this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2024
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How to successfully transition out of IT at age 40+? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/cs_career_questions
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As stated in the title. I've worked in IT for over 15 years despite having no related degree.

I've been closing tickets nonstop at my current company for almost 10 years. After several restructurings and shuffling of higher posts, it has become clear to me that while this employer isn't the worst out there, I will never be internally promoted or have my job duties changed if I don't leave.

Worse, ever since Covid I've started falling out of love with IT and computers in general. I used to be stoked to learn about all the new developments in tech, nowadays, not so much - the only "innovation" I've seen in the last 10 years was companies trying to make absolutely everything a fucking subscription model. Now I honestly don't know nor care what's in the newest tech stack, how security has evolved,... I just want my shit to work and not having to worry about everything under the hood.

So getting another helpdesk- or related job seems out of the question for mental health reasons.

What would be another niche or industry where someone with an analytical mind and a greatly developed loathing for corporate mooching could find their spot in the coming two decades or so?

I've long since accepted that I'll never be able to climb any ladders anywhere since I never had the right contacts or stayed long enough, so it would likewise have to be something I could mentally and physically endure being in the bottom rungs of for the aforementioned duration.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

it sounds like i was in your position almost 2 years before covid hit and i think that mattered because i cluelessly decided to pursue software development and i was told by a few hiring managers in interviews that they were scraping the bottom of the barrel in hiring software developers during covid. in my ignorance i didn't realize how difficult it is to get a software developer position and i think covid is the only thing that ended my 2 year long job search; given the lack of responses in my applications over the last year.

ever since then, i've learned that it's more unstable career field if you don't have faang or ivy league or really good connections on your resume. if i had the ability: i would engage in much more networking.

i had to move away from silicon valley to a place where the bar was low enough to let me get a software developer position and also where corporations were being enticed by low taxes rates that created an artificially bigger need for software developers: austin, texas. the bar was low during covid and the bar is still lower compared to silicon valley, but getting narrower seemingly.

i'm also finding out that the almost 20 year old work history in my resume in IT & Software Development is atleast getting some people's attention when I apply now a days to IT jobs; but not in the tech hubs of this country and most of their pay rates haven't been updated since 2008.

silicon valley work tenures tend to run so much shorter than the rest of the country's that it becomes a problem for employers far away from silicon valley if you list your work history past 5 years.