Am I Too Old?

I've been around pc's thier whole life. I've always built and upgrade my own hardware and I dabbled a bit here and there with BBS's back in the day. Unfortunelty I never got hooked in the field.

Lately I have become very interested in working towards getting some certs and making a move toward becoming a network admin. It seems like a younger mans field though. I am 43 and by the time I get a few worthwhile certs I could be getting closer to 45.

I have some college, (a lot of college but no degree

), and zero certs right now. I feel I could most likely get the A+ and the N+ very quickly with a little review but I have some friends who have told me that those certs are not worth persuing in the long run.

My questions are, will people hire an old man that really doesn't have a great deal of experience? If I choose to work on getting some certifications, what is the best path? A+ and N+ worth it? If I do get the A+ and N+ what is the next step? Is it better to start with the MS or Cisco path, or a combination of both? Asscociate or Bachelors degree a must?

Thanks for any information.

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Comments

KGhaleon

When I worked at Lockheed a couple years ago, there was a women who maintained the mainframes and she was 70+.

I don't think you're too old to enter IT. Just realize that with no real IT experience, you may have to start at the bottom and work your way back up.

I would suggest Network+ if you want to be a network admin, then going the Cisco route. A+ is more for computer hardware/software.

liven

Just do it man!!!

You will be fine.

Dive in and have fun.

nel

So when your in retirement age are you going to turn round and say "im not going to do xyz because im to old if you enjoy it"!!!

Not trying to be sarcastic there but i believe your never to old to do anything...unless you have medical issues which prevent you from skydiving

So if you enjoy it and can afford to financially etc then i would.

bwcarty

When it comes to getting a job, your certs will get your foot in the door, but your work history and other experience is likely to determine if you get hired. As someone mentioned earlier, you'd be looking at an entry level job in IT, but there are definitely places where maturity and work ethic take precedence over youth and technical ability - internal help desk positions come to mind.

itdaddy

dude! skip network + go for CCNA if you think you understand networking basics
A+ and CCNA will get you better admin skills than network +; if you have no networking
then do network + but...i had a friend who is 45 who got into a pc repair shop he felt
insecure.but he got the job! it is aplace to start! i am 41 and am kind of behind the 8 ball but
i am pushing by 45 will have all the certs i need and will have my BS CS done by 43.
so 43 years old, BS degree, some certs like A+, CCNA (this year), XP, office and crap loads of experience with servers and software like 5 intense years plus 20 years in the computer field
should get me in there. i thoiught i was too old but i have been pushing. i spend 10 years
US Air Force traveling the world over a few times and enjoyed every second!
no regrets...i am jealous of the guys who have 20 certs and 15 years IT but
i have had to be honest with self. plus do what makes you happy. i have met some guys
who do not have any certs and are better at some things than I am! (not much though haha)
hence the name IT daddy but what I am trying to say is be honest with yourself find a good woman! ahahaha and enjoy your life where you are at onto where you are going!
i really enjoy my job playing all the time i call it! i get paid to play!

plus i have my own small consulting IT businesses called IT Daddy LLC funny huh
but you are never tooo old man! i have made some money desiging and building
SOHO designs! and i am not CCNA yet but can do the work:)

JDMurray

rein wrote:

It seems like a younger mans field though. I am 43 and by the time I get a few worthwhile certs I could be getting closer to 45.

You'll be glad to know that it's never too late to move to another career. At 41 I decided to go back to school and get my Masters degree. Now, at 45, I have successfully shifted my career towards Information Security, and I'm still collecting certs. Many hiring managers and directors appreciate having several mature, stable, and hard-working older employees that have a sense of integrity and purpose lacking many "20-somethings."

eMeS

What I've seen is that there is always a shortage of smart and hard-working people, regardless of age.

If you produce results, you'll have no problem.

If you can demonstrate results from your current/prior career, and how those apply to where you are heading, you might very well have an advantage over the competition.

IMO, if an employer is not willing to recognize and give a chance to someone that is working hard to make a career change, and is not willing to benefit from that person's prior accomplishments and experience in another field, then that is not a wise employer.

MS

eltoro

Since you have lots of college, I would invest time in completing my degree. Degree is forever while certs expire. You are not old but there will come time when you definitely won't feel like renewing certs and that's when you will reap the benefits of degree.

pooker

Your not to old, your never to old. i know this is a different field but this is even more of an extreme to get u motivated, there was a 70+ year old that just graduated nursing school that works with my grandma. guess what? he takes care of elderly disabled people/nursing home. its never to late to do what you want to do. I have seen much older than you!

rein

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys. I feel much better knowing there are others out there about my age pushing there way into the field.

mikej412

rein wrote:

I am 43 and by the time I get a few worthwhile certs I could be getting closer to 45.

I wish I had started working on my Certifications when I was just a young pup like you!

coffeeking

NO NO NO....you are not old at all, just ask yourself if you really want to do this, if you do, then you could be 53 and still not be too old to get in it. I know that the thought does come to your mind that there are lot of young guys in the field with a lot certs, but that is O.K, just look at this way, they started that as their first job, while you didn't. I sort of had the same issue when I got in the field almost a month ago, and I am 28. There are guys at this place who have stacks of certs and 10+ years of experience, which was a little intimidating ar first, but I got a lot support from this forum, and then realized that if I started in the field as my first job I would have had the same amount of experience, but its O.K, I will have that in 10 years from now. I have had a great time doing what I did before, I wasn't going to take me anywhere so I had to make the switch, but I have no regrets about the time I spent at my last job.

GOOD LUCK with your new career.

Sie

Hi and welcome to the forum, I havent got much more to add that hasnt been said very well above, your never too old.

Just wanted to wish you all the best and hope you stick around while your studying