Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: Programming / IT Jobs For Older, Retrained Workers?
12_West writes "I seek opinions from the Slashdot community about entry level job opportunities as programmers (or other I.T. Staff) for seniors who want to switch careers and continue to work full time. I do not want to retire, nor go part time, as long as I can get up and drive myself in to work. I'm currently 58 years old, working as an industrial electrician in a maintenance department setting for a building products manufacturer. I like the work, but it is becoming hard on my aging body, so, I would like to begin gradually retraining and hope to switch careers in about four years. A lower paying, less physical job would be just fine as there will be pension money coming in. I'm not currently a programmer, but have done some hobbyist level coding in Qbasic and MS-DOS batch files 'back in the days.' I also have some exposure to the Rockwell Automation RSLogix programming tools that are now going obsolete. So, I will be retraining whether I switch careers or not."
This is an excellent response. The sad truth is most companies handling tech positions are not going to look for someone who has a retirement window in the next 10 years. They're looking for young folks who are largely free of family or social obligations, and who are willing to be on call for weeks at a time, or for programmers who are willing to put in 60-80 hour weeks. While this may or may not describe your obligations, as an older worker, they will assume that this is an issue for you. Combine this with a lack of experience (you mentioned changing into this career), and you are going to find a very unfriendly job market. I would recommend you start helping a bunch of friends with computer issues, train up on some technical certifications, and go into consulting. It will not be steady, but it would let you get some resume fodder if you really have your heart set on such a position. Another option would be to go into a similar position to the one you have now, but at a small office which will afford you the opportunity to handle technical work. Just be careful that it doesn't end up putting you in a "job creep" situation where you suddenly find yourself responsible for two different jobs.
Dont waste your time with Programming for PC's you have PLC background and Electrical. so take classes on Robotics. all your skills transfer. you can easily learn AB programming and enjoy seeing your code do something instead of just display thins on a screen or send a tweet.
Corperate AV also is a field that is exploding. AMX programming, Crestron programming currently is a very hot field right now. Plus you get to work with stuff that 99% of the guys on slashdot can only dream of ever touching in their life.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.