Starting Over in IT at 39

by Rob Smith

When I committed to writing this article on my experience of changing careers into the IT industry at age 39, it seemed an easy thing to do. Over the last year and a half, the transition from a struggling and declining Northwest retail/wholesale industry to the new world of fast-paced growth and opportunity in the land of IT has been an interesting journey.

Let's start the story a year and a half ago. While in the process of contemplating an offer as a General Manager for a new wholesale fuel distribution operation in the Northwest, from a company in the process of establishing roots in the US, I found myself struggling with the decision - not from the standpoint of it being a new business or the potential income and benefits - The dilemma was do I really want to do this again.

Over the past ten years, my career has taken many turns due to trends in the economy such as corporate buyouts, downsizing, and lack of opportunity and growth in declining industries. Local companies were either merging with bigger companies with corporate offices on the east coast or shutting down due to profitability and competition. Even though there were trendy catch phrases describing what was happening, I felt I had been fired three times and hadn't done anything to deserve it. One instance was being laid off four months before my 15th anniversary with a Northwest retail chain when they were purchased.

As I lay awake in the middle of the night contemplating my career, I couldn't get over the fact that this one may be the biggest decision yet. I was on the downhill slide to 40 and what if I took another job just like the one I just left in an industry which I really didn't like and found myself at 42 or 43 having to make the same decision again. I just couldn't do it. I remembered from a coversation with a business colleague a few years back that he was looking into some schooling being offered by Microsoft. I didn't remember the details or how he heard about it, but the thought intrigued me. And, since I was awake and it didn't look like I was going to fall alseep anytime soon, I got up to surf the net and see if I could find out a few details.

After spending half the night surfing the web, I still didn't exactly know what a MCSE or MCDBA was or what they did, but I did know that I was more excited than I had ever been in recent years regarding improving the direction and control over my career. I ended my late night investigation on the Internet by e-mailing a sales rep at a Microsoft CTEC asking for an appointment to discuss things in further detail.

In the morning I told my wife about the information I had found on transitioning into the IT industry and that I was not going to accept the General Manager job offer. Even though I didn't know the full details yet and hadn't talked to anyone directly about it, I was sure it was the right decision. The wonderful thing was that even though my wife didn't quite understand what I was talking about (and I didn't blame her since I didn't fully understand the details yet), she said if this is what you want to do and you think it's the right thing, then do it!

I received a response from my e-mail and setup an appointment to discuss exactly what programs were offered and what it entailed. Even though it would be my decision, it was also a huge commitment from my wife and kids. We had just sold our home and moved into a townhouse to live during the construction of our dream house. We had purchased a piece of property, received the final blueprints from the architect, the septic system had been designed and approved, and we were a few weeks from breaking ground when all of a sudden everything would have to be put on hold or stopped while I went back to school. In the meeting with the sales rep I found out the next program started in a week, which put us in a position of having to make a decision a little faster than we expected.

I remember it was a Friday afternoon when I called the school and gave them my commitment to enroll in the first class which started the next Monday. An hour after that phone call I heard from the North American Regional Manager for the original job opportunity I had been contemplating. I had gotten somewhat discouraged since the process had started to drag out and had assumed things had fallen apart, but here he was scheduled to fly out to see me on Monday and discuss the final details. I must say it was a very awkward conversation as I told him about my decision to go back to school. Talk about putting it all on the line. After I hung up the phone, my wife and I looked at each other and I knew it was show time. I had just pulled the carpet out from under our feet and there was no going back.

Since making that commitment over a year and half ago, I can honestly say it was the best and most satisfying decision I could have made. Don't get me wrong, there were many times I questioned my resolve and I found myself second guessing the decision almost daily. But as I look back now and recall the hours spent in class, reading books, and studying for tests, it seems not to have been all that hard. I can't recall how many times I felt like the fax machine at work (Memory Full, Please Wait!) - I had to dump something out before I could retain any more information.

Even though we live in a world of unprecedented times in our country emotionally and economically with an uncertain future in all business arenas, there will always be a need for trained professionals in the field of IT. There is not a business out there which will be able to survive in the future without the need for technology to help them manage their business and keep them competitive and they will need highly qualified people.

There are no guarantees to success, and the struggles I faced, from studying to pass a test to looking for the right job, will be different for everyone. But if you find yourself in the same position I was - not happy getting up and going to work to do a job which you don't really like and with little personal and professional growth - then maybe it's time to make a change. In my opinion working in an industry which is changing on a daily basis and associating with very talented and intelligent people can only lead to success. Making a commitment of the scale I did is a very scary prospect and can't be taken lightly, but if you have the drive and integrity, it will be a journey you'll enjoy and cherish.

As for where I'm at today, I've already earned an A+ and Windows NT MCSE certification and just this week completed my Windows 2000 MCSE and MCDBA. I have a great job which I find both challenging and satisfying with the prospect of better things to come in the future, and I actually don't mind too much getting up in the morning to come to work. I haven't been able to say that in over ten years!