The Secret to Success to Staying Employed in Technology into Your 70s [Podcast]

Podcast #274 – Mike McNatt Explains How He Stays Employed in Tech by Contracting

Description:

In this week’s episode, I speak with Mike McNatt, a test and compliance engineer who continues to work contract jobs into his 70s. He was introduced to me as the guy who has got this gig work down and that is not working for Uber.

My good friend, Marti Konstant, who is a workplace futurist and career coach, said I needed to have Mike on this podcast. Mike has worked contract engineering jobs and has developed a strategy to stay fully employed.

Mike is an engineer who was interviewed for Forbes called, Working In Tech At Any Age–This Engineer Tells You How. He also produced multiple LinkedIn posts on his strategies which I will include in the show notes.

Back in the 1980s, when I worked for IBM, I helped lead a mechanical design support group. Our internal customers hired a lot of contract engineers for 12-to-24-month contracts. What I learned was they would work a contract, then take a few months off and then find the next. They were completely comfortable with this lifestyle.

Here we are 30-40 years later, and this is a new way of working. Mike has become comfortable with this, and I want you to listen to his story.

This episode is sponsored by Career Pivot. Check out the Career Pivot Community, and be sure to pick up my latest book, Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life Third Edition.