So this is probably going to sound odd but here goes: I’m a 36 year old guy working in IT and I’m really starting to not like it. I got into computers when I was young, mainly for gaming but I was always fascinated by the fact that they can communicate with each other. Fast forward 25 years and I’m a network admin working for a medium sized company and not really enjoying it any longer. Its not the hours (I’ve been averaging around 43 hours per week) or even the pay (its around 60k with overtime) but the actual project and support work…handling active directory, group policy, and Microsoft products in general. I find I am dragging myself into work each morning dreading the litany of stupid problems I’ll have to deal with for the day. And it never really stops at the end of the day with this kind of work…I find myself thinking about the problems (and possible solutions) all the time.
And now, at the ripe old age of 36, I am craving another career. I don’t really want to do IT work any longer. So what do I want for a career? Good question. I’m not sure what is practical. I’ve always wanted to be a pilot which is ultimately how I got into computers by trying to get Flight Simulator to run on DOS. But is that even a realistic thing to want as a career for someone who has never been in the military and has flown a plane a grand total of one time in his life? Plus I have a family to support, house to pay for etc. so I have to make somewhere in the ballpark of what I am making now.
Am I crazy for wanting to do something else when I have what I think most people would consider a pretty good job? Not to mention that switching careers can be hard even under the best economy which we’re not in at the moment…I don’t even know if there are jobs out there for a newbie pilot.
I would appreciate any advice the community can offer. Maybe I’m being silly for entertaining the idea. Maybe lots of you have already done something similar. What do you think?
It’s very rough out there for pilots now. Many commercial airlines are reducing their line and furloughing pilots. The market is pretty saturated and it’ll be a while before there’s enough jobs to go around. Pilot school is expensive, too, and you won’t be making much when you first start. It’ll be several years before you have enough hours to become captain, assuming you rise the ranks high enough, and even captains don’t make what you currently do. You have to really love flying to put up with it all.
I don’t think you’re crazy for wanting to try something new, but this is a big jump.
Well - I’m 39 and switched careers about 2 years ago. For me - it was a very long process. I started about 5 years prior to my actual switch, by getting an advanced degree (MBA). Then I spent quite a while figuring out what industry I could switch into that 1) was more appealilng to me in terms of interest and future, and 2) was something that I could at least tie in my previous experience (I didn’t want to throw away 15 years of experience). Having done all that - it still took about 2 years of steady job searching to actually make the change. I don’t say this to dissuade you - just to point out that it can be a long process.
In terms of actual suggestions - I’d say this. First - figure out what are some industries / careers that you would be interested in. I would try to come up with more than one. Then - once you’ve done this, see if any of those industries have any connection with what you’ve been doing. For example - you want to be a pilot, but you have IT experience. So - are there any ways to combine the two (systems engineering, IT work at an airline or airport, air traffic control, etc.)? Finally - assuming you’ll need some type of training for whatever you choose, determine if there is any way to obtain that while still working at your current job (flight training after hours, graduate school in the evenings / weekends).
Anyway - that was what I did. May not have been the best approach - but ultimately worked out as I am much happier now than I was in my previous career.
Thanks for the really quick replies guys! I’ve been reading as much as I could find about this last night and today and everything I am reading points to the same thing being posted here…no jobs in avaition right now. The more I think about it the more impractical it appears. In a perfect world I’d get certified to fly helicopters and go get a job flying a news chopper over the city I live near now…probably not going to happen.
So I need to do some thinking as has been suggested and find other options that might fit me. I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up!
I am also in IT. Instead of switching out of IT maybe you can try working IT for another industry. This way you keep all your experiance, but you can work in an industry that you find interesting. Find out if the airport, or one of the airlines is hiring IT guys. This way you can see if your career change would actually be what you think it would be. If you do decide to change careers you would have your foot in the door as well.
I was in a position similar to yours and I did something like what Kiber did. I’m 35 now, and was in IT for quite a while: secure job, good pay and benefits, but I got tired of feeling like I was a replaceable commodity. I wanted to do something that felt more important. So, my wife tricked me into writing the LSAT (a different story) on which I did pretty well. That inspired me to finish my undergrad degree that I’d abandoned earlier (another story) and apply to law school. Why law? Why not? I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have a law degree. Was it the right decision? I don’t know yet. I’m done law school and just finishing my articling (something we do here in Canada). I certainly don’t regret it though, even if I decide I don’t want to be a lawyer in the end. I’ve had some really great experiences and met a lot of people I wouldn’t have otherwise.
My advice is to pick something and go for it - there’s no guarantee, but at least there’s a chance you’ll end up doing something that you love, and you won’t regret not taking the chance later.
Switching careers, even during good economic times, is always risky. Especially if you have responsibilities. What happens if you jump into something new you don’t like as much as your old job? Can you survive 3-6 months while you look for another job in IT? Also, remember there are good and bad aspects of any career. I have a friend that as a pilot for American Airlines and it doesn’t sound all that fun a place to work at to me.
The nice thing about being in IT (I work at Cisco Systems), is that networks and computers aren’t going away. You obviously have marketable skills that you have fostered over the years and your current employeer sees value in what you do. It sounds to me like you need a change… but not necessarily a change in careers.
I’m not sure how big a company you work for, or how comfortably you are talking to HR or your manager, but you should sit down with someone where you work and talk about your career path. If you stayed where you are where can you expect to be in 5 years? In all likelihood nobody at your company has even thought about that so it will force your boss to start thinking about your career path. If you are a valuable employee they won’t want to lose you.
Also, there may be opportunities at you current company to do something that would leverage your technical skills but be much more interesting and less stressful. I used to manage a worldwide customer support organization and that meant I had to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Last year I switched to managing our outsourced support partners, and while there are times when I have to make a 11 pm conference call, my stress levels are reduced considerably from my previous position. I make the same amount of money, but instead of being responsible for everything I can now focus on just what our partners are doing… and at 5 pm on Friday I stop thinking about work until Monday morning.
Finally, as far as thinking about work when you are home, unless you are on call 24X7 you need to learn how to “turn off work” once you leave the office and head home. You shouldn’t always be thinking about work… it’s not healthy. There’s a work-life balance you need to find where you spend an appropriate amount of time focused on work AND an appropriate amount of time focused on your life and family. Do you take time-off and vacations as often as you should so you have a chance to recharge your batteries?
Pretty much the same story here, right down to the articling, except I’m somewhat older. Okay, a lot older. No, I won’t say how much.
Anyway, the point is, you’re never too old to make a career change. I like the suggestion upthread, about doing IT in an airport or for an airline. Or, perhaps there is some different field in IT that you might like to try and in which you can use your (no doubt considerable) technical knowledge: technical training, field support, and technical publications are three that come to mind. But certainly, take some time to look into all kinds of different things, not just flying. Who knows? You might find that what really attracts you is something you haven’t considered yet.
One of my friends had enough of IT when he was a couple of years older than yourself. He was made redundant and had a bit of a payoff. Went to university and did a course in surveying, one year and paid for it himself. Worked hard and passed (and had a great time being a student too!). Fairly easily got a job, but it was quite low paid. But it’s a career, he quite likes it, and in a few years should have a quite well paid, secure future. So it can be done, but you’ve got to be realistic about how much you will earn and how long it will take.
That’s a really good suggestion that I’ve considered at length. I might not be able to fly the planes professionally but being in the environment might be really cool for me. I’m going to look into this and see where it leads.
Cisco? Nice! You raised a bunch of interesting points here. I tend to take vacation over long weekends…Monday and Friday off along with the regular Saturday and Sunday break. Its not enough. The problem is of course not enough vacation time, there never is. And even if I had it I don’t know that I’d be able to use it all.
Im in a similiar position and my plan isnt to bow out of IT, but to make my next career move into management. Its easy to get burnt out on the tech end of things when youre neck-deep in it all day, everyday. Perhaps you should be considering a move to IT management and have those below you do the day-in and day-out grunt work while you work on a higher organizational level and use more of your soft skills.
Also, Ive found its good to focus on stopping some of the tedium. Via scripts, remote support, little applets Ive written, lowering of permissions, policies, etc Ive been able to cut down on the tedious stuff at the last couple of places Ive worked.
Another thing to consider is that the problem may not be the job, but you. Perhaps you’ll never be happy anywhere after x amount of time. This is something to consider. Ive accepeted that my fantasizing about a new career is really just escapism. Switching jobs today might lead to disappointment in five years, except in a new field you’ll be a newbie and probably be making much less than if you stuck it out with IT. That said, a lot of people find fulfillment in switching careers.
