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Ask Slashdot: How Do I Change Tech Careers At 30?
First time accepted submitter possiblybored writes "I'm 30, and I am a technology teacher and the school's technology coordinator. I like my job, but I have been having thoughts about switching careers and focusing more on technology in the private sector. I like Microsoft products and would head in that direction, probably. Is it too late for me to think about this? What is the best way to get started on this path? I'm not so much interested in programming (though I'd like to learn a language some day) as much as I am intrigued by topics like setting up e-mail servers, reading about cloud stuff like Office 365, and looking at information on collaborative technology. I'm a good teacher and excel at explaining things as well. Any advice the community could offer would be greatly appreciated!"
Submission is very clearly a troll. Please don't post this kind of crap.
Whatever you love doing, do more of it. Then just be sensitive, and maybe a little aggressive, about pursuing leads that naturally arise from your avocation.
You're talking about breaking into the IT industry, not politics.
Start applying for help desk jobs. Yes, it really is that simple.
Chuuch. Preach. Tabernacle.
If I was in your situation given your experience and passion, I would focus more on private home and SMB side of things. Consulting, sales, and perhaps some end-user support. I doubt system and network infrastructure administration is your thing. Perhaps later on, but now.
Life is not for the lazy.
Bwha ha ha ha ha!!!
Just how old do you think you *are*, sonny boy? 30 is just barely dry behind the ears! Truth is that there is lots of room for anybody in the tech field who is *competent*. So be competent!
It does help to be somewhat charismatic and hygienic.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Think about the fate of dinosaurs that were replaced by smaller more agile mammals when difficult times came...
Your goal as described would indicate you want to be a teacher!
With your limited skillset without programming or intermediate sysadmin, but given your background in teaching and familiarity with concepts i'd say you'd be a good fit for training and/or documentation within a tech company. Training can include on-boarding new hires and getting them familiar with internal systems, or even training customers on using the software. I've worked with many people in these roles at companies i've been with. Documentation also might be a good route: writing manuals, online specs, and online training stuff. Theres lots of people doing this at the larger software shops.
Not bitter in the least, are you?
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
After reading your question this one came to my mind. Those who can do, those who can't teach. But it does makes me wonder what you are teaching these kids if you have to ask us how to get a job in the tech-world. I hope your pupils won't have to ask that same question.
If once you start down the Microsoft path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will...
Seriously, Microsoft is in decline, and already has a bunch of people trained up in it. You should consider learning mobile development for Android, iOS, or both. If you want to learn server-side stuff I would learn the open stack: Linux, MySQL and/or Postgres, maybe Hadoop.
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
I haven't had a boss for 15 years and I'm more successful now than I ever was in a corporate job.
I also can't be fired. Know why? Because firing me requires my approval.
I'm also intelligent enough to see reality even in the face of being heckled by those who don't know any better.
You keep punching that clock, Jim.
I hate to be the Curmudgeon..however with a school you are guaranteed a pension. In the private sector, no matter how much you make, you will never make up the difference. At some point, you'll get tired of bits & bytes and just want to play with grand kids or go fishing. Stay with the school, and you'll be doing that by the time your 55. Leave for the private sector and 55 becomes a hard to reach retirement age.
Is it too late for me to think about this?
It is never too late. I have known people that have jumped into unrelated careers, successfully, at 35, 40, 52, and 65.
How much effort are you willing to put forth? Are you willing to temporarily forgo some of the pleasures in your life to which you've become accustomed?
Are you willing to immerse yourself in the new career, both at work and after hours? Ask yourself and answer truthfully: do you truly want to make a change, or are you just thinking... "wouldn't it be nice if"? The answer may be painful, and sometimes you won't know until you're there- Are you willing to take that risk?
Are you willing to risk the possibility of having to start at a lower level on the pay scale in your new field? I have a cousin that graduated from the Air Force Academy, flew F-15's for almost 10 years, and after accepting an engineering job at a defense contractor, quickly realized that he couldn't stand that type of job. With a wife and 3 daughters to support, he left to start a career at an airline.... at the time (mid-80's), he had to start as a flight engineer, at about 20k / year. With his love of flight focusing his resolve, and with the support of his wife (she took a second job), he persevered in a boring, low-paying job, staring at a panel of guages in a jet... but he stuck to it, and over a number of years ended up as a 747 long-haul pilot for Northwest, making just under 200k / year.
You must decide if you're ready to commit, with all that that implies. If you feel drawn to whatever it is you're thinking of doing, and you're ready to commit, there are few legitimate reasons to hold back- I would say that if you have no legs and desire to win a ballroom dancing championship, you may have a legitimate reason not to compete, but you could still find a way to excel, in some role, in this activity if you truly had the desire.
So you talk about "the only option in 2014 America", but you haven't tried any other options in this century.
You complain about employers who "maximize your hardship", yet by being self-employed, if you screw up, you get absolutely every bit of hardship possible.
You put down those who "don't know any better" and "ignore [your] advice", to the point of stating as a foregone fact that they will be fired, and you say that your opinion is "reality".
Yeah, I'd fire you, too.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Sounds to me like you're looking in the wrong places.
I live in the Washington DC area where virtually every fast food cashier is hispanic and most speak around 10 words of English. During a McDonalds lunch some time ago, I happened to overhear a job interview. The kid was clearly unmotivated but his allowance wasn't cutting it. Towards the end, the manager ask to see paperwork with his social security number or a birth certificate or whatever, the documents on the government list for proof of citizenship. The kid didn't have any. The manager asked what his social security number was. The kid didn't know. So the manager told him to go get those things from his parents and come back.
When the kid left, the manager called over one of the assistant managers and began filling him in on the interview. He explained: "if the kid comes back, we'll probably hire him because he can speak English."
You wanna compete with the day laborers hanging out by the highway, of course you're going to lose. The day bosses in the pickup trucks aren't looking for white guys. Apply to a company that isn't in the 10% of the bottom feeders.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
Those who know, do. Those who understand, teach.
- Aristotle
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
Rule of 3s. If you've had 3 bosses (or clients or girlfriends etc) with the same or very similar problems, the problem is yours.
Work for yourself is good advice, for someone with a reasonably complete skill set. If you don't, you need to learn from someone.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
A lot of people are assuming this is a troll or some sort of joke. That says a lot about how helpful people are! It sounds like you have familiarity with a number of software products, most likely all Microsoft. To strengthen that, you could take some courses at a community college. You could also volunteer some of your services for your local church or other nonprofit to build a resume.
However, you might want to consider that instead of IT support, in the private sector, going the training route. With your teaching background, many corporations would hire you. In addition, with your current computer background, they could hire you to teach software classes to their employees. Even if you are wanting to get out of teaching and into support, such a path would get your foot in the door and allow you to establish connections, gain experience and pick up additional skills before making the switch.
There goes your odds of getting much in the way of help from this crowd...
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