Re-Joining the IT Field After a Long Absense

Hi,
Quick background -
I am a former IT professional with 7 years of (now ancient) experience in infrastructure and support in an enterprise environment (Windows-based). For the past 14 years, I've worked successfully in a B2B outside sales role (non-IT) and I'd really like to get back into the technology field in the not-too-distant future. I've always enjoyed networking tremendously and completed my CCNP this year. I've also continued to lab and to study current topics (SDN, Python, AWS, DevOps, RHEL, etc). While I'm not looking to venture out into the job-seeking world just yet, once the pandemic situation stabilizes I'd like to get more serious about things. One of the larger obstacles that I'm facing is that I simply cannot accept an entry-level role as I could not support the salary that would come with it. Now, I'm not expecting 6 figure compensation out of the gate, nor do I expect to land a truly CCNP-level job simply because I have the cert, but there is a definite limit to how backwards I can go in terms of salary.
At this point, I'm looking for some direction. What sort of roles should I be seeking out? Should I continue to study hard during my free time? If so, what should I truly focus on? I'm at the point now where I fear that I may start losing more knowledge than I'm gaining since I'm not putting this stuff to use on a full-time basis. Any suggestions would be appreciated. From a job-market perspective, I live in NJ, roughly between Princeton and Philadelphia. Thanks in advance.
Quick background -
I am a former IT professional with 7 years of (now ancient) experience in infrastructure and support in an enterprise environment (Windows-based). For the past 14 years, I've worked successfully in a B2B outside sales role (non-IT) and I'd really like to get back into the technology field in the not-too-distant future. I've always enjoyed networking tremendously and completed my CCNP this year. I've also continued to lab and to study current topics (SDN, Python, AWS, DevOps, RHEL, etc). While I'm not looking to venture out into the job-seeking world just yet, once the pandemic situation stabilizes I'd like to get more serious about things. One of the larger obstacles that I'm facing is that I simply cannot accept an entry-level role as I could not support the salary that would come with it. Now, I'm not expecting 6 figure compensation out of the gate, nor do I expect to land a truly CCNP-level job simply because I have the cert, but there is a definite limit to how backwards I can go in terms of salary.
At this point, I'm looking for some direction. What sort of roles should I be seeking out? Should I continue to study hard during my free time? If so, what should I truly focus on? I'm at the point now where I fear that I may start losing more knowledge than I'm gaining since I'm not putting this stuff to use on a full-time basis. Any suggestions would be appreciated. From a job-market perspective, I live in NJ, roughly between Princeton and Philadelphia. Thanks in advance.
Comments
Also consider that the post-COVID-19 world will be much more open to remote workers, so think outside your geographical area and notice how many job posting find 100% telework acceptable or even necessary.
Forum Admin at www.techexams.net
--
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdmurray
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jdmurray
Forum Admin at www.techexams.net
--
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdmurray
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jdmurray