What is your opion on entering the job field later in life?

joem789

I want to get some opinions regarding the idea of re-entering the IT job field at 45+ years old. Computers have been a passion of mine since I was a kid. But I never really went far beyond troubleshooting Windows software and doing repairs. That is, until I went back to college back in 2006, taking my time, and finally graduated in 2011 from MSU with a BS in Telecommunications. Emphasizing business and information technology as well. There was a lot of network related projects involved. The problem is that I never managed to enter the job market other than some freelance work here and there troubleshooting and fixing computer networking systems and servers in various business offices. But due to my wife's career doing so well, I had to step back and spend most of the time juggling between caring for our kids and squeezing in whatever work I could. We had become avid homeschoolers due to our troublesome schooling system. So, educating my kids every day has made a teacher and a caregiver out of me. This didn't do much for my potential IT career. Recently we decided to make some changes. So I am looking to get back to work. But I am not sure if IT is really worth the trouble. It has been awhile. Although I always try to be up to date with technology. My skills and expertise may not be up to par. Windows 7 is my limit so far. But I am ready and willing to play catch up. But only if it's worth the trouble. Else I can get into a different field. So the question is. Would it make any sense for me to get some type of certification and start a full fledged IT career? What would you do?

scaredoftests

Go for it. Yes, it would make sense to go for a certification. You might have to start at help desk, so go for A+. Send out resumes, see if you get any nibbles...

volfkhat

It depends.

So Let me ask this:
Where do you live?

and,
What type of annual salary are you expecting to make in your first 1-2 years?
And in 3-5 years?

Just trying to gauge expectations...

NetworkNewb

I'm sure some will think this a little "too deep", but when deciding on somethings I like pretend what it would be like to for me looking back at my life when I'm about to die. Would I have liked to try and do something or not. Do I wish I would've done "X" but I did "Y" instead. I think it kind of gives perspective on what you actually think will give a meaningful impact to you or not.

To answer your question on whether or not it is worth the trouble is up to you. It depends on if being successful in IT is worth the time it takes to you? But that also depends on what your view of "successful" is or what your expectations is. (like volfkhat mentioned) Once you have your expectations, you can try and gauge the time it might take you to get there, then decide if it is worth that time/effort.

EANx

Where's your passion? At 45, life is too short to be unhappy.

europop

I am almost your age. IT support is one of the easiest careers to enter compared to others. It's why a lot of ex-military do it, often after a boot camp style course.

But you'll be going in at entry level, alongside kids. These entry-level, generalist jobs are plentiful but so is the supply of workers.