Andre98
03-11-2009, 10:48 AM
That's help requested, not help given.
Now that I blew off steam in the "sitting on their ass" thread in the Tech it Out section, here's my basic dilemma: I'm semi hating because I feel frustrated.
Can a 50 year old man realistically think he can get (expedited?) training for in this ocean of IT, and enter at a decent level, and I'm hoping it's not literally "entry level". Spare me the uplifting stories that it's never too late if it's referenced by the 80 year old grandmothers getting their high school diploma stories. Beyond the symbolic, I need something to reflect this middle aged lifestyle of mortgage and childcare that most of us face. Let's not even talk about retirement knocking at the door. As under siege as it is, if I didn't at least HAVE a 401K from a bakers dozen at the Big Bull, I'd be a candidate for slow walk across the Golden Gate.
I think I hear the response coming of "if I knew, I'd be there myself", but please hear me out, because the internet contacts I've tried so far are either trying to get me to commit to online school that rivals the brick and mortar joints in price, or there's those that try to bleed you with outright scams, or, links like this that are almost too basic and vague. I may be wrong, but it seems to me, that online schooling in this field is as effective as if I bought or borrow stacks of books and lock myself in the attic a few hours every other night.
"Information Technology" is like saying "the Medical Field". It's so vast. It has melded with Audiovisual tehnology, and that was my field, but I was from the days of multi-image 35mm slide projection, and the rigors of staging presentations is a bit beyond my physical capabilities anymore. I don't need to be married to the visual element, but when I'm asked what part of it I want to begin at square one, all I can say is the part that makes money and will be in demand through tough times like these.
I swear, the computer tech dudes that used to come around helping us with our computers at Merrill could have been the guys from the copy center for all we knew. They were the infantry, but what they had was the "power". The magic access into the servers and the software to clear the glitches. And the main credo seemed to be to keep the average yahoo at his or her desk as much in the dark as possible, for job security The ones that dealt with whether the port in the wall was giving us what we needed had the magic handheld doohickey that told them all they needed. They were not the ones going back in the closet with toolbelts, laying and splicing cables. They weren't designing original installations, or opening PC cases to solder chips to boards. One thing was certain though, no one wanted to talk about what training they had, or anything to do with them being where they are now. Found out later a few were friends of the IT manager that hired them, was parking it in a position for a check in the meantime. Some were aspiring actors or whatever else, and the software was all in place so it basically stepped them through conventional problem solving footprints. Like how one can make a webpage nowadays with sites that provide all the templates.
With the economy the way it is, even those with legit knowledge, all levels, programmers and all are on the hunt, and among the masses there are the higher echelon of talented super techs, and keep going, several more layers up and there's the wundernerds that literally have sparks flying out their ears, been computing since they were in diapers. The youth aspect is daunting, and I fear that it's my biggest handicap when I gain a face to face. I have met with kids just looking in the Meeting and Conference Management field, a good 25 or 30 years younger. Who is to know if they are looking for a contemporary, or fear comparison for their job with a person that has been working at this since they were an embryo.
Right now with the books I have, I'm trying to get a handle on the concepts, and the lingo that sketches out when one is discussing servers and Lans and Wans, and try to figure out where "Oracle" fits in when I hear the term. An Oracle group met in our conference rooms for YEARS... the meeting would start and I would shut it out as Greek and wait for the presentation equipment to screw up. can one work with basic computer hardware installations and operation help for clients WITHOUT a degree in Computer or Electrical Engineering?
At any rate, what a cathartic release to put this in print! Think I'll print this out and go to a therapist, uh, I mean a career counselor.
Now that I blew off steam in the "sitting on their ass" thread in the Tech it Out section, here's my basic dilemma: I'm semi hating because I feel frustrated.
Can a 50 year old man realistically think he can get (expedited?) training for in this ocean of IT, and enter at a decent level, and I'm hoping it's not literally "entry level". Spare me the uplifting stories that it's never too late if it's referenced by the 80 year old grandmothers getting their high school diploma stories. Beyond the symbolic, I need something to reflect this middle aged lifestyle of mortgage and childcare that most of us face. Let's not even talk about retirement knocking at the door. As under siege as it is, if I didn't at least HAVE a 401K from a bakers dozen at the Big Bull, I'd be a candidate for slow walk across the Golden Gate.
I think I hear the response coming of "if I knew, I'd be there myself", but please hear me out, because the internet contacts I've tried so far are either trying to get me to commit to online school that rivals the brick and mortar joints in price, or there's those that try to bleed you with outright scams, or, links like this that are almost too basic and vague. I may be wrong, but it seems to me, that online schooling in this field is as effective as if I bought or borrow stacks of books and lock myself in the attic a few hours every other night.
"Information Technology" is like saying "the Medical Field". It's so vast. It has melded with Audiovisual tehnology, and that was my field, but I was from the days of multi-image 35mm slide projection, and the rigors of staging presentations is a bit beyond my physical capabilities anymore. I don't need to be married to the visual element, but when I'm asked what part of it I want to begin at square one, all I can say is the part that makes money and will be in demand through tough times like these.
I swear, the computer tech dudes that used to come around helping us with our computers at Merrill could have been the guys from the copy center for all we knew. They were the infantry, but what they had was the "power". The magic access into the servers and the software to clear the glitches. And the main credo seemed to be to keep the average yahoo at his or her desk as much in the dark as possible, for job security The ones that dealt with whether the port in the wall was giving us what we needed had the magic handheld doohickey that told them all they needed. They were not the ones going back in the closet with toolbelts, laying and splicing cables. They weren't designing original installations, or opening PC cases to solder chips to boards. One thing was certain though, no one wanted to talk about what training they had, or anything to do with them being where they are now. Found out later a few were friends of the IT manager that hired them, was parking it in a position for a check in the meantime. Some were aspiring actors or whatever else, and the software was all in place so it basically stepped them through conventional problem solving footprints. Like how one can make a webpage nowadays with sites that provide all the templates.
With the economy the way it is, even those with legit knowledge, all levels, programmers and all are on the hunt, and among the masses there are the higher echelon of talented super techs, and keep going, several more layers up and there's the wundernerds that literally have sparks flying out their ears, been computing since they were in diapers. The youth aspect is daunting, and I fear that it's my biggest handicap when I gain a face to face. I have met with kids just looking in the Meeting and Conference Management field, a good 25 or 30 years younger. Who is to know if they are looking for a contemporary, or fear comparison for their job with a person that has been working at this since they were an embryo.
Right now with the books I have, I'm trying to get a handle on the concepts, and the lingo that sketches out when one is discussing servers and Lans and Wans, and try to figure out where "Oracle" fits in when I hear the term. An Oracle group met in our conference rooms for YEARS... the meeting would start and I would shut it out as Greek and wait for the presentation equipment to screw up. can one work with basic computer hardware installations and operation help for clients WITHOUT a degree in Computer or Electrical Engineering?
At any rate, what a cathartic release to put this in print! Think I'll print this out and go to a therapist, uh, I mean a career counselor.