Ever had to completely reinvent yourself??

Denverdave

Denverdave

Resident Ragamuffin
I have been in computer programming for about 14 years. I have had the misfortune at all three of my programming jobs to be working with old legacy systems and legacy programming languages and technology. It is not a bad thing, but it is not necessarily great for future job prospects - especially when you work for a company unwilling to invest a penny in training you so any classes/seminars must come out of your own pocket.

To make a long story short, my boss is retiring in 3 weeks. I will then be the only IBM programmer at the company. The issue is that our new VP of Finance, who will also be my new boss, is proposing to completely change out entire business software system. If he gets approval from the top end of the company, which he will, everything I do for this company will be gone by the beginning of 2013 or shortly thereafter. It makes me very indispensable for the next 12 to 24 months. It also means I have to either learn a completely new method and language of programming or be jobless soon. I will be the first to admit that I am a fish out of water in the programming world to begin with. I am way to scatterbrained and non-nerdish to thrive in this job. But the very thought of unemployment at my age scares the snot out of me. People don't like to higher older workers any more in technical fields. Not when they can get a 23 year old out of college who has no life and will work 60 hours a week for considerably less money.

The next year or so here looks to be a lot less enjoyable.
 
Last year I took a job that really wasn't my thing. I have spent the last 12 years as mostly a server admin. I hated the company I was working for and took a job managing switches and wireless routers. I had to learn a ton on the fly. It wasn't that bad. I have some friends who are programmers and they have told me learning a new language is not that bad. I am sure you are up for the challenge.
 
Jobs suck. Play guitar.





Seriously though, that is a hard thing. Even lawyers have to re-invent sometimes as economic climates change. But a technical change such as you are facing would make my words and phrases oriented lawyer brain spin.
 
On the bright side I have at least a decent chance to stay on here for a few more years. #1 daughter graduates from HS in 2 1/2 years and then it would be far easier to downsize and take an income hit if necessary after she finishes school.
 
Well, I gave an effort at a family business desk job over the last few years, but it didn't pan out... However, I knew I would have my trades to fall back on, and I count my blessings I can... Still, my body has to hold up to do what I do, or I will have to reinvent myself, as well, so that is always on my mind... Not something I hope to have to do.... I'm an electrical and general contractor... That's it. Other than two contractors licenses, I have no college diploma, and I have no other marketable skills, other than, say, working at Home Depot in the special services department or at an electrical supply house... Of course, that would be reinventing my income, too... I can't imagine having going back to college to pursue a new career at 47 years old... Mojo, man...
 
Mojo sent bro. I am always trying to figure out ways to try and reinvent myself. Being of the older generation I have to agree with you that it is tougher to find some type of niche
 
I had to do it about 13 years ago. I started taking classes at night and undertook a lot of "self-directed" learning. It completely changed my career path for the better. It was hard, but totally worth it. While you could learn a new computer language that is applicable to the new software system (never a bad thing), you may also want consider management-related courses or a business management degree. You have the technical background, and you could add managerial skills and general business skills on top of those technical skills. The combination of the two may make you more valuable in the marketplace and create more job opportunities.
 
I feel your pain.

I've had to give serious thought lately to what I'd do if the bottom falls out, and as I get older, the answer (or lack thereof) scares me. At one time I thought I worked in a "future proof" industry. These days it seems nothing is certain.
 
I got an engineering degree at age forty.

I don't think transitioning to a new language will be as daunting as you think.

But I feel you about your company's lack of training support.


Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
 
k4df4l said:
What languages are you fluent in?
What are your other high line skill sets?
Click to expand...

COBOL - Though I have not coded in COBOL in over a decade.
RPG/CL

Deep Eddy said:
I had to do it about 13 years ago. I started taking classes at night and undertook a lot of "self-directed" learning. It completely changed my career path for the better. It was hard, but totally worth it. While you could learn a new computer language that is applicable to the new software system (never a bad thing), you may also want consider management-related courses or a business management degree. You have the technical background, and you could add managerial skills and general business skills on top of those technical skills. The combination of the two may make you more valuable in the marketplace and create more job opportunities.
Click to expand...

My college major was actually a computer analyst/manager degree (I am still about 4 classes short of my degree). I just found a job as a programmer. Plus my management skills suck. If I could figure out a way to make a decent living in a different field I would probably jump at it.
 
Working in the construction industry in california, I feel ya Dave. Several times it's felt really close to having the bottom drop out from under me but it hasn't happened yet. I'm hoping it hangs on long enough to either fully recover, or until my wife's business (the ranch) pays off the loan and I don't need to be paid as much as I currently am.
 
There are still some iseries/as gigs out there you could start hunting and grab one as a stop gap while you figure out the next step. Regional banks and medium insurance companies are still strong in tEhose platforms
 
Mojo.

I got laid off from my last job 2.5 years ago. I'm only trained in legacy systems. If I'm lucky I get a phone interview. It seems that no one wants to hire people in their late 40's. It doesn't help that I'm my mom's primary caretaker.

I'd like to go back and get a certificate in a different career path. But I don't have a clue what I want to do. And working with Mom doesn't leave me much time to myself. I feel totally lost.
 
I'd consider learning ASP .NET and Visual Basic (6.0, VBA, VBS, & .NET).
I know several .NET developers who are in high demand, and their pay reflects it.
 
Tig said:
I'd consider learning ASP .NET and Visual Basic (6.0, VBA, VBS, & .NET).
I know several .NET developers who are in high demand, and their pay reflects it.
Click to expand...


The other programmer at work does .NET and the other MS languages.

What I will have to be learning is SalesForce development and the APEX language.
 
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