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Old guy career transition needs a lot of advice....long

 
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Quick facts

41 years old
95 credits towards degree...but in finance....and that was 15 years ago
Former Marine
Working in sales last 15 years
Live and work between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Can get to either for a job.

Ok. Going through a bit of mid life crisis, lol. When I was younger I was the stereotypical 98 pound nerd. I was programming when I was in high school. When I got in the Marines I was a LAN administrator....but that was long long ago. I was getting my degree while active duty...think mid 90s...Wall Street types were the one making big pay checks so I was going for finance. Long story short....I got hurt...didn't finish school....got out of the Corps and got into sales because I needed a job fast. Here I am 15 years later. I'm doing ok some years not other years.

I really would like to move into network security or software engineering ...BA etc. my inner nerd is not happy selling and not being involved.

Things I have in my favor. I'm smart. Now...likely everyone on this forum is...so I'm not bragging, just saying some people in my position might be limited. I'm not from an intelligence standpoint. I can quite literally do/learn whatever I want. We'll...except learn grammar and spelling. Lol. Also. My finance background and years in sales...I'm good with non techie people. Very good on the business side and communications side. Was even a speech and debate champ a million years ago. I can fit in and deal with C level on down to custodians and translate between the two worlds.

Things against me. 41 and I know that's ollllddddddd in the tech world especially without 20 years IT experience behind that number. (At least I only look early 30s...lol). I don't have degree....and owe former school where half my credits are 2k I can't pay right now to get my transcripts. I'm not lazy...but I'm not a workaholic either. Was at one time...gotten lazier as I've gotten older...but a lot of that is no goals or direction. (Being VERY frank here). I have a wife and kids and need about 75k a year to survive, not in a position to downing much...kind of trapped in things which is number one reason I not transitioned before now. Lastly. Wife lost her left eye a couple of years ago...lack of her income and bills caused sever credit issues. I know that affects some jobs and employment.

I don't know if there's any way I can transition...if there is a path I could take or if I need to accept that I'm old and it won't really be possible without literally starting out as a 30k newbie somewhere and working up. I've tried to be as detailed and honest as possible so I can get best realistic advice. given what I've written so far...what is a reasonable expectation of starting money? I know location has a lot to do with that but I would be staying in OK. And what would I need to do to break in? I know there are so many areas of IT...it's not like saying architect ...I know security is a growing area. I know software engineering is as well.

Some additional things about me. I perform best under pressure. For years I was called the fireman at work because I was the guy that put out all the fires. The flip side of that coin is that I'm not best working on a year long project with no milestone deliverables to meet. I need that push. Also. Calculus is the highest math I've had and that was in 1992. It would take a lot to get into that again as I have not used much above basic algebra since. What areas would that keep me out of?
 
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To start, 41 years old isn't "ollllddddddd". There are many here (including me) that are also in their 40s and 50s. And also, as a side note, I don't like the term "mid life crisis" -- not sure why though... ... I guess it is kinda accurate as it is causing lots of evaluation of what you want to do, etc. etc.; but at the same time, it also seems to have connotations of being stupid (Ferrari, divorce, etc.). I guess when I was younger, I also used that term, so perhaps I shouldn't rant on this. Oh well.


Anyway, what do you do in sales? I know quite a few friends / acquaintances in sales. The majority, I think, are in technical sales, meaning selling hardware or software (working for the vendor). And I also think, that the majority of those are selling into the finance industry. IMO, it is a lucrative place to be -- especially, if you are in capital markets. On the other hand, yes, it is also brutal. I don't know how my friends do it. I spent many years doing sales support, watching and trying to learn, and I still don't know how they do it...

Not sure if I have any advice... but, from what I have seen, the professional network of account reps, are ridiculous -- as it is their job to build and maintain that network. Can't you use your professional network to investigate what you want to do? And then use that network to help get you there?

Henry
 
Michael Compton
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Lol. I dont really call it a mid life crisis either...but I am trying to reevaluate some things.

I worked in the mortgage industry for a lot of years. I was a big deal back then. Lol When that imploded a few years ago I bounced around a couple of times. Last few years working in a decidedly non technical area. I sell roofs down here. After a hail storm I help deal with insurance etc. I moved to Oklahoma a year ago so I really don't have a network down here to rely on.

In all honesty I'm a good salesman but outside of work I'm not a social butterfly at all. Much rather spend my time with just my wife in the boonies where I live. Lol.
 
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Are there any public sector employers in your area? They tend to have problems recruiting staff because they don't pay great salaries, so they're often more flexible about things like qualifications and may be ready to provide developer training for example. They're also less prone to blatant ageism and may offer more flexible working arrangements.

You actually have a lot to offer employers in general terms - IT experience as a LAN admin (good techy background), commercial experience in the financial sector, people skills, plus your military service. Your lack of formal IT qualifications and recent IT experience is a problem, but might not be the show-stopper you fear it is, provided you can find somebody willing to look at your potential as a whole rather than just looking for yet another plug-and-play junior Java programmer.

So take every opportunity to improve your programming and IT skills (check out Coursera and EdX for lots of useful free options), and try networking in your area e.g through MeetUps or user groups etc. But also start looking at how to apply your sales skills to your own career.

After all, you transformed yourself from a "stereotypical 98 pound nerd" into a US Marine, so this latest transformation should be a piece of cake by comparison, right? Best of luck!
 
Michael Compton
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Well, I wasn't thinking of trying to get hired tomorrow. I was looking at trying to gain skills or certification over the next 6-12 months.

If I had to rank the fields as I'm interested based on dated ideas.

Security. I literally know nothing other than its a growing field and holds an 'excitement' factor

Software engineering. My concern here is I can pick up brush up programming skills...will I need college, calculus etc to get past entry level programmer?

Networking. CCNE etc. Holds no where near the interest levels but wondering if its an easier to get certified and get working? Maybe from there get into the security side?

I appreciate the encouragement and tips!
 
Henry Wong
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Michael Compton wrote:
Software engineering. My concern here is I can pick up brush up programming skills...will I need college, calculus etc to get past entry level programmer?



In all my years in programming, I think I only needed my Calculus knowledge once. And it was for the development of a PID controller that was needed to handle the automatic starting / stopping of VmWare machines.

When I did graphics many years ago, I definitely needed my Geometry and Trigonometry skills plenty of times. I haven't had a need for such skills in quite some time though.

If I had to say what is the most common math skill to have, I would say programmers generally need the most of eight grade math (hexadecimal and binary mathematics) and Algebra.

And finally, one math skill, which I regretted not studying hard enough in college was Statistics. Back in college, I regarded this branch of math as too "fuzzy" (ie. not exact enough). It took me a while to realize that the world is pretty "fuzzy"...

Henry
 
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