How do I get back into a technology career after 10 years absence?
February 21, 2022 6:35 PM Subscribe
How do I get back into IT from regional Australia? I'm working on building a portfolio of tools and tutorials and thinking about a mentor. Any other ideas?
I'm in my forties and had a great career in IT. First as a service coordinator in Australia then project manager/product manager/engineering manager/agile leader in fintech SaaS in the US in the early 2000s. Managed a team of 10 programmers with a million-dollar USD budget.
In 2006 I moved back to regional Australia and essentially dropped out of corporate IT. I worked for not for profits, community organisations and fell into adult education and providing job services. I am great at all of it. But it doesn't pay and not challenging.
In 2020 I went back to university and studied cyber security and data analytics - did great and loved it and want to do it for a living. With the rise of work from home I feel I can get back into big corporate IT. I excel at problem-solving, team facilitation and learning new tools. I've networked my way into multiple interviews but without current big IT experience, I've consistently placed second.
How do I level up and be a contender?
I'm in my forties and had a great career in IT. First as a service coordinator in Australia then project manager/product manager/engineering manager/agile leader in fintech SaaS in the US in the early 2000s. Managed a team of 10 programmers with a million-dollar USD budget.
In 2006 I moved back to regional Australia and essentially dropped out of corporate IT. I worked for not for profits, community organisations and fell into adult education and providing job services. I am great at all of it. But it doesn't pay and not challenging.
In 2020 I went back to university and studied cyber security and data analytics - did great and loved it and want to do it for a living. With the rise of work from home I feel I can get back into big corporate IT. I excel at problem-solving, team facilitation and learning new tools. I've networked my way into multiple interviews but without current big IT experience, I've consistently placed second.
How do I level up and be a contender?
One path is to stop looking for a job and start looking for work as a consultant. I don't know anything about trends in Australian government, but in the US since about 2000, there has been legislation requiring improved data security especially in the financial sector and healthcare. Companies with maybe 50 employees that had been flying under the radar had to up their game. I worked for a company in the health insurance business, and we were put under the spotlight by the insurance giants with whom we exchanged data.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:11 AM on February 22, 2022
posted by SemiSalt at 5:11 AM on February 22, 2022
You could volunteer your IT services to a non-profit organization, and then use them as a reference for your job applications. I personally know of two people who were successful in using this strategy to get IT jobs. One person had been out of the workforce for years, following a serious auto accident. The other was looking to make a big change in career from a non-IT field. In both cases, they had to volunteer part-time for about a year, so the process many not necessarily be quick.
posted by alex1965 at 8:05 AM on February 22, 2022
posted by alex1965 at 8:05 AM on February 22, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks for the responses. I had never heard or seen mentioned "returner" programs - I'll give it a look. I do intend to speak to some industry connections and ask where they see a need for certain skills and aim to intercept the market.
posted by dinoworx at 9:55 PM on February 22, 2022
posted by dinoworx at 9:55 PM on February 22, 2022
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Wishing you all the best with everything.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 4:41 AM on February 22, 2022