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Where to Go After a Lifetime in IT?

Posted by Cliff on from the starting-the-next-chapter dept.

Pikoro asks: "I have been working in the IT field for the past 20 years or so, and after getting hired by the largest financial company in the world, I thought I might have finally found a place to retire from. However, after working here for almost a year, I find myself, not exactly burnt out, but longing for a complete career field change. It's not that doing IT related tasks aren't fun anymore, but they have become more 'work' than 'play' over the last few years. Since all of my experience has been IT related, I'm not sure where I could go from here. What would you consider doing for a living, after being in a single field for so long?"

8 of 902 comments (clear)

  1. Cars oddly enough by Alcimedes · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If you can get past the mess, I've found a lot of geeks are also good at fixing cars. Similarly complex systems that all work together, required trouble shooting of various systems, etc.

    The nice part is it's a useful skill in every day life, and if nothing else you might know when someone is going to rip you off at the local auto shop.

    1. Re:Cars oddly enough by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You can get an ASE certification in automotive electrical systems by taking a six unit course and a $250 exam. If you know anything about electronics, and computer systems, you will find it trivial. Probably the two most lucrative areas in automotive work are electrical work, and the color matching/spot repair work in auto body. Difference is that if you go to work for a body shop, unless you're already a veteran you'll spend the first few months cleaning paint guns and sweeping up the shop, whereas with an ASE cert in auto electrical and a little bit of competence, you'll be making more than you ever did with computers. And you won't be on call. Unfortunately, I never got the cert, because I was too poor at the time :/ I did get an automotive heating and A/C cert, but who wants to do that shit for a living? That's actual work :)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. You may actually want to stick with it by CaptainPatent · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sometimes it's simply a matter of finding the right company for you. There are so many different companies offering so many different career experiences in general. Finding one that isn't right for you may make you think you want to do something completely different when in reality you may just need a better boss, more flexible hours or more (or less) human interaction time. I'd look around at what else is close by before you make a leap in (potentially) the wrong direction.

    --
    Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
  3. Bike messenger by ponos · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I read this story on kuro5hin about someone on IT who went on to become a bike messenger. I'm not sure it would fit you, but it is a physical job and it is clearly not stressful. I am not sure how much someone like you earns, but I guess you probably have a lot of savings, so you could try anything you like. Other lame possibilities include "writing" a book, becoming a critic for some obscure thing that you always loved (say, a cheese specialist). For what it's worth, I like cooking, but I've heard it's stressful.

    If you're looking for a complete change, try a physical job (not necessarily manual labor as in "construction worker"), one that requires you to use your body.

    P.
  4. Bingo. by zyl0x · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is exactly why you're not supposed to choose a hobby as a career. Careers are meant to be something you're good at, and can stand doing, but not something you want to do for fun. What happens when you do something you enjoy over and over again? You stop enjoying it. You need to learn to separate your hobbies from your skills. Well, I guess it's a bit too late for that.

    --
    Blerg.
  5. Re:Me? by Bardez · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Funny, I work with a guy who did the exact opposite.

    --
    Perception is the thin dividing line between reality and fiction.
  6. MBA? by Darth_Burrito · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My friend left IT to become an MBA. He's graduating this quarter, and will be doubling his old salary. In his own words, he wanted to make the transition from the person writing the reports to the person requesting the reports. Of course, whether or not he'll achieve that as a consultant is debatable, but hey, he still doubled his salary and gets a change of pace. The two years he spent in the mba program served as a nice break from reality as well. Or as he would say, "Grad school is the snooze bar on the alarm clock of life."

  7. Re:Limited options by abigor · · Score: 5, Interesting

    'Whether you're rich and comfortable or not, when you're lying on your deathbed, are you going to think back on your life and say "if only I had tried this" or "I may not have done everything I wanted, but I gave it my best shot?"'

    Bingo! I actually have a name for this: the Deathbed Rule. When faced with a choice in life, choose the path that will lead to good deathbed memories and no regrets.

    By following this rule, I've done things that many might consider foolish - quit jobs to go travelling, spending months in other countries, and so forth. These days, I'm a contractor and I make it a rule to keep several months a year aside for fun stuff, even if that consists of just lazing around, spending time with my girlfriend and reading books, as I've done these past few weeks.

    By not following the Deathbed Rule, I'd probably have more money saved, but an absolute dearth of worthy life experiences - I'd have lived a "normal" life until now. What a terrible thought.