People 33+ when did you find your dream job?

kohr-ah

Just wondering. We all take jobs that will help build our careers. Some of us joined the game later than others.

Those who are 33 or older when did you find your dream job or have you not found your dream job yet and are still looking ?

historian1974

I have an idea of what my dream job is, but I'm still working to get there.

danny069

My dream job is completely out of the scope of IT. I will continue to dream for now, and come back down to reality. That's all I can say.

TLeTourneau

I don't know about my dream job, although I certainly enjoy my work. I do believe that I have found my dream employer and as such will have greater access to work on teams and projects that I enjoy and find challenging.

broli720

I'm not 33, but I would say I'm fortunate to have what I consider a dream job now. I get to work from home and I travel all over the world meeting customers to help them solve their challenges. Eight months in but so far so good.

nascar_paul

Maybe I haven't been doing this long enough to contribute properly, but I AM over 33 and I AM working my dream job.

More accurately, the work that I currently do WAS my dream job. I worked in IT from 2000 - 2003 as a HelpDesk Coordinator, but I left to start a business that was non-technical.

I've been back in the industry since 2014 as an L2 Deskside Support Analyst, and the reality of L2 Desktop Support is grittier and more repetitive then I imagined

However, the freedom of movement and the satisfaction in resolving issues that have moved through three levels of support is significant.

Danielh22185

Well I'm not driving race cars or flying rocket ships but I guess what I do will have to suffice. I am 31 and believe I have found my niche for what I REALLY enjoy doing and can see myself doing this for a long time on. I enjoy learning more and seek to challenge myself daily. I am not quite at the high level I want to be in my industry just yet however dream / seek to be there and be one of the best at what I do. I am a challenge driving competitive person so as long as I am satisfying those needs to learn and grow often I am happy. So I guess you could say I am living the dream now

tedjames

I'm 51. I got into security kind of by accident about 10 years ago when I took a technical writing job in the security department of a state agency. I gradually moved into program management, managing security assessments, incident handling, security awareness training, and other related tasks. I started a new job as a cyber security analyst in another agency where I'm doing scanning/testing, training, incidents, and plenty of other fun things. I'm learning about penetration testing, which is really cool! So far, this has been my dream job.

renacido

I had my dream job but had to sacrifice it for the sake of my family. I knew it was my dream job because I couldn't imagine doing anything else. But becoming a father changed my priorities.

I loved the world travel to exotic locales and being in a highly dynamic job. But I would rather put my daughter to bed every night and wake up with my wife every morning. Now I have to settle for a very good job that I like instead of the dream job. Life is full of compromises.

rsutton

I got in to IT when I was 18, and am now in my mid 30's. I found my dream job when I turned 30.

blargoe

I'm not sure what my dream job would be, but this sure as hell isn't it.

GSXR750K2

My career is like the Hagerty car commercial's slogan, "Even when you have your dream car, you still have a dream car."

I am 33, and while my job is pretty great by a lot of standards, it's not the endgame for me.

gespenstern

40, never found.

kohr-ah

Thanks for the insight all

I can contribute as well. I am 34 and am starting a new position. I dont know if this is my dream company but the technology they are using I am hoping sets me apart from the rest should I be looking again.

I have yet to find my dream job or dream company yet also. My goal is before I am 40.

daviddws

Leo,

I think you might need some more certifications (joking of course)..

Back to the topic at hand... as we know the youthful look to the future with great expectation and promise. For those of us who are older, these dreams usually do not meet reality BUT you CAN carve out a niche and live a decent life (Curse you outliers!!)

gespenstern

daviddws wrote: »

Leo,

I think you might need some more certifications (joking of course)..

Yeah... joking aside, but i still get them and am maintaining a good pace... not sure if it ever leads to a dreamjob, i guess it is more of a habit as of now, i often feel depressed if i don't accomplish something...

UnixGuy

yes I found my dream (so many times) and then my dream job kept changing. For me it's not a dream job, it's more like a lifestyle I'm designing and optimising for myself. Ideally I would like to work part time, but that should be attainable in the near future.

philz1982

At 34, I created/ am in the process of creating my dream job.

I've gradually built a LinkedIn group of over 3000+ people, I've started writing monthly columns, and am positioning myself as an expert in smart building design and IoT. From this I am getting offers for consulting, I am writing an e-book and have some SME's from my industry as reviewers, and I am working to secure a new role as a system architect at my company. I have no IT background, am completely self taught and have a BS degree in business.

I am working on a very high-visibility solution that once complete I can disclose, on top of that I am creating the Framework for the flagship offering of my company, I am leading multiple cross-functional teams consisting of VP's and Directors, and one thing I especially like is that I am coding a service bus to integrate CoAP and BACnet.

Now, you will have to trust me on this, I say none of the above to brag. I am just saying it b/c so often I see people defining themselves into a set path to a goal. If I tried to get hired at an IT company most would say you have no programming background, you haven't worked tech support, NOC, ect.

So I bypassed that, I found a company, got into the sales organization and positioned myself as the technical liaison. I think one of my mentors said it best to me. He said, that if I went to an IT company I'd be another IT guy, but if I went and found a way to be a creator, to create solutions, to do thought work, that I would be invaluable. This is the best advice I've gotten and it has served me well.

cyberguypr

My dream job involves cars, guns, and pretty ladies. I'm positive it won't happen unless I win the lottery. On the Infosec side, I am pretty happy were I'm at and consider myself lucky to be with my current employer. Great balance of challenges, training, personal and professional growth. Can't complain and I see myself staying put for a while.

daviddws

cyberguypr wrote: »

My dream job involves cars, guns, and pretty ladies.

There's always Grand Theft Auto to live that dream...

E Double U

cyberguypr wrote: »

My dream job involves cars, guns, and pretty ladies. .

That is the 'merican dream!

NOC-Ninja

What is a dream job?

xengoreth

I've worked in IT for 18 years (37 years old now) and I've felt like I've never had anything close to a dream job. When I worked as a QA Engineer for a major software company, it could have been a dream job but there were factors at play that made the position miserable. One particular dev manager had a reputation of putting so much pressure on individual members of the QA team that many of my predecessors had quit just so they didn't have to deal with him. He ended up targeting me, which I really wasn't ready for. That job nearly broke me, destroyed my sense of self-worth for awhile.

It's only now that I have any pride in my work again and this took place back in 2012.

I've put a renewed effort into breathing life back into what I view mostly as a failed career. I have a job now where I am part of a small team of sysadmins but we have to pick up the phone if our helpdesk monkey isn't around (which somehow he never is). I've gotten my feet wet administering some Cisco gear, which has left me hungry for more. I'm try to apply my coding/scripting skills, my expertise with various network technologies, and my virtualization and sysadmin experience toward a DevOps or network engineering role. Hopefully, this will be my dream job, should such a thing exist.

kohr-ah

OK maybe I need to shift this.

So how about how did you know you hit the company you want to do a large stint at??

So rather than say this was your dream job this was a company you finally went, you know... This isn't so bad. I could be here for a while. [ I have yet to find this place ]

tedjames

kohr-ah wrote: »

OK maybe I need to shift this.

So how about how did you know you hit the company you want to do a large stint at??

So rather than say this was your dream job this was a company you finally went, you know... This isn't so bad. I could be here for a while. [ I have yet to find this place ]

I had known my current boss for about five years before I went to work for him (8/2015). I had worked with him in a client/service provider-type relationship. During that time, I realized that this was someone I really respected and knew I could learn a lot from. When he was finally able to hire a staff, I jumped on the opportunity. I'm very happy with my choice and plan to be here for quite a while. Sometimes it's not really the job as much as it is the people you work with/for. Sometimes it's a combination of the two.

kiki162

Working from home is a dream job. Took a few years, and working my a** off to get here. I'm in a great place now, and intend on keeping my skill set up for whatever the next opportunity comes my way.

joshmadakor

broli720 wrote: »

I'm not 33, but I would say I'm fortunate to have what I consider a dream job now. I get to work from home and I travel all over the world meeting customers to help them solve their challenges. Eight months in but so far so good.

Hello sir. May I have an application?

joelsfood

I don't know that you will ever find a dream job. What you find is the best fit, or even good enough, for that time and place. I began working for this company in 2006, left in 2007, came back in 2008. Throughout that time, I changed(more mature I hope), my family situation changed(house in 2008, wife in 2010, kid in 2013), and even the company changed (we were divested in 2007 into independent company, then bought by new company in 2012). Oh, and the work situation changed, from commuting every day to working from home 100%, as well as being on my fourth boss in that time, both from reorgs and changes in management.

I love this job, and have no plans on leaving now, though that same thing obviously wasn't true in 2007. Technically, those 10 years have all been the same job, but between changes in myself and home, and changes at work, it's a better fit now than it ever was. I think the main thing is to find the right balance between satisfaction and complacence. No job is perfect, but you also have to figure out what your threshold is before you have to look for something else. That is going to be differentfor every person, and even different through the years.

jeremywatts2005

Sorry to say I am 38 and I never have found my dream job. I probably never will either because it is a dream. I work to make money to take care of my family. Whoever pays me the most and gives me the most time with my family wins. Does not matter if the job sucks or not it is a job and that is all. I know that sound crazy to some, but I stopped looking for my dream job 3 yrs ago and turned mercenary. I tried the whole loyalty thing and was reward with many jerks for bosses and several layoffs. If companies do not care about employees then I do not care about their situation when I leave.

I work for the highest bidder and part of the bid is time off and hours. Whatever perm company offers me the most of it is what I take. Been at my job for a month and I got a call yesterday for a better job more money and hours. They did not care about me being at my current job a month they just want to interview me and try to get me into the system. Skills and experience are hard to find so sell yourself.

powerfool

My idea of a dream job has more to do with location than the work involved. So, from a work perspective, I am pretty close and have had the job for a couple of years... at about the time I hit 33. My previous job was not too far off either, and I had that at about 29.

Dakinggamer87

I haven't found my dream job yet but I have faith the right job will come when I least expect it. As long as my bills are paid and I can enjoy my lifestyle is all that matters. Plus, I'm only 29 so I have a lot of time ahead of me. My dream job would be in IT Management at a gaming company. Gaming like IT is a big passion and enjoyable hobby for me so it's the best of both worlds.