Career in IT? Never too late?

[vifferman]

One of the troubles with IT (or mebbe it's a plus, if you like that sort of thing) is that things are changing so fast, you have to work very hard to keep current with things. That's why I dropped taking care of the hardware and software - it was just too hard keeping up with things, on top of my other responsibilities (running a lab, recruitment, looking after consumables, rewriting the payroll program, etc etc.)
I should've just stuck with being a manager - I was good at that, and it paid more in real terms than I'm getting now, 14 years later. And I'm so fucking bored!

[TerminalAddict]

You're 12 aren't you? Let me know when the reality hits and I'll help you get through it. Lots of riding works,

poor jim2 ... beaten up in yer old age eh?

On a personal note: I agree entirely with jim2
I absolutely hate getting woken up by network outages from TCL and Telecom, quickly followed by a call from the boss who often says "can you just call them, and tell them to fix it"

[James Deuce]

Managed change is good. Unmanaged change is the norm as it allows Corporate IT companies to pressure clients into forking over money so they can develop products and procedures they can sell to other companies.

I think overall, the lack of ethical self control in the Corporate IT world is the thing that most repulses me.

[marioc]

You're 12 aren't you? Let me know when the reality hits and I'll help you get through it. Lots of riding works,

No not 12,33 actually.
After 10 years in the industry I think reality hit me a long time ago.

[James Deuce]

poor jim2 ... beaten up in yer old age eh?

On a personal note: I agree entirely with jim2
I absolutely hate getting woken up by network outages from TCL and Telecom, quickly followed by a call from the boss who often says "can you just call them, and tell them to fix it"

Gaaaaah! Exactly! It takes two hours to get someone at TCL to admit that there is a problem. The pointy hairded never seems to understand that you can't magically make a 3rd party do their job.

[James Deuce]

No not 12,33 actually.
After 10 years in the industry I think reality hit me a long time ago.

I still enjoyed my job at 33 as well. There will come a time.

[vifferman]

I wonder if it's time for me to start being a geologist...

[Gaz]

If hypothetically, someone was in their mid 40's and decided bollocks to this, I'd like to give IT a crack as a career, what would someones best options be? Hypothetically, of course ....

If you like to PM me I could pass this info on, hypothetically ......

If "they" did a course, would they tend to be overlooked for younger graduates come time when they were chasing a new position? How long and what would it cost to get some sort of qualification to suit?

Thanks!

I'm picking, when you say IT you mean 'something with computers' - I changed careers about 7 years ago - I still have no 'IT' quals - but I do have skills which I applied to the new 'job' The biggest issue is the change / doubt PLUS the other people here telling you what a shitty deal it is. (Don't underestimate how damaging this is)

I work from home, make really good money. I have time to ride in the weekends - and if i want, I can go for a quick (1-2) ride during the day. My advice is to look at your existing skillset, figure out how they'd apply to your new hypothetical career and Go for it. If you think this lot are pissing on your dream, wait til you've made up your mind -- EVERYONE and Everything you look at will add doubt.

[Joni]

Gav, I think you can see there is the good side and the bad side of IT... but is that not how life is?

IT has always treated me well, and I have enjoyed my career when involved in it.

Chch is different to Welli/Auckland... you need to do your homework, talk to someone who knows the industry in the South Island... and find out what potential there is for you. Once you know what areas you can crack and what is needed to get there, then you can decide if you really want to go down that path.

[James Deuce]

FFS, so you're not allowed to convey your opinion when someone asks and you have to be all rollicking and supportive. I've worked in a variety of roles for a variety of organisations from monkey to manager and back again. Self employed also. The single biggest thread running through the contacts (1000s of people) I've made in the industry is the huge number of good people wanting to get out of IT, but trapped by circumstance.

Good on you if you are one of the minority that have found a niche that works for you.

The way most people try to break into IT these days seems to be through a service desk/call centre type role. Don't do it. Once you get one of those jobs you aren't going anywhere.

Study, gain a qualification, stay self employed (read: contract work) and enter at the level you want to.

[Devil]

The single biggest thread running through the contacts (1000s of people) I've made in the industry is the huge number of good people wanting to get out of IT, but trapped by circumstance.

Definately. If it wasn't for the mortgage... i'd actually be doing something I enjoy.

Fuck IT, right in the ear.

If you've already got management experience, do what someone else suggested and try and jump in on a non-technical level where you're actually telling people what to do, because it forking sucks on the other end of it.

[PuppetMaster]

Definately. If it wasn't for the mortgage... i'd actually be doing something I enjoy.

Same here, but the majority of people are probably in the same boat.

[Drunken Monkey]

... The single biggest thread running through the contacts (1000s of people) I've made in the industry is the huge number of good people wanting to get out of IT, but trapped by circumstance.
...

Amen to that brother.

Cabbage farming doesn't pay enough to finance my expensive tastes though...

[Hoon]

The IT industry is pretty competitive especially at the entry level. You are not the only person to think "hey this interweb thing is pretty easy" and there are a lot of people fooled by the "Get your A+, MCP certification and waltz straight into a $60K job" speil.

In reality you may struggle to get your first job which might be donkey work like changing backup tapes or answering phones on a helpdesk. From there you may progress to desktop support, server admin, project implementation, project design and so on.

You could go the network engineer route which is more of a niche and but means cisco CCNA as a minimum qual.

Or Software developer which really needs a degree. Even then you might start as a software tester for the first couple years.

Theres also web design (and Graphics) or database management.

As for your age this may count against you. Not only will you be working with kids that know more than you, as you get older you also lose that "keen interest" factor and its harder to keep up. When I was younger I couldn't wait to get home to rebuild my home network and try out the lastest beta of SBS server to see all the new features I'd been reading about for the last year. These days its like "hey that DVD case will come in handy, now whats on TV".

But its never too late. My only advice would be to spend the extra time getting more quals. MCSE as a minimum and even CCNA to put you above the rest of the entry level pack. No need to do courses, just study online cram brain dumps and just pay to sit the exams. Its just a piece of paper after all.

[magicfairy]

I "retrained" from being a nurse to IT in my mid 30s. Now been in IT for 15 years. I work at a training company teaching "systems" - Microsoft Operating systems, Exchange and Citrix.I also look after our own network.
I have seen many many students over the years, working in lots of different areas with different skill sets. From helpdesk to senior consultants.

Certainly financially retraining was a good move, I have earned a lot of money over the years. But IT as gotten a lot more complex in the past few years, you can no longer be good at everything.

For someone starting out I'd recommend getting some formal qualifiations, maybe doing a 6 month or 1 year course, trying to get A+ Network+ and/or some experience with Microsoft products and networking.
If you can get your foot in the door in some sort of "helpdesk role" for a decent sized company, then if you are any good at your job you can progress to more senior roles quite quickly.
Big money can be earned but generally you start on lower wages and move up. Learning as you go.
IMHO being highly technical is not as important as having good people skills, common sense and a strong work ethic when it comes to doing well. Skills can be gained with experience and practice.
However being a bit older will probably count against you getting that first job, so try and get work experience and prove your practical skills. That will also help you work out which areas of IT you like and don't like. Some people like programming / software development, others like looking after systems. Some like the people side of things - helpdesk, projects, teaching.

One thing to be aware of, some IT roles require work to be done "out of hours" (upgrades, repairs, new systems) and many companies don't pay overtime - they say it is "built in to your salary". Which can mean long hours for little reward.

Personally I am getting to the stage where I am thinking about what I'd like to do OTHER than IT, but it has been an excellent career, well paid, enjoyable, interesting.