I just missed the 2009 ER but they changed the rules in 2011 and I got it. You had to be over 50 with your combined age and years of experience at 60 or over as I recall. I had four years at Cisco and qualified. The lump sum, prepaid benefits package came to one and a quarter years pay. I think that in 2009 you had to have a minimum years of service, 5 or 10 so I didn't qualify even though I was old enough. The age was lower in 2009 as I recall, 50 or 55. Anyway I got the nice payout and went to work for a competitor the next day. Some people I knew didn't take the package and they were laid off shortly later and had a hard time finding a job. I think that 3000 - 4000 people took the package.
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So what’s an alternative field that one (an engineer) could pivot to that could pay 6 figures in RTP?
I can only speak for RTP, but anyone in the tech sector out of work now will be doing short-term contract work at best for a long while. Layoffs have not really started yet, but they are coming soon. There are two types of data being used when applying for jobs out there. One is Cisco's method to post jobs that don't exist, but cover a breadth of different roles in the company. They used the desired salary or pay range to determine what those positions should be changed to. The other is to put jobs out there for people that are already in the role. They want to see what they can replace them with at a much lower salary.
Then, the ever so popular age discrimination. No, they cannot ask your age, but that little bit of information on when you went to college or years of service at all previous employment tells the picture. Leave something off, then they know you failed to complete the application. Oh, you graduated college in 1995, but your job history starts at 2005? What did you do for those 10 years? No, that never happens. That flags your application as being in your 50s and is truly ignored.
In 2011 there wasn't a global pandemic. While the job market in 2011 wasn't great, pretty sure it's way worse now.