Starting Technology Career at 39 Advise

[laraberch]

Hi Everyone,

I am thinking of going into IT and need some advise. I am 39 with a degree in accounting/finance. I have been mostly working in healthcare doing administrative work. I would like to switch careers and here are my questions:

1. Am I too old to get into this field and get a decent paying job?
2. What would be the recommended certifications to get in order to land a job with no prior experience in IT?

I'm basically looking for a realistic assessment here and would appreciate any information you can provide. Thank you!

Lara

 

[1etherer]

Your never to old, A guy I met whilst doing a Microsoft course was 42 years old, although he was a IT hobbyist in his spare time he never worked in IT and was in fact an accountant that got bored of his job.

He knew he had to start from the bottom and work his way up (I think he was earning £30K+), he ended up getting a £20k (around $28k) PA and I spoke to him a year later and he has got a new job and pay rise but I didn't ask how much.

So basically you can get into IT and will have to start on a lower salary but the market is great and the more you learn fast the more you will earn and what ever direction you take, all areas of IT are interesting.

Certs to start with are always Comptia A+ and Windows 7 exams (Windows 10 still to early to take the exams) - this and selling yourself as someone who is willing to proactively learn and understand, you should land a decent job.

The salary and market may vary in USA compared to UK, so someone else might be able to give more accurate advise on starting salaries.

 

[acerinpa]

I had 40+ year old people in my Chiropractic school- I say " if you have a calling - go do it. " If you don't enjoy what your doing 40+ hours per week- then life is hard to enjoy.

 

[DistraughtSysop]

1. Am I too old to get into this field and get a decent paying job?
2. What would be the recommended certifications to get in order to land a job with no prior experience in IT?

I'm basically looking for a realistic assessment here and would appreciate any information you can provide. Thank you!

You're not too old. Bear in mind that you usually have to start from or near the bottom in IT, so that usually means a pay cut for most people making a career change. The good news is that if you're good at what you do, you have a solid plan for your career and you know how to get people to like you, then it won't take too long to get decent pay.

As for people liking you - remember that soft skills are more important than technical skills in most of IT. Having customer service experience is a plus. I hope you like dealing with people.

I've found the CompTIA A/Net/Sec+ trifecta to be a good start for certs. A lot of helpdesk jobs will at least ask for an A+; check the local job listings and see what requirements are common. Lack of experience means you'll probably be limited to helpdesk/call center jobs - some of these positions will ask for experience, but you should apply, anyway.

You mentioned working in healthcare - if you are familiar with HIPAA then that could be a selling point if you want to get into healthcare IT.

 

[MidnightShadow]

Yeah, you're never too old to get into a new field. IT is constantly changing, so it's not difficult to jump in and be really good at it within a few years if you try. I hate the certs part of it and feel like it's a way to get money out of folks, but at the same time, the certs do show that you have the knowledge.

Is there a specific area of IT that you are interested in? Like network security, penetration testing, system administration, database administration, etc?

 

[laraberch]

Thank you for you reply! Another accountant getting into IT )
I will start looking at the certifications you mentioned!

 

[laraberch]

I had 40+ year old people in my Chiropractic school- I say " if you have a calling - go do it. " If you don't enjoy what your doing 40+ hours per week- then life is hard to enjoy.

Thank you! I think I will go for it!

 

[laraberch]

You're not too old. Bear in mind that you usually have to start from or near the bottom in IT, so that usually means a pay cut for most people making a career change. The good news is that if you're good at what you do, you have a solid plan for your career and you know how to get people to like you, then it won't take too long to get decent pay.

As for people liking you - remember that soft skills are more important than technical skills in most of IT. Having customer service experience is a plus. I hope you like dealing with people.

I've found the CompTIA A/Net/Sec+ trifecta to be a good start for certs. A lot of helpdesk jobs will at least ask for an A+; check the local job listings and see what requirements are common. Lack of experience means you'll probably be limited to helpdesk/call center jobs - some of these positions will ask for experience, but you should apply, anyway.

You mentioned working in healthcare - if you are familiar with HIPAA then that could be a selling point if you want to get into healthcare IT.

Thanks a bunch! This is all incredibly helpful! I am going to look at the certifications you mentioned, try and tackle it )

 

[laraberch]

Yeah, you're never too old to get into a new field. IT is constantly changing, so it's not difficult to jump in and be really good at it within a few years if you try. I hate the certs part of it and feel like it's a way to get money out of folks, but at the same time, the certs do show that you have the knowledge.

Is there a specific area of IT that you are interested in? Like network security, penetration testing, system administration, database administration, etc?

Thank you for your reply! I am not sure yet what each of the above mentioned areas deals with so I will have to research that part. Which do you think is more in demand? Would you happen to know any good websites to study from? I have no time to go to class as I work on the weekdays. Online learning would be great.

 

[MidnightShadow]

Thank you for your reply! I am not sure yet what each of the above mentioned areas deals with so I will have to research that part. Which do you think is more in demand? Would you happen to know any good websites to study from? I have no time to go to class as I work on the weekdays. Online learning would be great.

IT Security is always in high demand. There are a lot of specialty areas, too, though. For instance, I'm currently in what would probably be considered Database Administration, Automated Call Distribution, and VOIP Administration, with a little bit of Network Security as I'm dealing with 911 lines coming into a PSAP and the system that distributes the calls.

There are so many different areas that it's important to find one that you like. General IT support is a great start to get a good base of knowledge before you decide what you want to specialize in. The certs mentioned above are a good start regardless.