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Where to Go After a Lifetime in IT?
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?"
To Hell, of course !
Votez ecolo : Chiez dans l'urne !
I'll take "Laughing all the way to the bank" for $100k/yr, Alex.
If you expect anything like the same money, about your only options would be producing porn videos, politics, or some other life of crime.
Otherwise, get a job flipping burgers at your local McDonalds, and work your way up.
I'd become a fireman.
/* No Comment */
This seems akin to asking Slashdot what you should be when you grow up. There's no way total strangers could answer this for you. Take a look at your hobbies, interests and what you do well at. Look at the classifieds and see what kind of jobs center around those things. See what kind of experience and education they require. Go from there.
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.
If you have a great deal of project management experience - there is an ocean of opportunity out there that does not involve "IT". Construction / manufacturing / etc. all require project managers to keep new ideas on track and on budget.
If you have a great deal of experience with risk managemnt - there may be an opportunity for you in the stock market.
It's all about which areas you have experience in, and how comfortably you are at adapting your skills to a new environment.
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.
If you have a nest-egg, like ownership of your house, you can consider moving to some 3rd world country. Like Costa Rica. The typical $400K American home can be replaced with an equal if not nicer $100K home in a lot of these countries. Then get a job teaching CS at the local university. I'm sure they will love to have a native english speaker with real-world industry experience. The pay won't be much, but combined with the rest of your nest egg you should be able to live comfortably with a low-stress, high-reward job in a really nice climate.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
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.Truck driving is becoming quite lucrative these days. Go find an outfit and have them train you. Many will pay for your CDL training if you sign on for X years.
You get to see the country and sit on your ass all day. I couldn't think of a much better job.
Insane?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
I agree with Reason58. You need to examine your interests and hobbies. If you're particularly drawn to something for which you've never made time before, maybe you should do it as a hobby first, and then see what can be made of it. Sometimes having good pastimes help you get through your day at work. (Like posting at Slashdot during breaks.)
u-bend
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.
Teach Elementary School math, or science. Or High School. Or Community College. I know I enjoy teaching part time, and I can see enjoying teaching full time. My kids comes home with unclear math problems, and I re-teach them... and mostly having a good time doing it. You'd not be doing it for money, but usually the benefits are acceptable.
The logical next step after working a lifetime in any field is the grave.
What do you like to do?
Why not become a teacher? A lot of kids could benefit from a teacher with life experience, not someone fresh out of college with a teaching degree.
Because he doesn't want to start out at the bottom of the pay scale?
Teaching pay scales are not based on merit, but on time served. He would be making the same as the aforementioned dipshit but with much larger bills to pay, regardless of much the kids might benefit.
Private school is not that much more competitive, either.
The opposite of progress is congress
OK most people actually quite hate their job, IT people are very lucky in the fact they generally do enjoy their job and it's also well paid. Your job is more work than play, well your still one up on most people, think _very_ carefully.
seems like you found yourself a bad job, not a bad career. Look around for something new, but stick to your field. >
>
Hello, world.
...I wanted to be... a LUMBERJACK!
Find a startup ISP or tech companyy with big dreams and a small budget. Your experience will do more to help them than 10 college kids ever could.
bomb the us up set someone
I guess my point is, there's no reason to trade one run-of-the-mill 9-5 for another one. If you're really serious about a change of scenery, go sit on a hilltop for a day or two and decide what you'd do if the sky was the limit. And then spend the rest of your life getting there. Idealistic? Sure. But the journey's half the fun.
Deja Moo: The distinct feeling that you've heard this bull before.
I too have become bored of the IT world. from the constant need for a "Pro/Con" spreadsheet for EVERY change and concept to no one being able to agree, ever. I'm just tired of sitting in a chair, arguing with the boss about 8 year old servers, then going home and staring at a screen till I fall asleep. It's a life that lacks, well anything.
Recently I bought myself a nice "used" car with a decently powerful V8 engine and started down the path to racing. (yes there is HUGE politics in the pro leagues). I feel that it's a huge shift in career, but it's similar. Car's need all sorts of knowledge to run, tune, adjust, and time. You also need split second reflexes that have undoubtedly been aquired in the years of gaming.
I also thought of getting into psychology, but I realize i've already dealt with enough crazy people in the IT field (me included in that number).
Essentailly, that "after IT" career change, it's all about what YOU personally want. I'm just sharing with you what i want to do with my life post IT escape.
Talk about synchronicity, I was just thinking about this exact same question before I sat down and opened up /. I am a consultant, .NET / C# programmer, in Phoenix, AZ. I got bored with what I was doing, and thought that being a consultant and never taking more then a 6 month contract would be the best thing, as I would always have a new challenge on my plate. Been consulting for over 2 years now, programming for over 10. And am really bored with it.
.02
What to do next is a huge question for me. I make > $100k/year, and have no college education. Unfortunately, I have become accustomed to the lifestyle that I lead, and my bills won't go away just because I take a job that pays less. While consulting was a quick 'fix', I find that no matter where I go, it's the same over and over again. *shrug* Just my
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...
My problem isn't the money, the problem is that you're not allowed to teach. There are numerous ways people learn (some people say as few as 8, some say over 50) but we only teach to two or maybe three of them in public school. In addition, bullshit like the No Child Left Behind act forces you to spend inordinate amounts of time on students that either don't want to or can't learn, and only minimal time on students who want to and/or can benefit from your time, meaning that your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to create a nation of mediocre individuals, all brought to the same low level of competence. I simply can't be part of such a soul-sucking system.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
When people tell you to "follow your dreams" what they mean is "follow your dreams--as long as your dreams are reasonable and you have the qualifications and skills needed to pursue them."
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Oh I don't know.
I go to work each day, play around on the computers, and they pay me for it.
Which is why I still do this after 25 years.
- - - - - - - - - - -
I am a programmer. I am paid to produce syntax not grammar. Deal with it.
Sell it all, buy cheap land in the backcountry, build a small cabin and live the wild life.
Trust me, you won't be bored.
For me since I'm already fluent in two languages it was an easy choice to go into interpreting.
There's still a market for BASIC->Pascal porters?
Trolling is a art,
At the 20 year mark in IT, mostly in the investment world - I found myself in the same position. I opted to go into management.
After a couple of years, I found myself no happier. Management is doing all the unfun portions of IT w/o any of the really interesting parts.
I went back to being a developer. The work was more interesting, but I still has many of the same issues about my employers.
I've looked at a number of other pursuits - really never found anything I enjoyed more, and frankly, if it's not going to be a better experience, and isn't going to pay as much, why do it?
I've since gone on to consulting, so I don't have to deal with some of the internal nonsense from my employers and it leaves me free to pick and choose my projects.
It's not a perfect solution, but honestly I don't think there is a perfect solution. Management surely wasn't.
The whole idea of enjoying your profession is a luxury if you think about it. Most of the world simply does what it needs to do to survive. So if you enjoy IT and can find an employer that doesn't drive you batty - you're ahead of the game.
Good luck.
...carrier dead.....
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."
Conincidental article on MSN today. Alternative routes to teaching for professionals that reward industry experience and past education:
D epartments_CareerTraining_default_article_CareerCh angersChoose.html?GT1=9984
http://spotlight.encarta.msn.com/Features/encnet_
Duh.
You could be a Wal-Mart greeter.
At age 35 I went back and got my M. Arch. and at 40 am plugging away at the hours I need for registration.
I'm enjoying the complexity of the field and the fact that solutions, once enacted, won't be superseded every two years. There's a permanence to it that's a complete about face from IT.
Even a small building involves thousands of decisions that all effect each other. It's not for everybody, I suppose, but I think it's the ultimate career for a dyed-in-the-wool problem solver.
I'm training to be a librarian after a few years in IT. Librarianship is a usually a 2nd - 4th career :) And IT can be really useful in the field. Degree takes 2 years and the pay sucks, but it can be pleasant and rewarding. Librarians are the best people to hang out with at parties.
Also, electricians are paid well. There's a lot of apprenticeship required, but as it's a hands-on kind of job it likely has much higher satisfaction than IT. It also pays well. You could pick up some other handyman skills and work at home improvement, or even get on Monster House at the Discovery Channel. Who knows!
But seriously, those are two I like. It doesn't mean you will. If what you're asking is if your years in IT pre-dispose you to a different field, I'd say it depends on what part of IT you were in and what you were doing.
Personally, what I mean is go out and do it. If that means you need to obtain skills to do it, then do that first. I say follow your dreams, not get ahead of yourself.
I also believe that there is nothing that you can imagine yourself doing (within certain realities of physics, of course) that you cannot conceivably do. Have you seen Ong Bak or The Protector? This guy Tony Jaa grew up watching pissed-off Kung Fu movies and no one ever told him that people needed wires to do these badass stunts where they run up the side of things and so on, and as a consequence he learned to do those things without wires. I don't mean the anime/kung-fu leap that sends you thirty feet up into the sky or anything here - again, reminders about physics apply.
But the point is, how many things could we have done if no one told us we couldn't? If we weren't constantly discouraged from our "fool dreams" by parents, teachers, society...
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
A race car is a tool for turning money into smoke and noise. A LOT of money. Know how to make a small fortune in racing? Start with a big one.
And as you progress past a certain level, it takes cubic dollars to advance - and the people with access to that sort of money suffer from a reality distortion field strength that has to be experienced to be believed.
I had a lot of fun racing, and I met a lot of cool people and got to do a lot of cool stuff, but I also spent a metric assload of money with little to show for it save a website, a bunch of trophies, a Speed TV clip, and a bruised credit card.
I'd've done better to stay in the Army.
DG
Want to learn about race cars? Read my Book
I'm considering raising organic beef, lamb and eggs.....
You won't get very far if you don't first discover that you need to be raising cows, sheep and chickens to get the beef, lamb and eggs you're looking for.
Working for a giant financial company can make anything lose its fun. Why not try doing IT for a different company, working in an area that you care about? Maybe you love playing guitar, so you go do IT for a guitar manufacturer. Maybe you want to feel like you're helping people, so you join the IT staff at a non-profit you support.
Five years ago I left technology for good to become a professional nature photographer. There are catches--the pay is terrible (but I made a lot of money in tech.) When I'm out in the field, particularly the far north in summer, the hours can truly suck (but I love every single minute of it, even if I don't... can't get enough sleep.) Some of the people in the art business are difficult to work with. (True anywhere, likely.)
On the other hand, I love my boss (myself), even when he's a hard taskmaster. My overall level of happiness and sanity has gone up--way up. Despite oft-long hours, a lot of flexibility in when that work gets done allows me an incredibly varied and rich social life, as well as to serve on the board of directors of a non-profit. People who don't pay me who appreciate my work often write me in appreciation of what I do.
There is an obsessiveness to the tech culture, a "60 hours a week or you suck", a cluelessness apparent in the constant dicksizing about how much one suffers at work. For many, this gets in the way of having a happy and grounded life. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and gadgets, I miss writing code (and still do now and then), but not for a moment in the last five years have I missed being pulled into the obsessiveness of the Silicon Valley tech work culture.
I'm not suggesting that you go become a nature photographer, that was my dream, not yours. And, as many other folks here suggest, don't rush into something. Make sure you take care of your future, don't leave yourself worried about how you're going to eat. Don't leave yourself to be asking "You want fries with that, sonny?" when you're 88.
BUT....
Do go out and find something you love. Something that lets you have whatever kind of life you'd like to have, while working. Life is too short to waste.
I'm a nature photographer.
Insane?
No, the voices told me I'm fine.
I got tired of IT and decided to just take off traveling for a bit and discovered what I enjoy. So I come back here to the States for six months (April - September), make my ridiculous money for those six months, save about 1K a month and then take off to a third world country for October - March. I own my land here outright, I live within my means and in the winter months I enjoy my time exploring spending 4.00 a day for my hotel room in Marrakech or traveling around Thailand (monthly rent 160.00). As long as you're not trying to live in Europe or Japan, you can go pretty far on 1K a month.
Life is short and no one on their death bed ever says "Oh boy I sure wish I could have worked more!!!!"
When I had my crisis (due to a divorce and burnout) I went and took night school classes to become a Massage Therapist!
sure - I never ended up using the degree, but I did get to put my hands on a lot of good looking women; and get a message every night for 7 months!
Yeah, I figured that out years ago. Now, when I look at, say, a slimy, dead sump pump, I say to myself, "Is it really worth $200 to avoid washing my hands and changing my clothes?" I've saved a lot of money that way.
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
Do whatever you like, so long as you are prepared to work at it. I left full time IT after 14 years back in 2000. I still do IT stuff, but it short term contracts and consulting.
What I chose was film and video production. My IT experience had some relevance. In fact it has increasing relevance. Still, after 7 years this pays only a fraction of what I made in IT. Part of that is my fault, because I am taking it "easier" than I should be.
I am MUCH happier however.
The point is to put some serious thought into what you like to do, and try and do that professionally. Some people like fixing cars. Other folks like hockey. (I did that too, but never full time despite trying to become full time.) Whatever.
Before you make any changes, study your new area. Gain some expertise. Do it as a hobby for a bit to make sure you like it enough to try it as a profession.
This may sound familiar to you, because its how I, and probably a lot of folk here, got into computers.
Don't post innacurate information
If you do, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you.
When I started in IT, my mentor confessed to me that all he wanted to do was quit and open an ice cream shop. At the time, I didn't understand. Now I do.
After 15 years in IT, I quit (actually, not by choice. The dot-com meltdown of 2000 left me unemployed.) So, I started a toy company. You can see some of it at http://www.rlt.com/
Now that the waves of destruction from the internet big boom have subsided, would I go back to IT? No way! I'm a toymaker now and loving it. So do my kids...
As I've said before, programmers and sysadmins have some incredible advantages over most MBAs. You have LOGIC. You are CREATIVE. You have a propensity for
PROBLEM SOLVING. You can think through and visualize a plan of action from beginning to end. You can change course and re-program the system
when requirements change. You know that very few, if any, projects are ever really finished. You're a hacker who knows how to shoot from the
hip to get a job done on deadline, even if it isn't "elegant". You know that "Done" usually only means "it works at the moment and when
it breaks, we'll fix it". Guess what, these qualities plus a willingness to try and fail then try again (kind of like compiling) are what make entrepreneurs
successful. Another advantage you have is that you won't have to hire some expensive tech guy to do your programming/sysadmin/DBA stuff for
you.
You can do it. Just remember- there are a million reasons why you'll fail, and everyone will be happy to remind you of them constantly. But there's only one reason why you will succede- because you make it happen. So, ignore the naysayers and the critics, trust your instincts and go start a business.
Have fun!
I left an IT Engineering position where I was charged with developing an IT Compliance managed solution. I was learning the software, building the servers (with no prior sysadmin experience), developing the sales materials, formulating the pricing models (with no prior service offering ecperience), and generally being the only person who knew what was going on. All this without a raise in 18 months. The service was expect to net 6 Million bucks once fully operational. I bailed and left them holding the bag.
Where I landed was in the Compliance/Risk division of a great company. We oversee IT Regulatory configurations and get to point out holes in configuration. However, we're not under IT. I don't maintain the servers. I may configure the software, when needed. And I'm learning so much about "the real world" outside of my keybaord and screen.
Your IT background will be invaluable in translating Techspeak to Auditors or non-technical management and directors.
That's funny -- I'm in the middle of the pack in progammer salaries, and my brother, an auto mechanic (Ford Senior Master Mechanic -- basically certified to work on anything but the hybrids) and a college dropout but has consistently made more than I have for the last decade. (hell, he was making 2x what I was, 'till I switched companies a few months ago).
... oh -- and when a component of an electrical system fails -- someone has to pull it out. And those little diagnostic computers aren't nearly as useful as you think they are. (One dealership had me keep one for a few weeks, while they tried to diagnose a random stalling problem ... I'd have taken it to my brother, but I lived 600 miles away at the time)
The thing is, for some mechanics, they don't get paid by the hour. Well, they do, but not the number of hours they work -- the number of hours the estimator gave. So, it's not uncommon for my brother to get paid for 80hrs in a week. He's good at diagnosing, and getting cars fixed and back out the door. He typically works 2 stalls at once, so as he's waiting for parts for one or for fluids to drain, he can work on the other. Yes, he has to work on Saturdays once a month -- but he's never gotten paged at 2am for a downed mail server, and there's no chance of him getting outsourced as they need people near where the cars break, not 1/2 way across the globe.
The problem is, he's come to realize that there aren't too many old mechanics -- their backs go out after a while. I'm guessing that someone who's been in IT for 20 years might not be in the best shape for bending over an engine block all day.
Personally, if I were to look at the automotive side of things, I'd look at getting certified on Hybrids -- I don't know what it'd take, but it's my understanding that there aren't that many folks who are rated to work on 'em, so it might be a useful opening.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
I suggest becoming a lumberjack. Or something exciting, a lion tamer.
Programming to lion taming in one go...
You don't think it might be better if you worked your way towards lion taming, say via software engineering?
I would strongly recommend reading What Color is Your Parachute? This is a great book to help you work through what new career you would enjoy. Although it may seem to be a job hunting book, it also focuses a lot on changing your career. Here's a quick summary from Amazon for the lazy:
Richard Nelson Bolles offers hope and presents an inspiring and detailed plan for finding your place in this uncertain job market. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE? has been the best-selling job-hunting book in the world for more three decades, in good times and bad, and it continues to be a fixture on best-seller lists, from Amazon.com to Business Week. It has well over eight million copies in print and has been translated into 12 languages around the world. With an extended preface that addresses job loss, vacancies, and outsourcing and updated references on how to use the Internet in your job-hunt throughout, the 2006 PARACHUTE addresses the top concerns of today 's job-hunters. In the words of Fortune magazine: "Parachute remains the gold standard of! career guides."
That post is officially called Helpdesk ?
I'd tell you the chances of this story being a dupe, but you wouldn't like it.
-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...
Poker makes an excellent 2nd career for IT personel:
1. You're your own boss.
2. No physical or athletic requirements.
3. Lots of probability math to wrap your head around.
4. You can work from home if you like, or from a variety of physical locations.
5. No retirement age.
6. If you're either very good or very lucky, you can be on TV.
I bet I get moderated "funny," but I'm perfectly serious.
I'll preface this with the fact that I'm twenty-three and just finishing my first master's degree, but grad school is only an easy ride if you like paying for the privilege of having responsibilities. Granted I don't have a nest egg saved from years of career work to fall back on while taking courses, and I'm aware that a grad degree's utility is based on future earnings rather than what's current, but I'll say this. My intent was to go straight from the MA to the Ph.D. and teach college for a living. Interesting job, different every day, summers off, get to do stuff you like--that's all well and good. But after eighteen years of nonstop education, I'm ready to take some time away from academia and get paid. I'm sure I'll go back after a couple years, but now is not the time.
IT covers alot of different domains and is used in numerous different (if not every other) industry.
I don't see how you can think that you have exhausted all your options in it.
Technically, after 20-years, you should either be at an Architect or Manager level - both of these open your career up to sideway shifts into other management style roles.
Personally, I think you've got to the stage in your career where you're no longer interested in learning EVERY NEW THING that turns up. You feel you've done enough 12-16hr days, that you shouldn't have to do that anymore (or perhaps you just have a crap manager that doesn't appreciate you and has you doing work that doesn't interest you) - basically, you want to move into management where you're telling other people what to do instead of being stuck with the day-to-day techy issues. You have the benefit of comming from the techy background and thus have an appreciation for the technology - You should do well.
You will miss some of the buzz you get from picking up a new IT "toy" and playing with it, but hopefully, you'll be paid enough not to care.
If you still aren't happy, start your own business. - Don't think about the technology, but rather the business domain that you know best - since you'll need to sell it to Business people and they hold the purse strings - not the snot-nosed pimple-faced linux geek in the corner.
-- "To ask a question is to show ignorance; Not to ask a question means you'll remain ignorant."
Exactly right. I moved from CA to St Louis 3 years ago for the COL and quality of life. I travel for consulting gigs quite often so living in the middle of the country is nice. The microbreweries in STL are actually some of the best in the country. Schlafly has a great selection year round. I always have a keg downstairs ready for 5pm. It seems like nearly everything is free here: museums, Shakespeare in the Park, the Muny, the St Louis Zoo, the Children's Discovery Science Center, Grant's Farm w/ free beer, AB tour w/free beer. [Everything I mentioned is free and sells beer on premise including the Children's Center]. I love it as long as the air conditioner works in August.
There are plenty of decent jobs in the Midwest. Companies specializing in everything from aerospace to biotech, chemicals to financial are based here on top of tons of small companies with medium IT departments. With more companies utilizing work-from-home, there will be more satellite offices opening in lower COL areas. I already see it in my travels. Why pay someone 85k/yr in Boston when you can pay someone 75k/yr in Kansas City, Minneapolis or Austin?
I make six figures, my house is very nice and within the city limits so it's close to everything (read 30 minutes max from anything by car). With the money I save living here my wife stays home with the kid, we fly all over the country to visit family (6-10 trips per year) and we always go to Paris in Spring. In LA or SF (where I used to live) I would sink that money into a grossly overpriced house, commute 2-4 hours a day in traffic and pay child care since my wife would have to work again. Why again?
Screw living in CA or NY. Love both places. Can't justify living there so I'll just visit a few times a year.
_damnit_
It's my job to freeze you. -- Logan's Run
Since I live here in Kansas (Kansas City metro), I'll tell you that while it's certainly cheaper than New York, the difference isn't that great.
It might be closer to $100K (NY) vs. $40K-60K, unless you live in the cities or burbs (KC, Topeka, Wichita), where it might be closer to $100K (NY) vs. $50K-75K....
In parts of Johnson County, Kansas, a mere $60K income could be disasterous for a typical family of four, unless they are rather thrifty. Now, if you live in NYC, you most likely won't be buying as nice of a house, and you may rent -- granted.
Otherwise, the differences really aren't 4 times or even close -- maybe 1.5 to 2 times, and yes, the cost of living vs. pay is nice, here....
Obligatory: There's no place like home.... click, click, click
I spent a year in Fairbanks, Alaska making ice-cream for minimum wage. I was happy, but I thought there must be more. I got married, get certified to teach, and we moved to a remote Yup'ik Eskimo village on the Bering Sea. I was making about $36,000 a year, expenses were high but there were no restaurants, no movie theatres, no bars, so what we didn't spend on necessities didn't get spent, and we were happy. When our first child arrived, I was worried that I'd spend too much time in the classroom (during those 180 days of the year when school was in) and therefore I thought I'd move to a cushy job in IT. Went back to school, then got hired by a truly gigantic company in the midwest to write software. I'm making well over a hundred grand, but since I'm always working we always eat out, and sure the house has running water, but boy, those amenities will cost you, and alcohol is way too easy to come by, and so I'm not saving much more money, and I don't get to spend much time at all with my children, and I'm decidedly not happy, and I no longer know how to end a sentence. So I'm with you. I gave notice, and at the end of this month, I'm done with this little jaunt. Even my manager admitted she was more than a bit jealous. The other rats who fled this ship before me have no regrets. Nor, I hope, will you, or me.
Ummm, the money that rolls in rolls right back out just as quickly. 2 kids in highschool, 3 more kids in elementry school, a house to pay off, utilities, gas, food, etc... Oh, and I forgot to mention that I live in Japan. Cost of living here is pretty high. We're not starving, but for where I live, I'm maxed out. It would be nearly impossible for me to make any more money than I am right now (less than $100,000 a month).
I have considered moving to the Tokyo/Osaka area, or even back to the USA but without money in the bank I would most likley need to leave my family here and go back alone for a year or so to get settled... So many choices.
I also have this itch to start my own business...
"Freedom in the USA is not the ability to do what you want. It is the ability to stop others from doing what THEY want"
I sit in an office full of geeks who go home and play on computers after hour.
Me? I go home and rennovate the house (or plan for the next house we are building in the country).
I go around and help out friends on projects they are doing on weekends. I'm getting involved in a
volunteer program at a ski resort I have been to for years. I have in the past taught swimming, I have
worked as a lecturer at university (so there is teaching experiece to draw on).
In IT I've played architect, support person, programmer, trainer, tech doc writer.
Jack of all trades, master of none - maybe true. But Jack was never unemployed, bored or
wondering 'where to next'.
Do stuff because you are curious about how it works. Do stuff because you can't understand it and
want to. Do stuff for fun and follow up on all those things you think 'I wonder what that is like'.
You may just find your next career.
Now, back to finding out what the *&@*@k is happening with those user sessions and that *@&*@&king firewall!
In my next incarnation, I hope to come back as a code monkey.
Go into Plumbing. The work is steady, fulfilling and pays pretty well. You'll be outside, get paid for the hours you work and have great job security...everyone has to flush you know.
After 27 years in the IT field, I too was finally burned out of the IT field. The late nights, the on-call the less-than-bright users, the PHBs and the bullshit of non-technical people making technical decisions...
It took me a couple of years to finally figure out what my *REAL* passion in life was and I am now pursuing it. I started culinary school, been studying my ass off, but I couldn't be happier!
I have a wonderfully supportive wife who is keeping us afloat until I can get out of school. Granted, the pay for bakers / pastry chefs is about 1/3 - 1/2 of what I used to make, but when you weigh the cost of being burned out against your sanity, it doesn't matter.
The only advise I would give you would be to reduce the amount of your outgoing expenditures and find something that you REALLY want to do.
Like my dad always told me, "...do what you love and the money will follow..."
I have been having the same sort of thoughts, after >25 years in this line of work. I think the first thing to work out is what do you really want to do in your future? I don't think I will ever want to fully retire, but I can see that I will soon no longer be attractive for most employers, so I will have to find something else. These have been my considerations:
- I like: to use my hands, construct things, solve problems. Growing things, like in gardening etc (I'm an esxpert orchid grower). Playing music.
- I'm good at: Programming. Managing systems. Solving problems. Teaching. I am very good with children and animals.
At my age the expected thing is to go into management, so I am now systems manager - I like the challenges involved; so I could stay with the company for a while and learn as much about managing as possible. I could possibly go higher in the organisation, but I could also start my own business in a few years' time. If I do, this is a couple of things I will do:
- set up telephone numbers in the areas I want to be reachable from, probably with Skype. Customers don't want to call somebody overseas; but I would like to live in China where prices are much lower. This way I could still charge prices typical or a little lower than what is normal for the US or Europe, but my expenses would be low.
- become an expert in something that is easy to deliver electronically. I'd go for web applications, I think. Some sort of international trade might be a good option.
If you don't want to move abroad, you could still settle in an area that is beautiful, but a bit remote, where house prices are low, but where you can still have a fast new connection; then ply your trade from there. If you're a good amateur musician and have had some success, you could record your own music and sell that (though I personally wouldn't bet on the financial success). I think the most important point is that whatever you do, it must be something that you can enjoy doing a lot, because it will be hard work; either because you don't have much success and have to work long hours to make ends meet, or because you have a lot of success and have to work long hours to meet demands - there's such a thing as getting mugged by success.
... is to, in about five years, sell my flat in London, buy a house for half the price Oop North with no mortgage, and go back to working on the buses. Unfortunately, this was also my plan five years ago.
Sorry. I've been a lumberjack. It's a miserable fucking job with long hours, no life, and not very good pay for the risks. And you don't get to bathe enough.
So it would be like doing IT again.
I had the exact same experience about 7 years ago. After 2 years as a lead developer at a very large financial institution, I had convinced myself that I was sick of IT and made a career change. After 3 months as a science teacher, I realized it wasn't IT I was sick of, it was the company I was working for. I got back intot he IT field at a small, fun company and couldn't have been happier. I've moved around since, but stayed in the field with the knowledge that I really do love information technology as long as I'm in an open, creative environment where I can really enjoy it.
You may very well be sick of IT altogether, but before embarking on a total career change you may want to take a stab at just working for a company with a different corporate culture to see if that's really what you want.
"Someone's gotta have some damn perspective around here!" -- Commander Susan Ivonova, Babylon 5