Moving Away From the IT Field?

irving47 writes 'With the economy the way it is, it's a little iffy to even think about switching careers completely, but lately, I've gotten more and more fed up with trying to keep up with the technical demands of companies and customers that are financially and even verbally unappreciative. While I might be good at it, and the money is adequate, I'm curious to hear from Slashdotters who have gone cold-turkey from their IT/Networking careers to something once foreign to them. How did you deal with the income difference, if any? Do you find yourself dealing with people more, and if so, how did that work out?'

Comments

ex-DBA here

[Dexter Herbivore]

I was working as a DBA in the mining/exploration industry until a few years ago. I got sick of constant corporate takeovers and mergers that went with the industry at the time, it's not fun looking for a new job every 14 months because some other company bought out the exploration rights and had their own staff and systems. On top of that, after my last redundancy I travelled around Europe and swore to never again look at a drillhole data log. Now I work as a civil servant overseeing the Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Greyhound racing industry. It's taken me 5 years worth of work here to finally get back to the level of income that I had at age 23, but the job satisfaction now is immense. It did take a few years to adjust and slowly work my way up the food chain but I wouldn't go back to IT and ungrateful/idiotic/anti-technology positions again. Ultimately I found that job satisfaction and regular hours far outweighed the extra money I made in IT.

Very timely...

[Jon-ZA]

I'm completely jaded with the IT industry after having spent the past 10 years installing toner cartridges and mapping network drives for people that show very little gratitude. I tried my best to move up the corporate ladder, so to speak. I started out at the bottom and slowly worked my way up passed junior admin, helpdesk, and into senior technical support. Then I hit a vertical limit at one company, with no choice for further career progression. I looked around and evaluated my skills, but everything pointed to a horizontal move. With my desire to have a stable, decent paying job, I had inadvertently boxed myself into a position which was going to be almost impossible to get out of. My skills were clearly tailored around supporting users, with some network admin and even lecturing experience. Then, a miracle happened, I got laid off from that job and that's when life started. Suddenly a thousand possibilities entered my head. And that's where I'm at right now. I'm taking 6 months off, I put my condo up for rent and I'm going traveling to Africa! I'm hoping to accomplish quite a few things when I get there, re-focus my efforts and rejuvenate my enthusiasm, when I get back I want to start my own company, I'm tired of working for people. I want to experience owning a company firsthand and seeing my efforts pay off, literally. I'm tired of making shareholders richer and richer with each passing month. So if you skipped all of that here's the sum up. If you don't enjoy what you do, take some time off to figure out what it is that you want to do with yourself. Emphasis on 'time off'. They say that people change careers 5 times in their lives. This change, for me, will be change number 1 and I'm looking forward to it like you cannot believe.

Re:I'd never do it, but

[EQ]

To become an RN takes 4-5 years of school.

No, speaking as a soon-to--be former IT guy, going from BS/BA to BS-RN takes 2 years. Here in Colorado, several universities have an accelerated program, as long as you can hit the pre-reqs in science (mainly anat & phys, microbiology, pathophysiology) and math (dead simple stuff, not even close to engineering calculus). So no, not 4 years, maybe one year at night nailing down the biology courses, then 2 years full time learning the RN. There are even hospitals that will reimburse your tuition as long as you work 4000 hours (~2 years) for them upon graduation.

Re:Getting old in IT is the kiss of death.

[Talisman]

Though I've heard of this phenomenon, and am sure it is true in certain niches of the IT world (such as game coders), I've never seen it in person.

Personally, I *love* seeing the old guy come on the job site, because he'll probably know every little quirk there is to know about the system he's working on, since he's been at it for the last 25 years.

We had to deal with an Alcatel IP phone build-out on a site, and it was new technology at the time, and our saving grace was Bob. Overweight to the point where the impolite would call him fat, gray bearded, thick glasses, unfailingly calm, and was the only person we could find on the planet who knew how to make this system work, and the rest of us weren't IT slouches. Or Sande, the 60-something tech who saved one of our hotels from a complete phone outage, twice, as he was the only person in the city who knew how to work on a Hitachi HCX-5000.

The idea that old guys are of limited value in the IT industry is patently false. You can have the college grads, I'll take the grampas.

Re:Govt Security, Accounting, Jobs with boots Here

[Billly Gates]

You can thank Clinton and Bush for making it so easy and profitable to outsource American labor. When consumer spending owns 70% of the economy because there is no manufacturing or business spending left in the U.S. it is a huge problem.

In past recessions business spending brings the economy up and then consumers follow. Now it does not make a difference as invested money just goes to China and India and not back to us. Consumers are working for less and working more hours cut back on spending until things improve.

We did not allow this. THe corrupt lobbiests and politicians did. We need to fight back and form a third party or get involved with other workers like auto and factory workers who can't compete and end free trade. Only then will we get our salaries and our jobs back. Yes in a recession like this one I am willing to cut throat and kiss b*tt not to go homeless and its hopeless trying to have us all agree to stand up when so much labor is available.

Re:OK how do you get jobs like this?

[mikael_j]

isn't "...moving up in IT." a bit of an oxymoron? From what I've seen "moving up" from a regular IT position generally involves going into management and essentially becoming a non-techie, and if I'll be completely honest I don't consider that being "The best in IT", I consider that being management (just because someone manages geeks doesn't mean this person is a geek him-/herself).

/Mikael

Re:I'd never do it, but

[TheLink]

That's very true.

But for a similar reason I find it stupid that "everyone" keeps promoting IT to people who would not normally consider it.

Plenty of other jobs, especially jobs that can't be outsourced to India or Vietnam or wherever on somebody's whim.

Hairstylists and plumbers aren't going away or going to be outsourced any time soon.

Re:I'd never do it, but

[Aggrajag]

I changed from IT to nursing and haven't regretted the switch. And yes,
the job does include poop cleaning (and really nasty stuff especially
if you specialize to become a paramedic) but you get used to anything.

Why would one become a nurse? If you like interacting with people and
are prepared to help them when they *really* need help then the job
might be what you are looking for.

Re:I'd never do it, but

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm an ex-IT guy teaching English in China and I know several others. It is definitely not for everyone, but great for some.

A decent online overview of the field is at http://wikitravel.org/en/Teaching_English

Re:I'd never do it, but

[RemoWilliams84]

Do you really think all of these unemployed people are going to the hospitals with no insurance?

I live in north Alabama (I know, ha ha) and we have one of highest unemployment rates in the nation. Hospitals are laying off nurses. The ones that aren't getting laid off are having hours cut back, vacations cut back, 401k dropped, pay cuts, no raises, etc.

My mother-in-law is an RN with 15+ years of experience and has seen all of these things(except being laid-off) happen to her. Many of her co-workers are being laid off also. It may not be happening in every state. But I imagine all of the states with high unemployment rates are seeing similar results.

Re:Look before you leap

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah because you won't need that car to make any service calls, and hauling around computers and tools is trivial on a bike. Too bad granola can't increase your IQ idiot.

Performance Testing

[pnuema]

I think I really have managed to find the sweetest spot in IT. I make as much as a developer, my work is technically interesting, and best of all, I have absolutely nothing to do with production. Good performance testers are hard to find (mainly due to the high signal to noise ratio from the resume mills over seas), so when you are hired and recognized as such, you have some job security. Best of all, almost no one really understands what you are doing, but everyone understands when the website goes down, we lose $REALLY_BIG_MONEY every hour. If I prevent a single 2 hour production outage on our flagship product, I've paid my salary for the next 20 years. So we don't get shit on like QA testers, but no one is calling me at 3 in the morning either.

Re:I'd never do it, but

[Anonymous Coward]

add the skilled trades that require licensing electrician, plumber, etc.

Good luck getting indentured as an apprentice if you don't have a good friends or family member already in the business.

The two big organizations that can give out Department of Labor approved apprenticeships are the IBEW (Union) and ABC (non-union). I have been trying for over two years to get an apprenticeship with either. I keep going for the interviews and then when there is a bunch of hiring I get passed over.

I am part of a few web boards filled with people like me trying to get apprenticeships and over the months and years it becomes obvious who gets indentured and who doesn't. The people with friends and families get indentured. If you don't have a foot in the door you are pretty much screwed. It is very very much an old boys network.

Look for a book

[Anonymous Coward]

I recommend a book called "Do What you Are" by Paul Tieger.
It does not answer what job should a take, but it focuses your personality to what careers you will be succesfull with.

Re:Baggies, yes ... but cheerios?

[Rantastic]

But despite all that, twice in Portland, people have stopped me and asked me for some weed.

Might be because you live in Portland and look, at least superficially, like a marijuana enthusiast.

Re:I'd never do it, but

[harmonise]

None of what you posted has anything to do with teaching English in a foreign country and therefore isn't relevant to the item you quoted.

Re:A Change is as Good as a Rest

[grcumb]

What is the name of the organization you work for ?

I currently work for the University of the South Pacific (no link, slashdot would kill it).

Most of the ICT4D stuff I did was through VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas). They tend to prefer people with solid industry experience and who have some exposure to cultures other than their own. They recruit throughout Europe, North America and in Kenya, Uganda, India and the Phillippines. In Canada, they recently amalgamated with CUSO. They work in dozens of countries the world over.

There are a ton of organisations seeking talented professionals to do this kind of work. It takes a little time to find the right combination, and some volunteering work is almost always required before you can start contracting your services professionally.

A few good places to start looking:

• The Grameen Foundation - Founded by Nobel Laureate Mohammed Yunus, this micro-finance group does fascinating IT-based work throughout the developing world. Very high standards.
• VSO - One of the best volunteering organisations, in my opinion. They require strong professional skills and experience, and typically provide good in-country support (YMMV from country to country).
• GeekCorps - Founded by Dot Com millionaire Ethan Zuckerman, this group is focused on answering the question of what comes after we've established the basics (e.g. roads, power and water). Interesting work and interesting people.

You give up a lot to do this kind of work, and you need to remember that it's never about you - it's about the people you're working with. But once you stop worrying about career and how to pay for your next Xbox, you'll find the rewards are tremendous.

For my part, just seeing the look in people's eyes when I show them what the Internet can do is enough. Watching them take your work in directions you could never have foreseen is enlightening and humbling. I wouldn't trade this life for the world.

Tech Writing is a Great Opportunity

[wvh]

I already had an undergrad degree in writing before I got my CS degree, and enjoyed IT/sysadmin/sys-programmer work for years. However, I truly "found myself" by combining my CS/IT knowledge with writing about it. Most software companies "need" a writer (whether they know it or not), and being a techie is an asset across the board. Documenting software for end-users is often viewed as a non-critical effort, but customers seem to like it ;-) I've also ended up doing product management work for various companies due to my user/product focus - it's a great space to be in. Similarly, I've also written a bunch of nerd books on various topics as a sideline. Feel free to contact me oofline for more verbose info, and some xrefs.