I still have a number of pre-DOS BASIC programs created in '82 or '83 on a Dick Smith Model 80 (TRS 80 clone) in a very primitive BASIC - had to transfer them via RS-232 to a fast (8 MB/s) XT clone as it couldn't read the 45K SSSD 5 1/4" floppies. I have installed my old 5 1/4" drive and copied them to my current system from 360 KB and 1.2 MB floppies, together with a copy of GWBASIC and was able to run them. It's been a long way from when there were micro-computers with no HDD's and the BASIC interpreter, the program and the data all had to fit on a 45K floppy and run in 16K of RAM. This was done at work and the Energy Consumption and Product Loss programs I wrote saved something on the order of $100,000 in the first year, not bad for a system which cost $2000 - about three times what my current system cost. I also have a rotary calciner model created in FORTRAN on an ICL 1900 in the mid-70's, migrated to a WANG VS-65, then later migrated (I forget how) to compile in MS-FORTRAN on a '286 (one of those horrible IBM Microchannel things). Must have a couple of hundred 5 1/4" floppies and a similar number of 3/12" stiffies which have sat in my cabinet for about 20 years - all still readable (I hope).
As bad as "IT Tech" is, it's not as bad as "Management Information Services Manager" or "MIS Manager", which I had to wear for a couple of years. I wasn't that great of a manager but I didn't mis-manage anything.
I had much the same decision at age 49 and went into management where I discovered that while I could handle the paperwork, budgeting, etc. of management, I was no good at managing people - if you decide to go into management, make sure you have good people handling skills as well as tech - it's much harder than you might think.
I emigrated from the US to Tasmania, Australia nearly 40 years ago and have never regretted the move. For what it's worth, emmigrants to New Zealand and Australia (in that order) have been found to be happer than emmigrants to anywhere else.
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I still have a number of pre-DOS BASIC programs created in '82 or '83 on a Dick Smith Model 80 (TRS 80 clone) in a very primitive BASIC - had to transfer them via RS-232 to a fast (8 MB/s) XT clone as it couldn't read the 45K SSSD 5 1/4" floppies. I have installed my old 5 1/4" drive and copied them to my current system from 360 KB and 1.2 MB floppies, together with a copy of GWBASIC and was able to run them. It's been a long way from when there were micro-computers with no HDD's and the BASIC interpreter, the program and the data all had to fit on a 45K floppy and run in 16K of RAM. This was done at work and the Energy Consumption and Product Loss programs I wrote saved something on the order of $100,000 in the first year, not bad for a system which cost $2000 - about three times what my current system cost. I also have a rotary calciner model created in FORTRAN on an ICL 1900 in the mid-70's, migrated to a WANG VS-65, then later migrated (I forget how) to compile in MS-FORTRAN on a '286 (one of those horrible IBM Microchannel things). Must have a couple of hundred 5 1/4" floppies and a similar number of 3 /12" stiffies which have sat in my cabinet for about 20 years - all still readable (I hope).
As bad as "IT Tech" is, it's not as bad as "Management Information Services Manager" or "MIS Manager", which I had to wear for a couple of years. I wasn't that great of a manager but I didn't mis-manage anything.
I had much the same decision at age 49 and went into management where I discovered that while I could handle the paperwork, budgeting, etc. of management, I was no good at managing people - if you decide to go into management, make sure you have good people handling skills as well as tech - it's much harder than you might think.
I emigrated from the US to Tasmania, Australia nearly 40 years ago and have never regretted the move. For what it's worth, emmigrants to New Zealand and Australia (in that order) have been found to be happer than emmigrants to anywhere else.