NEW YORK, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The emergency water landing of a US Airways jetliner may shake up traditional notions about older workers and the value of experience, a U.S. jobs expert says.
Wendy Alfus Rothman, a business psychologist and career management expert at The Wenroth Group in New York, noted the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, is 57 years old with 29 years of commercial flying experience and every member of the plane's crew is age 49 and over. The first officer is age 49 and the flight attendants are age 51, 57 and 58, Rothman says.
Experience, preparation, impulse control -- all add to mental composure and the ability to balance emotions against a more rational and deliberate thought process, Rothman explains. Known in psychology as metacognition, a more user friendly term is "deliberate calm," Rothman says.
"Staying composed in the face of disaster seems to be an ageless -- and essential -- skill, whether landing a plane or navigating a tumultuous economy fraught with job insecurity and professional uncertainty," Rothman said in a statement.
"The ability to adapt, stay focused and calm -- whether you are in between positions or trying to keep the one you have -- are often aided by broad and deep experience."
