Is there any point in retraining?

[Pirate]

I am a 48yo contractor and my background is on IBM Mainframes. However the number of jobs in this area have almost dried up and the jobs now are for Java, SQL, .NET etc but I have none of these skills. I am aware that "age discrimination" exists in the IT industry and that most companies want young graduates in their 20's with 2-5 years experience. I have worked as a contractor in IT departments where the average age is about 28 and the Managers are all in their 30's.

Am I too old to start retraining in another programming language and competing against Graduates trying to get work experience in that area, not to mention starting on a salary of £20k.

I would appreciate some opinions / advice.

[BolshieBastard]

I am a 48yo contractor and my background is on IBM Mainframes. However the number of jobs in this area have almost dried up and the jobs now are for Java, SQL, .NET etc but I have none of these skills. I am aware that "age discrimination" exists in the IT industry and that most companies want young graduates in their 20's with 2-5 years experience. I have worked as a contractor in IT departments where the average age is about 28 and the Managers are all in their 30's.

Am I too old to start retraining in another programming language and competing against Graduates trying to get work experience in that area, not to mention starting on a salary of £20k.

I would appreciate some opinions / advice.

Retraining for what? There's no ******* contract jobs about!

[Pirate]

I am not looking to return to contracting at this stage but the problem exists even in the perm marketplace.

[gingerjedi]

I feel the same way at 39, no other profession could dump you so far and so fast at the drop of a hat.

It really is a case of do or die, of course it doesn't help when your own government engineers the situation and conspires against you.

[Jeebo72]

I feel the same way at 39, no other profession could dump you so far and so fast at the drop of a hat.

It really is a case of do or die, of course it doesn't help when your own government engineers the situation and conspires against you.

At 37 I'm aiming for retirement at 40. Otherwise it's kaput! The market is flooded with low quality, low rate people and I can only see it getting worse.

Re-skill into something you enjoy, it's impossible to guess where the money is. It's usually just luck that you have the right skill at the right time in contracting.

[Support Monkey]

Re-skill into something you enjoy, it's impossible to guess where the money is. It's usually just luck that you have the right skill at the right time in contracting.

Everyone should be constantly retraining and not just in your career, life is all about learning and taking on new challenges, roll out the Pipe and slippers if your giving up at 48

[Jeebo72]

Everyone should be constantly retraining and not just in your career, life is all about learning and taking on new challenges, roll out the Pipe and slippers if your giving up at 48

Yawn, you need a permie job with perfermance reviews, set objectives and progression if you're into all that crap. Enjoy your heart attack at 65 when you've realised you've p*ssed your life away working.

Me, I'll be on a beach ...

[gingerjedi]

Everyone should be constantly retraining and not just in your career, life is all about learning and taking on new challenges, roll out the Pipe and slippers if your giving up at 48

I've reached point in life when I just don't care enough, I'd rather spend more time with my family than keep chasing the ever decreasing $$'s, the trouble is balancing that with wanting the best for them also. Sometimes it's bloody tough being a bloke!

[Support Monkey]

Yawn, you need a permie job with perfermance reviews, set objectives and progression if you're into all that crap. Enjoy your heart attack at 65 when you've realised you've p*ssed your life away working.

Me, I'll be on a beach ...

NO i was agreeing with you Jeebo72, if someone is fed up with their lot they should be looking to move in different directions, retraining in something more interesting not just IT, you should be constantly looking for the next move in life and work and if your retraining to be on the beach at 40 all the better.

[SueEllen]

Yawn, you need a permie job with perfermance reviews, set objectives and progression if you're into all that crap. Enjoy your heart attack at 65 when you've realised you've p*ssed your life away working.

Me, I'll be on a beach ...

Funny thing is all the retired people I know "work".

They do have long holidays between their "work" though.