Productive Age, Limit for Paid Employment

Peoples should work on productive age for paid employment. “Productive age is a range of age when people can work for paid employment optimally” (Conrad 2004:289). Before peoples reach productive age, they are reputed as peoples that have not enough skill. But after peoples pass their productive age, they are too old to work optimally. For example, Indonesia has a specific range of productive age that is from 18 until 55 years old. It means that people should work for paid in range of age 18 until 55 years old to work optimally. But, in some cases the range of productive age depend on the kinds of job and someone skills.

Each kind of job has a different requirement of age. A scientist can work for paid employment until 60 years old, but many sportsmen only work until 35 years old for their job. It is happens because a scientist and a sportsmen have a different requirement of optimal age for their job. Some one can be a great scientist after he finishes his study in doctoral level and does some researches. Therefore, maybe he will become a great scientist in 40 years old. On the other hand, sportsmen must be a young and strong man on 20 until 30 years old of age. So, those two different jobs will require a different range of productive age.

Skillful people have longer productive age. Each kind of job not only have a requirement of age, but also have some requirements of someone skills. People with some certain skill can apply for a job earlier. For example, vocational school’s students those have more certain skill than senior high school’s students are more ready for a job when they graduate. So they are ready for paid employment earlier and have longer productive age.

In conclusion, people has a limitation of age for work optimally that is called productive age, but the range of productive age is different for one to another people. It is depends on his or her jobs and skills.

Reference

- Conrad, Rownan. (2004). Economic Encyclopedia 3^rd ed. New Castle :Wadsworth Inc.