Entering IT at 34

naruto77

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Hi Folks

Don't mind me ask very simple questions.

I am thinking of entering IT industry for a few years to get some relevant experience. Before starting a software/web/gaming development projects on my own.

I have a Masters degree and 9 years experience in education field that is completely irrelevant to IT. I am 31 now just enrolled into Ngee Ann Adelaide BCompSci part-time programme, should finish by 33 or 34.

Please let me know if I can still get a job in IT doing programming or apps/software development work? Also, is this even a good idea? What's the pay I am looking at as a fresh grad (based on today's projection)?

Constructive input only please!

Thank you
 

davidktw

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Hi Folks

Don't mind me ask very simple questions.

I am thinking of entering IT industry for a few years to get some relevant experience. Before starting a software/web/gaming development projects on my own.

I have a Masters degree and 9 years experience in education field that is completely irrelevant to IT. I am 31 now just enrolled into Ngee Ann Adelaide BCompSci part-time programme, should finish by 33 or 34.

Please let me know if I can still get a job in IT doing programming or apps/software development work? Also, is this even a good idea? What's the pay I am looking at as a fresh grad (based on today's projection)?

Constructive input only please!

Thank you

As a teacher, you should very well understand that knowledge is the means to everything, so even if understanding IT don't get you a job, it will certainly still make you a better teacher than you are now. Lets me truthful, technology is everywhere, not just limited to creating software and services, isn't it ?

I doubt anyone can give you a definitive answer to YES or NO. However you have to first believe it can be done before you can even succeed. 俗话说,活到老学到老, 不是吗?

Probably at the age of 34, you will be competing against young university graduates and polytechnic students, so that is your disadvantage. Your future employer will surely understand that.

However for someone with a master degree and 9 years of experience, during the interview, are there any other experiences that you can share with your future employer that will give you some leverage versus the younger kids. Maturity is what I can think of, perhaps older and probably wiser also means you have a more mature approach to solving problems, you should knows better.

Consider that you are 34, certainly you will have more commitment in life and probably higher expectation in remuneration, that's is something the employer will need to consider. I think the situation is fluid since there is no determination so far as to your competency level in doing software development works. That would be something that your employer will be more interested in regardless your age.

If you are as fresh as a graduate, then I think you should be looking at the same remuneration unless your employer see something in you that can differentiate from the graduates. However you should take the opportunity in your new company within a year times or 2 and see if you can work into a management track such as towards being a project manager, presales, or even sales, since I will believe you have better communication skill sets and better at presentation and managing customers.

Technical skill set is something the graduates can easily catch up since quite literature, but soft skills take years to mature and I think that will be your advantage.
 
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yrh0413

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I am in IT line myself, here are my advises:

1. You need to be very sure you have interest in IT especially programming and coding. A lot of my friends switched career 1-2 years after they graduated and never looked back. IT is really all about interest: you need to love IT.

2. If you are not a hardcore coding fanatic, I usually advise my friends try to step up into managerial role by the age of 30. I am a young manager myself and I have interviewed many IT candidates who are over 40 years old... outdated skillset, slow and low productivity. I have close friends who got out of IT at the age of 40, simply because they have family commitments and they can no longer afford to bring work home and OT over the weekends.

As for salary,
a fresh grad programmer: $2,500 - $3,000
FT programmer (3-5yrs exp): $2,000 - $5,000
 

tarui04

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Why bother? Some employers will just piss on your parade and tell u to go back to your old field
 

davidktw

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Why bother? Some employers will just piss on your parade and tell u to go back to your old field

Why bother to explore the Universe ? From where we stand right now, >99% of the Universe is not even supporting life and not like your life depends on it right ?

Before you want to position for negativity further to my post, read this http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/top-5-nasa-inventions.htm, and tell us NASA is on a futile quest, after that think about your digital camera sensor technology, your spectacles coating technology, etc.

The word I would like you to investigate is "Possibility"
 

zuoom

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Perhaps you can come up with something along the IT education line of stuff.

Khan academy is not for nothing.
 

naruto77

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Hi Everyone

Thank you for your response.

I find some of the responses extremely helpful and I appreciate it.

In truth, I am indeed looking towards edu-technology focused software and mobile applications to help children or adults or aging adults learn and continue to exercise their brain.
 

naruto77

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As a teacher, you should very well understand that knowledge is the means to everything, so even if understanding IT don't get you a job, it will certainly still make you a better teacher than you are now. Lets me truthful, technology is everywhere, not just limited to creating software and services, isn't it ?

I doubt anyone can give you a definitive answer to YES or NO. However you have to first believe it can be done before you can even succeed. 俗话说,活到老学到老, 不是吗?

Probably at the age of 34, you will be competing against young university graduates and polytechnic students, so that is your disadvantage. Your future employer will surely understand that.

However for someone with a master degree and 9 years of experience, during the interview, are there any other experiences that you can share with your future employer that will give you some leverage versus the younger kids. Maturity is what I can think of, perhaps older and probably wiser also means you have a more mature approach to solving problems, you should knows better.

Consider that you are 34, certainly you will have more commitment in life and probably higher expectation in remuneration, that's is something the employer will need to consider. I think the situation is fluid since there is no determination so far as to your competency level in doing software development works. That would be something that your employer will be more interested in regardless your age.

If you are as fresh as a graduate, then I think you should be looking at the same remuneration unless your employer see something in you that can differentiate from the graduates. However you should take the opportunity in your new company within a year times or 2 and see if you can work into a management track such as towards being a project manager, presales, or even sales, since I will believe you have better communication skill sets and better at presentation and managing customers.

Technical skill set is something the graduates can easily catch up since quite literature, but soft skills take years to mature and I think that will be your advantage.

Hello, does that mean it will not be advisable to venture into IT at 34?

Alternatively, I was thinking of attempting to develop some of software and apps as I go through the programme as practice.
 
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davidktw

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Hello, does that mean it will not be advisable to venture into IT at 34?

Alternatively, I was thinking of attempting to develop some of software and apps as I go through the programme as practice.

It means 知己知彼,百战百胜 Know what you are getting into and tackle it.

You are only 1/2 into your working lifespan, so you can try go in, make a mistake and go back be a teacher, or you can choose to regret the rest of your life not trying out something that you think might have chance of succeeding.

It's all about risk management, isn't it ? :) We don't live your life, whether it success or failure, it's only you whom is going to experience it. Why let us make this decision for you ?
 

naruto77

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It means 知己知彼,百战百胜 Know what you are getting into and tackle it.

You are only 1/2 into your working lifespan, so you can try go in, make a mistake and go back be a teacher, or you can choose to regret the rest of your life not trying out something that you think might have chance of succeeding.

It's all about risk management, isn't it ? :) We don't live your life, whether it success or failure, it's only you whom is going to experience it. Why let us make this decision for you ?

Thanks for the input, sincerely appreciate.

Hopefully, you folks will see some edutech app in future to help children develop their learning aptitude as well as interests towards the available professions (through games) - hopefully its my work lol... Cheers.
 

Bonadaly

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Hi Everyone

Thank you for your response.

I find some of the responses extremely helpful and I appreciate it.

In truth, I am indeed looking towards edu-technology focused software and mobile applications to help children or adults or aging adults learn and continue to exercise their brain.

Ask the philosophic question. What do you mean by exercising the brain?
 

koxinga

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Ask the philosophic question. What do you mean by exercising the brain?

Nothing philosophical about it. Train the brain lor.

There is a Singapore startup called Neeuro developing a brain training product. Headed by Eddie Chau no less.

http://www.neeuro.com/products/

NeeuroBrain.jpg
 

koxinga

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Thanks for the input, sincerely appreciate.

Hopefully, you folks will see some edutech app in future to help children develop their learning aptitude as well as interests towards the available professions (through games) - hopefully its my work lol... Cheers.

As you already have a prior domain expertise (e.g education) and you are interested in IT for education, I would suggest your preferred path to be working for companies providing IT technology and products for education. In that way, your prior domain knowledge can be an asset rather than being useless.

Being in IT is not just about a role (programmer, PM). Domain matters and matters a lot. One example in FinTech for Financial Technology. Being a good programmer is not sufficient, you need product knowledge.

There are companies specializing in smart education. Look for them. Don't waste time trying to do IT in an domain which you have zero background as you will be fighting with fresh graduates like others mentioned.
 

ghost_83

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As you already have a prior domain expertise (e.g education) and you are interested in IT for education, I would suggest your preferred path to be working for companies providing IT technology and products for education. In that way, your prior domain knowledge can be an asset rather than being useless.

Being in IT is not just about a role (programmer, PM). Domain matters and matters a lot. One example in FinTech for Financial Technology. Being a good programmer is not sufficient, you need product knowledge.

There are companies specializing in smart education. Look for them. Don't waste time trying to do IT in an domain which you have zero background as you will be fighting with fresh graduates like others mentioned.

I agreed.

Fresh grad coders usually enter the workforce without any domain knowledge (there are exceptions but few and far betw). They use their technical knowledge to get the job and gain domain experience. through their work.

For you, its the other way round. You have domain knowledge and your course should lay the foundation of your technical knowledge.

If you are looking for an job in IT, you should focus on companies in the smart Edu business. This should help you gain an edge and you more likely to get hired. However, it really depends on what the company is looking for and as others mentioned, mostly likely you shouldn't be expecting high remuneration.
 
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ipaq4444

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It means 知己知彼,百战百胜 Know what you are getting into and tackle it.

You are only 1/2 into your working lifespan, so you can try go in, make a mistake and go back be a teacher, or you can choose to regret the rest of your life not trying out something that you think might have chance of succeeding.

It's all about risk management, isn't it ? :) We don't live your life, whether it success or failure, it's only you whom is going to experience it. Why let us make this decision for you ?



This is good career advice
 

jelloj

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agreed, do something related to education and IT.
As you already have a prior domain expertise (e.g education) and you are interested in IT for education, I would suggest your preferred path to be working for companies providing IT technology and products for education. In that way, your prior domain knowledge can be an asset rather than being useless.

Being in IT is not just about a role (programmer, PM). Domain matters and matters a lot. One example in FinTech for Financial Technology. Being a good programmer is not sufficient, you need product knowledge.

There are companies specializing in smart education. Look for them. Don't waste time trying to do IT in an domain which you have zero background as you will be fighting with fresh graduates like others mentioned.
 

software_wannabe

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CAREER CHANGE

Hi

I am also in similar predicament, but I am 33 this year and would like to switch into software engineering as my current job no prospect. I am in the social service sector and have a Master's degree.

I have applied for the NUS GDIPSA full time as the NTU one (part time) no longer offered.

Want to find out from good bros out there what are my options (job wise) after graduating? How much pay should I be expecting? And whether I can still transition to Cyber Security eventually? Also, am I too late into the industry?
 

Telomeresis

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Hi

I am also in similar predicament, but I am 33 this year and would like to switch into software engineering as my current job no prospect. I am in the social service sector and have a Master's degree.

I have applied for the NUS GDIPSA full time as the NTU one (part time) no longer offered.

Want to find out from good bros out there what are my options (job wise) after graduating? How much pay should I be expecting? And whether I can still transition to Cyber Security eventually? Also, am I too late into the industry?

While I can't help with your questions, one thing to note, you will need to pursue learning opportunities on your own outside of what is covered in your diploma.

If possible, white hat hacking and security related hackathons will definitely help your experience and domain knowledge in the area. As with any IT/tech related job in SG, I'd imagine certifications to be important as well (other than the NUS diploma you're pursuing).

Oh yes, I do believe that if you're willing to consider overseas job prospects (especially in the states), then your options will be much better, as compared to limiting yourself to SG.

Would be great if anyone else can correct me if I'm wrong on this.
 
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