Introduction
Today, let’s turn to the labor market. Most of the time, these reflections move in the realm of philosophy, theology, or questions of meaning. But every so often, it is necessary to pause and look at the ground beneath our feet—at the concrete realities that shape daily life. Work, after all, is not just a way to make a living; it is a mirror of how society values dignity, experience, and human effort.
What follows is not abstract speculation but an attempt to describe what I have seen first-hand: the contradictions, filters, and paradoxes of the labor market in the United States.
After a year working as a career advisor in the United States, helping immigrants and job seekers navigate the labor market, I can say with confidence that very few things actually work as a formula. Yet some truths are undeniable.
On one hand, anti-discrimination laws exist. On the other, so do filters. With artificial intelligence now driving hiring processes, those filters have become not only efficient but ruthless. Legal status, prior experience, level of education, and, in some cases, ethnic background all act as silent barriers. But the strongest filter of all is age.
In my experience, younger applicants consistently move through the process more easily, while older candidates, even after sending dozens of applications, often stall at the very first interview. Age discrimination is not declared, but it is overwhelmingly evident.
The Contradiction of Senior Employment
What makes the age filter even more paradoxical is the kind of jobs that are actually available for seniors. Strikingly, many of the positions open to older workers are the ones that demand the heaviest physical labor—precisely the opposite of what logic and dignity would suggest.
Take, for example, Mr. X, a man in his late 60s who had passed a physical stress test. Instead of assigning him tasks suited to his experience and age, his manager demanded that he perform the hardest physical work—tasks that a younger employee could have carried out far more effectively. The manager, whether out of poor leadership or by following company policy, used the stress test not as a guideline for protection but as justification to push Mr. X to the limit.
What happened next was predictable: after only a short time, Mr. X was burned out and resigned. And when he resigned, the company informed him that leaving “in that manner” meant he would never again be eligible to apply there. This policy is not rare. It reflects a troubling pattern: managers pushing older employees to their physical limits, knowing they will not last, and then closing the door on them permanently once they quit. The ultimate purpose of such practices remains an open—and disturbing—question.
For a retired person simply trying to re-enter the workforce part-time, the path is often uphill. Instead of finding stable, moderate, or knowledge-based roles, many seniors face a labor market that channels them toward physically demanding, short-term, or low-paying jobs. At the very moment when society should be valuing their experience, the system wears them down faster.
The Illusion of Training
To this invisible discrimination, we must add another paradox: training and orientation. On paper, nearly every job offers an onboarding process, some degree of training, or professional development. But the reality is that training only proves effective if the worker has already had prior training experiences. This creates a vicious circle: those who already have opportunities continue to build on them, while those who don’t are excluded almost from the start.
Nonprofit organizations, which often present themselves as places of service and charity, offer a striking example. They frequently hire personnel with minimal qualifications and little experience. At first glance, this seems like an opportunity. In practice, however, it works like this:
Minimal requirements, little professionalization. A basic orientation, just enough to get started. Overloaded tasks, constant micromanaging, and supervisors who seem designed to burn people out. After two, three, or four months, the worker is exhausted and replaced.
Turnover becomes the norm. Few stay longer than six months or a year.
Training or Burning Out?
Here lies the deeper problem: training is not just about passing on procedures or company rules. True training should open a space for growth, equipping workers with tools they can carry into their future. When training becomes merely a quick fix to staff low-skill roles, it ceases to be training at all. It becomes another filter, disguised as opportunity.
The Mirage of Remote and Freelance Work
To make matters more complex, we now have the explosion of remote and freelance jobs. Fields like translation, interpretation, or other independent roles outside the W2 system are often celebrated as “flexible” alternatives. In reality, most of these contracts are piecemeal and unstable. Workers face irregular paychecks, income disparity from month to month, and an inability to maintain a consistent budget.
What was once marketed as a great advantage—freedom, autonomy, independence—has turned into a trap. Instead of stability, freelance and gig work too often bring anxiety, unpredictability, and financial disorder. Far from empowering workers, it frequently reinforces vulnerability.
A Necessary Call
The labor market reveals a series of contradictions. It demands experience but offers no real path to acquire it. It promises training but often uses it as a tool to burn through people quickly. It preaches diversity but quietly discriminates by age. It glorifies freelancing but leaves workers unable to pay their bills.
The challenge is twofold. For workers, it means seeking networks of support, mentorships, and spaces where their experience or energy are truly valued. For organizations, it demands a change of vision: to stop treating training as a disposable expense and to start seeing it as an investment in human dignity and long-term stability.
A system that burns workers out cannot build a future.
A system that trains, empowers, and retains them can.
And it is here, in this choice, that the ethical health of our society is at stake
Centeno's Lighthouse 
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