A new career - what is in demand?

Caveat said:
Would appreciate any feedback & thanks to all for replies so far.
(Except of course those pair of wags, Vanilla & Purple ;) )
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I can see what you mean about Vanilla but I was just trying to be helpful! ;)
 
Caveat said:
I'd consider IT Yoganmahew - have unrelated BA, would a postgrad diploma be sufficient for an entry into this?
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I don't know in Ireland - I would suppose so - there are some other threads on this from people who have gone this route, so they may be able to give more info. I have a history degree and was trained at the first company I worked for, so I have never actually studied!

Caveat said:
What in your experience have people "had enough of" by year 2 - do you mean year 2 of study or employment BTW?
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Both really; the drop-out rate at college is high (I remember hearing higher than any other course, but that could be my memory playing up). Even after they get into a job, many people find the lack of advancement a bit of a downer - you either go into management or stay as relatively poorly paid technical (relative to the idiot managers you work for).

Caveat said:
I've very little IT knowledge/experience but I'm a fast learner - would it be recommended to do a niche course or would a more general qualification be more beneficial do you think?
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If I was studying from the view I have now, networks would be where I would go. It's essential to all large businesses and probably has the best chance of getting employment with no experience. In particular, intranet networks and information management within a company. I have also seen some good public service opportunities with this. It can be phenomenally boring, though.

The main bad things about the industry are:
1. It is extremely difficult to get a job without relevant experience.
2. Programming work tends to be outsourced to eastern europe/the far east.
3. You will be expected to know more and work harder than other professions in the company.
4. The pace of change can be very high, especially if you end up in a bleeding edge company.
5. It's always your fault.
6. Your salary will not rise with your technical experience and ability.

With your sales background you have a couple of options to make life easier in getting a job:
1. If you have sales experience in a particular field, look at the IT usage in that field and specialise in something that you can use your previous experience with.
2. Look for a job in a company that is sales driven, i.e. a supplier of software/networks/systems so you can be in a customer facing role - many technical people are unsuited to being out of their cave.

HTH.
YM
 
Cheers YM - thanks very much for that. Something to think about.

Still open to suggestions though :)
 
I'm not sure IT is a great industry to get into in your late thirties but if you find you have a talent then there's people I know did convert into excellent programmers in their early thirties at least.

I am late 30's myself and would perhaps choose to move out of the programming ranks in the next few years. At the moment I'm working in an Irish semi-state and the working culture is much more conducive to a long career than some American outfits.

There are a lot of 22-26 year olds working mad hours in the industry to get the experience though and you might be competing against them. Plus the companies with this culture are getting lots of business and outsourcing rapidly. Also there tends to be a lot of out of hours work, carrying bleepers, mad hours coming up to deadlines, particularly in programming disciplines.

At this stage the older ones are trying to use their experience, communication skills and maturity (not likely to skip off to Oz!) to keep ahead. At a certain stage I think your priorities change and many older workers are less keen to put in these hours.

Best of luck whatever you choose and I don't want to put a dampener on things!

G
 
Perhaps approaching recruitment agencies/FAS and asking them to tell you what jobs are in demand by employers but hard to fill?
 
If you find out that sewer cleaners will be in high demand will you look for a job in that area? Why not try to come up with a short-list of what you would like to do first and then find out what the demand is for those jobs.
 
Purple said:
If you find out that sewer cleaners will be in high demand will you look for a job in that area? Why not try to come up with a short-list of what you would like to do first and then find out what the demand is for those jobs.
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Well that would be the sensible route obviously - but as stated, I really have no idea what I would like to do yet. Suppose I've been doing the same thing for so long.

And yes, if being a sewer cleaner paid well I'd have no problem with that.

At least you wouldn't have to listen to much crap.;)
 
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