'I've never seen my dad so depressed and hopeless before': Family watches Navy veteran father face homelessness after three years of tech unemployment

A post on Reddit’s r/jobs has talked about someone a few years out of college trying to start their own career. Their father is 60, lives in Texas, holds a computer science degree, and has years of experience in data and business analysis, including senior positions. He is a Navy Reserve veteran. He was laid off in summer 2024 and has been unable to find work for nearly three years. He has lost his car. He is on the verge of homelessness.

“I’ve never seen my dad so depressed and hopeless before,” the original poster wrote. “It hurts to see the man who sacrificed so much for my sister, mother, and I to be in this position.”

The family has been helping where they can; the poster has assisted with resume updates and applications, and every effort has produced the same result: rejection, silence, or interviews and projects that lead nowhere.

What Reddit said

The thread identified ageism as the central force the father is running into, and confirmed it is both illegal and widespread.

“Ageism is terrible in tech,” one commenter wrote directly, before suggesting government jobs as a potentially more age-neutral alternative.

Another offered a personal their personal experience to help provide some insight: “I hired in my last job at 59, and they thought I was too old. I am now 75 and still going. Good luck to your father. It’s tough out there.”

One commenter asked a pointed question about appearance-based discrimination: “Does your father look like he’s 60? It’s very illegal, but companies unfortunately do ageism and reject great people who would be an asset so they can get someone younger and cheaper

Several commenters pointed toward alternative income streams as a bridge. “Look for jobs with ‘returning to work’ programs,” one suggested. “He can also be a tutor. I have a college graduate friend who lives off tutoring money alone.”

Another described a similar path taken by their own mother: “She ended up tutoring at two different places. It isn’t ideal, but no one wanted to hire a woman in her late 50s who struggled with computers.”

There is only so much a child a few years out of college can do for a parent in crisis, and acknowledging that limit is not failure. Connecting the father with support services may be one concrete step that they can do that does not require them to solve everything themselves.

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