Changing Career- Need Some Wisdom Please!

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For me money is important, but at the same time i actually enjoy doing IT, but im 100% sure i wont be on £20K PA when im 40!!! LOL and i dont think older people with "LESS" experiance are more likely to succeed at the job compared to a younger person with "MORE" experiance.

 

With an attitude like that, young man, I can see you going really far.

I hope that, when you're 40, you don't come up against the same bigoted attitude that you have shown, should you wish to attempt a career change.

Sorry, but I didn't see something in the Ts and Cs when I joined CF that stated I had to be 30 or under, or that I shouldn't even think about a career in IT.

 

Node your talking out of your rear!

I see that your 19 with a few qualifications to your name.
So your working in IT at the moment are you???
Or just some mouthy teenager gobbing off because you feel like it.

Get into the 'real' IT world & you will see that those over 30 & 40 are starting to make an impact in the IT industry.
After all those that started in the industry in the early 90's as your 16/18 year olds are now over 30 or 40!!!

Personally if it was up to me i would hit the ban button as your really just after stirring things up!

 

All im saying is dont expect to be on alot of money when you decide to do a career change at the age of 40, you'd most likely retire by 50-55.

 

Yep im working in IT at the moment and have since the age of 17. You are a complete idiot! Where i work they dont tend to hire people over the age of 25-30 for first and secound line support without at least 6 months to two years of experiance. Personally.. i dont think youd ever be in a better job then me. Obviously people over 30 & 40 are making an impact on the IT industry the ones who have experiance behind them, the ones without experiance tend to bring the industry down!

 

Node your just after winding people up & i'm not going to get into a 'I have a better job than you' slagging match.

 

It's quite amusing to see 40 year olds resorting to childish behaviour

 

For gawd's sake! Will you wire your mouth up?

Arroryn, I am all for free speech but this 'boy' is just on a wind up.

The point of CF is to help anyone who wants to get on in IT. This joker seems hell bent on dissing anyone over the age of 40, for some unknown reason.

 

Lol im not dissing anyone, just stating my opinion, not my fault if you take offence to it is it?

 

This thread is getting dangerously close to getting locked. I know this issue has already been addressed by two moderators so my comments on the behavior of the individual involved in the "wind up" are unnecessary. Suffice it to say, please get back on topic or I'll end the thread.

 

I got into IT in my forties and I seem to be doing rather well. I run my own business now, i am married, live in an amazing house *with no mortgage* no kids.. i am very happy in what i do. I doubt anyone here would say that i don't keep up with the latest technology. I still love learning new things, i have a passion for all things regarding technology, i have had since i was a kid. My whole carreer has been about fixing designing, and maintaining high tech stuff.

I am 52 btw and have yet to meet a younger person that is more proficient at IT than me (not saying there aren't any).

Anything is possible if you want it enough, age is irrelevant. All you need is the commitment, passion and desire to succeed. Work hard, think positive, follow the advice in this thread of the people with unbiased *vision*.

Good luck!

 

I'll get it back on track!

I'm 38, and at 35 I decided to make a career change, and it was a great decision. After 15 years of making really good money, I reached the point where my enthusiasm was very low. It was a struggle to get out of bed and go to a job that, quite frankly, I stopped learning at. The money is the only thing that kept me at it, until I finally reorganized my life to the point that material 'stuff' didn't do it for me. When I was younger, I was full of fire and brimstone, and every day was a challenge. As time went on, the 'light' slowly dimmed to the point of failure, and I knew I had to change.

YOU CAN DO IT. Make your mind up, invest in yourself, put your head down, and work honest and hard.

As for Node, don't be too hard on him. He certainly is entitled to his opinion, and his remarks are quite typical of someone his age. Soon enough he'll realize that some of the older people are very much a resource for him to draw from -- even with no IT experience, talented older people have a nice skillset to use in any job. We've got some talented young guys at work too, and a few are arrogant enough to think they don't need anyone -- and often float from department to department, looking for the greatest dollar with the least amount of investment. Trust me, that only lasts so long. I think Node may just imagine a tired old guy that doesn't know anything, who's just around clocking a paycheck. Most career-changers, if I may be so bold, are driven individuals that often excel much quicker once their knowledge is up to speed.

 

I don't care how old you are... if you can do the job, I want you on my team.

I know plenty of people who *started* in IT in their 50s and are doing quite well.

 

You are, in fact, dissing people when you call someone a 'complete idiot' and state that they'll never have as good a job as you will.

For the record, I officially started in IT at the ripe OLD age of 28. Care to take a run at me, mate?

EDIT: Sorry, mods... I posted this before treading all the way to the end of the thread. In any case, the original poster shouldn't fear to get into IT based solely on his age.

 

Even if I steal stationary?

For the record, in the UK age discrimination laws prohibit employers factoring age into whether they hire one person over another. Also for the record, standard retirement age in the UK is 65 (for men at least) and its not actually mandatory. Whilst the employer can declare their intent to retire someone at that age (and they must provide notice 6 months in advance, in writing), the employee is well within their rights to appeal the decision, and stands every chance of being able to continue their employment past that age (provided that the job isnt physically incapable for them).

Coyles, At 32, you still have plenty of time ahead of you to forge a career in IT - a whole 33 years in fact! Whilst you may not become as experienced as someone whos been doing IT since they were 18, that doesnt mean you cant have a career in IT, and its still possible to end up in a more senior position to one of these people. It all depends on the routes/career tracks you wish to take.

As has been pointed out here, make sure you research the situation fully before committing yourself to this path. Its likely to lead to a wage drop (although I suppose that really depends on what you have been doing for the last 15 years), so make sure that you can handle it. If you can, then its not so much of a barrier.

 

Depends on how good you are.