Family Friendly IT careers?

Bchen2

Im pretty sure some of the members here on Tech Exam Forum not only love technology but also have families that have to take of ( daughter kids son grandma etc)

As someone trying to give career advice to some friends interested in technology they want a career in IT with good work life balance i have some people making career changes and want to get into IT

So what areas of IT can i recommand to those who are single parents married or have kids? ( lookin for work life balance IT areas within 40-45 hours with very little to no on call or weekend work)

From what I seen I recommanded they can become a software engineers, programmer, or being like a computer support specialist or like go into being A Business Anaylst?

ImThe0ne

Any kind of support role is going to have an on-call rotation, anything above helpdesk that is. Desktop support, Server, Network, etc will all have on-call.

One of the previous companies I worked for also had their programmers and software engineers on an on-call rotation as well. You gotta think, the application goes down, the first people that will get called are the people that designed it. This may not be how most companies do it however, as the current company I work for only deals with third-party programs and have "Application Managers" instead. They have on-call rotations as well.

One of the positions I could see being little to no on-call would be a network designer, solutions architect, or an IT sales person.

Bchen2

Also from what I seen its also company specific too
Aside from like goverment agency ( schools , city halls , county)
I wanted to recommand some companies or places where they can look for work where they can build their IT careers

Mide

The most comfy IT job is a classified position with the state or local University. In my state you're totally 8-5. Bad thing is that you will rarely get a promotion or get much of a raise. Bennies and time off are the terrific tradeoff. All infrastructure stuff that require on-call (networks, servers, email, storage, etc) are mostly all professional/administrative positions and are separate from being an actual 'state worker'.

Bchen2

Mide wrote: »

The most comfy IT job is a classified position with the state or local University. In my state you're totally 8-5. Bad thing is that you will rarely get a promotion or get much of a raise. Bennies and time off are the terrific tradeoff. All infrastructure stuff that require on-call (networks, servers, email, storage, etc) are mostly all professional/administrative positions and are separate from being an actual 'state worker'.

Sounds about right
Are there other places where they offer good work life balance? Maybe in some private companies or maybe a health clinic?

SteveLord

State employee here with a strong union. Benefits are generally not comparable anywhere else. I've had 2 children born during my time here, finished my military contract and many other emergencies on various scales over the years.

BlackBeret

You're right about it being company dependent. Civil service positions with local, state, and federal government are a good place to start. usajobs.gov is a good place to look, but it's hard to go in entry level without at least a degree and a little bit of experience. Contract companies that support government contracts are usually easier to get on and are generally 40 hours with no overtime authorized. For private companies find a NOC/SOC that already runs 24/7 operations. In my experience if they're staffed for 24/7 already there is no need to have people on call and everyone sticks to their 40hr shift.

dave330i

Engineering side typically work normal business hours.

Bchen2

BlackBeret wrote: »

You're right about it being company dependent. Civil service positions with local, state, and federal government are a good place to start. usajobs.gov is a good place to look, but it's hard to go in entry level without at least a degree and a little bit of experience. Contract companies that support government contracts are usually easier to get on and are generally 40 hours with no overtime authorized. For private companies find a NOC/SOC that already runs 24/7 operations. In my experience if they're staffed for 24/7 already there is no need to have people on call and everyone sticks to their 40hr shift.

This is correct
Do you recommended any IT areas where the hours don't get too extreme( little occasional over time or weekend work or none)?

E Double U

I'm sure it varies per role and company.

I was working for a telco in a config role when my 1st son was born. Since I was working remotely I was able to spend lots of time with my wife and baby. I worked a standard Mon - Fri 40 hour week (no on-call). I was four months into my bank security role when my 2nd son was born and the CISO has never had any issues with me leaving early or working remotely to do things for my family. I work Mon - Fri and no on-call. I work overtime daily by choice, but I start early so I get the entire afternoon with my boys. I've only stayed late during emergencies, but that does not happen often.

joelsfood

WFH can make more of a difference than the actual hours. Even when I have to handle things oncall, etc, I'm just running downstairs