"Over fifty need not apply" - Reality check

Reality check. Is there any chance that someone over fifty years old would be hired into an IT entry level job?

I need a reality check. I do not want to be wasting my time chasing job listings if the fact is that no one is going to hire someone who is over fifty and has no direct IT job experience.

I know that finding that 1st IT job is always an uphill battle and I am OK with that. If companies just do not hire old guys then I am OK with that too. Such is life. If the unspoken fact is that, "over fifty need not apply" is true then I am ready to move on. To effectively launch my IT career I can not afford to waste my time chasing an unachievable goal.

My thinking is that rather than waste my time (as described above) I should just bite the bullet and launch my own IT consulting business.

Your thoughts please.
HardDisk

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Comments

twodogs62

Congrats, thanks for updating your status.
it is good to hear.

recall that a coworker had to call tech support a few years back at a large software company. He told me story if getting what sounded like young help desk people. They didn't even know what DOS was? He called back 3rd time or so and knows he got older gentleman. The guy knew his stuff, had professionalism and stick with him thru issue. His reaction was there is still value in older employees.

Russell77

SGIT wrote: »

I am 51, just got my CCNA, starting WGU next month. I have 7 years in Telecom but that was 1999 to 2006. At that point I went to do something totally different. I checked into getting back into the field after about 3.5 years and that is when I started to hear how my experience needed to be recent. Anyway, can't speak too soon but it looks like I might be stepping back in right where I left off, experience wise, with a slight increase in pay, probably not equal to inflation. Point is, like mentioned in this thread, many things are possible, stay positive and take action towards your goal. I hope to know in about two weeks if I have the job.

My story is very similar to this. I was in Telecom and left to avoid a layoff. While away a obtained my ccna and a few other certs and now I am back in Telco. My company has a hard time finding strong telecommunications techs that also have some networking and server skills. The company is also loaded with older workers which means the retirement bubble is fast approaching. After about a decade of not hiring all of the sudden there are many openings. It is a good time to get into this field and with the right skill set.

philz1982

Russell77 wrote: »

My story is very similar to this. I was in Telecom and left to avoid a layoff. While away a obtained my ccna and a few other certs and now I am back in Telco. My company has a hard time finding strong telecommunications techs that also have some networking and server skills. The company is also loaded with older workers which means the retirement bubble is fast approaching. After about a decade of not hiring all of the sudden there are many openings. It is a good time to get into this field and with the right skill set.

This...

I work for a fortune 100 company and literally 30% of our senior workforce is up for retirement in the next 5 years....

coffeeluvr

Congratulations! Thank you for updating.

rudegeek

Just goes to show that with the right attitude, everything and anything is possible! Congrats!

Chev Chellios

Great update, thanks for sharing and congratulations on your achievements.

bpenn

Just read the whole thread and I must say I am impressed with your dedication. This should be a clear indicator to all that you can succeed as long you have the drive and desire to be successful.

actionhank1786

BradleyHU wrote: »

might not be about motivation...might just be he has time on his hands, and others dont. but what good is having a ton of certs, but you have ZERO experience?

He's asking about Entry level though. I'd be thrilled to take on someone with those certs for entry level work.

He lacks experience, but with those certifications he's clearly devoted enough to learn it, and more importantly, already has a solid foundation for a company to tweak what he does to their needs.

Edit: Wow, didn't realize this was a bump by OP on his older post. Awesome work, OP!

diggitle

"My thinking is that rather than waste my time (as described above) I should just bite the bullet and launch my own IT consulting business." -- In the long run owning your own business is the best thing.

TechGromit

scaredoftests wrote: »

I didn't realize this thread was started in 2010. Congrats to you. I am 56 and still going strong.

Me either, I was thinking wow he has a lot of certifications for not having any experience.

Slowhand wrote: »

We live in strange times, indeed. Recently, I've seen cases of companies putting out just that, "over 50 need not apply", along with "unemployed candidates will not be considered".

I would be interested in knowing what happened with those cases. While it's hard to prove age discrimination, putting it your help wanted ads is a pretty obvious violation. Was there fines, lawsuits and settlements as the result of this? Looks like a pretty clear cut case to me.

bigdogz

To HardDisk,

Keep up the good work and people will notice. After all, you were hired and still have a job!!!

Good Luck!