Posted on 09/27/2001 5:18:01 PM PDT by mlmr
This is a general question for techies and the people who love them. I have a relative who is married to a techie type. Consultant for 20 years. Subcontracted to one of the big 5 occasionally for project managmement. Business systems, inventory, financials, POS, materials tracking, delivery...you name it using IBM midrange systems. Made between 75 to 125 per hour (which is big money in this area) depending where he was working plus expenses.
Their lives changed and there were some family illnesses, deaths, and other problems. He really hasn't stayed on top of the changes. He has woken up to find his client base eroded and has been paralysed about retraining. What direction to go in, what to focus on, who's going to hire a 50 year old newly retrained guy? Is he ever going to be able to make dollars at previous levels? What kind of training does he need? He has even tried to get a job with the state and didnt make the cut. Is this a lost cause?
His wife is nearly hysterical. They are living on the retirement fund and between the taxes and the market, it isn't going to last long. They will lose their house. They have five kids, a mortgage and a car payment. He is stuck.
I am a Microsoft Windows software designer of user interfaces in Visual Basic, Microsoft Access, and Visual Interdev (for web-based applications). I also program resuable controls for the business and other logic and functionality, and I am proficient in designing and creating the database for user interfaces, which includes programming stored procedures and triggers in SQL Server and Oracle relational databases. I have also programmed applications for DB2/2. I am certified by Microsoft (Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer, aka MCSD), and I make very good money as an independent contractor.
Almost every company has, at least, some Microsoft servers/workstations. Some of my best clients are companies that "standardize" on catch-all software such as SAP. It never does "catch-all", so I am hired to fill in the functional gaps with VB or Access (the number of "functional gaps" can be virtually unlimited).
Another solid, though not necessarily high-paying, career is SAS programming. I have programmed many SAS reports, but always in emergency (please help us out) situations. I have never been hired as a SAS programmer, so I don't know the actual salary or contractual rates. I personally think SAS is boring, but a lot of people like it, and a lot of companies use it.
Above all, I would suggest he try to make use of his project management skills. My supervisors/project managers in the past seldom had my design and programming skills (and sometimes had none of them), but their planning/organizational skills were (generally) to be respected. If he is a good project manager, I would certainly push those credentials above all else. All companies require his knowledge of business/manufacturing processes (e.g., financials, materials tracking, inventory, etc.), and they are the same regardless of platform.
Good luck.
$80,000 a year....hummmm
"O incredulity! the wit of fools,
That slovenly will spit on all things fair,
The coward's castle, and the sluggard's cradle."
We have a number of folks at my company who have been hired from a similar background. Mainframe skills are pretty obsolete. There are still lots of mainframes but no one is retiring and when someone does, they don't replace them. unfortunately, his skills are obsolete. He must face this issue squarely and understand that his salary WILL go down. I would suggest consider downsizing his house and expenses dramatically.
In the IT industry you are only as good as what you did 18 months ago. If he has sales experience, consider consulting. If customers aren't his bag, stay as far from consulting as he can. One poster above described IT as a depression. It is that and more. Jobs are scarce as hen's teeth and there are no hopeful signs out there.
If I was him, I would seriously consider a complete job change. His skills are so antiquated that finding a job in such a depressed industry would be hard. Instead, he should concentrate on a new line of work and slowly begin his transition to retirement. Is what he knows valuable? Certainly, but he picked the wrong time to look.
Email me directly if you want more info on consulting. Take care and wish him the best. It is tough for all of us, even us younger guys who still have to remake everything year after year. Personal advise: if you let your IT skills stagnate, kiss your career goodbye. It is a brutal market.
No one cares.
You are blind, deaf and old. No one cares.
I worked as a consultant for over 10 years. The last firm I was with promised training in the latest technology but laid me off as soon as I wasn't billable. I'm willing to retrain but all the openings I find require years of experience, and my previous 14 years of programming apparently don't count.
In my case I have to consider the possibility of switching to an entirely new career. I'd love to get input as well, because the career counselors I've tried don't know squat about I.T.
I thought this was harmless banter, a battle of "wits", I guess I was only half-right.
First, it is "Old Professer", not Old Professor, second, it's asshole, not di*ckhead (see post #34).
Your life is over, and you know what? No one cares.
You are the last person to check spelling at this moment.
ROFL! This flame war is getting humorous ... keep it going guys, the nose bleed section is getting a kick out of it! ;-)
I'm single and with no obligations so I just up and quit. I still do freelance consulting on the side, and work during the day with friends doing construction, flooring, auto mechanic type stuff and I've never felt better in my life!
BTW, I'm 40 and just walked away from a 20 year 'career' and I don't care!
Sorry, I know there is no advice in my post, just relating my story.
Tell him to grow a pair and screw the retirement fund. You can't take it with you. (Not meant to be a smartass comment, it's just how I feel with my own personal situation.)
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