skills--skills I acquired through education, work, training, and life lessons. Skills acquired by learning on the job, keeping my ears and mind open, and working my fanny off. It's too bad I couldn't have had all that experience and learned knowledge when I was 25. I have them now, and have a good number of years left in which to put them to use, but employers still want someone young. They just don't understand that seasoned workers are the best.

Their loss.