Too old for IT? 1

[Haazi2]

I'm contemplating obtaining an MS in CS although my undergrad major was in Economics. However, I have taken numerous computer courses which included a certificate course to move into the IT arena. I've heard IT is mainly for 20 somethings. A friend of mine mentioned that IT people over 40 have a hard time finding jobs? I'm 36 right now. Am I wasting time and money in attempting to get an MS in CS? What do you all advise?

 

[pivan]

The late author John Steinbeck on age and maturity wrote:
" A boy becomes a man when a man is needed. I've known boys 40 years old."

Food for thought.

pivan

If not now, when?
If not here, where?
If not us, who?

Just do it!!

 

[JAXDBase]

Hmmm.. reassuring that at least in the IT field age does not matter as much. Maybe looks. As for me, I have been able to find a jobs with my skills and specialty in the DB track. 2 years Environmental Chemist overseeing the health of a Geothermal drilling field(for steam used for power generation), 10 years Navy as a shipboard Jet Mechanic - YES they now run on jets engines! Post Baccalaureate into BSIT w/ concentration in DB. Learned COBOL first then VB/DB. I just love it!!! VB, FoxPro, Access, MSSQL, Oracle yummmm....

*** The constitution guarantees everyone the right to pursue happiness but NEVER the right to it *** Jacksonville DBase, Inc.

 

[Guest_imported]

At 59.803 years old, I can happily say that I have escaped having to work with C++, and will retire never to have progressed past VB6. I have never felt the heat of raging hoards of eager youngsters at my heels, trying to take my job. I did find a niche in scientific programming that began in 1976 when the first PC's started to come out
(not IBMs). I recently (the last 4 years) dabbled in IT, cause the young folks with their fancy mainframes and professional C++ skills could not seem to figure out how to manage scientific data from dozens of small data collection systems, provide quality control and tracability of the data, and deliver the data in a timely fashion to the scientist who need it. That is not all the youngsters could not do. I have been called in on a half-dozen occasions to rescue a simple software project that got bogged down for six months by a team of young programmers who simply did not understand the needs of the client, and tried so hard to sell them on elegant code, fancy user interfaces, multi-platform capability that will never be used, etc etc. In all cases when I was asked to help, I cracked open my VB 4,5, or 6 (as the case may be) and delivered a program that fit their needs in 30 days or less. These were not production type projects, of course, but small scale projects where wasting $200k on useless code mattered. One of the engineering rules we old farts learned is that over-engineering is almost as big a sin as under-engineering. Experience and maturity still count, but only in the appropriate field. New field at my age? Forget about it.

 

[courtoisf]

I'm a middle-aged (about) Systems Analyst who has spent many years as a College Instructor. I've done a fair share of night courses as well. My youngest student was 16. My oldest was 70-something. (She wouldn't say.) From Accounting to Advanced Programming and Database Design, I found that age or gender mattered not at all. Sure, the industry has its youth-hype, especially in the Webby arenas, but there is one thing that you can do that makes a great difference. Prepare a portfolio. Build a couple of complete little systems, fully documented, if you're a programmer. Create some sample pages if you're a Web Designer. Actually design and construct a decent inventory database or some such if that's your thing. Keep it on a CD and keep adding to it. Ultimately, people in technology environments may sometimes be young, arrogant, pig-headed, chauvenistic, and believe the IT world revolves around them. They are temporarily deluded, yes, but they are not, however, stupid. At least not the ones still there after a year or two. Show 'em what you've got, and show them you can do it again, and again. The true business people (the ones you actually WANT to work for) will know that the bottom line will benefit from your presence. The other ones will own the companies yours will buy in a year or two.

 

[Haazi2]

Thanks for all who have replied. I'm currently working on getting financial aide for grad school. I also am seeking CIW certification and will do some web projects on my own or will volunteer to do work for others to increase my portfolio of experience. Thanks again for everyone's contribution. I hope the responses to my questions have helped others besides myself. Keep up the good work.