When I got burnt out I did a hard turn. I now manage a Turkey Farm and just do IT on the side. Most relaxing decision I've ever made
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023
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Asklemmy
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Users are definitely harder to train than turkeys
Users are so hard. Turkeys you just have to find any way they may kill themselves and fix it before they do
And it is more discouraged to kill and eat the users when they get out of line.
Man that's a jump. My issue is leaving the fairly good pay. But I think it's going to need to happen soon.
I left a Factory IT Admin job and honestly after factoring in my free housing only make 1k less a year than I did in IT. but, I left March 2020 and the factory didn't survive COVID. Glad I jumped that ship
That's interesting. How did you come about finding the job? I've done IT my whole life and wouldn't even know what to look for if not IT.
It's from the community I grew up in (1 mile from my dad's house where I grew up) so it was posted in a community FB page
That's pretty cool actually. Wish I were in a position to do something similar but I need my next step to parlay with the base skill set I already have.
If your under 39 and in decent enough shape (and US based) the Space Force is looking for recruits and has plenty of IT jobs available. When I'm ready to get back in to the service that is my plan currently
LOLOLOLO! I am 46, suffer from bipolar disorder, PTSD, and autism. I cannot even qualify for a security clearance, much less go to Space Force. But that much said, I appreciate you reaching out to me. Thanks.
Hey just trying to offer options lol.
And I truly appreciate it. Thank you. π
I know how getting burnt out feels. It's a rough world out there
Good god hell yeah it is.
I thought they were only recruiting from the AF, did they recently open it up more?
They never were only recruiting from the air force. They were pulling out of the Army as well. But, for at least the last couple years they have been doing public recruiting as well
Picking something that doesn't take much prior skill is a very good way out. (Not saying you necessarily should) but, it's very easy. The Farm even provides me with housing and paid me to move so it worked out very well
wouldn't you know it, look who i found...
Yeah man I'm here lol weird seeing other JB guys out and about
the beauty of federation, you'll find us in the weirdest places XD
good to see you, keep on carrying on friend
QA work has a fairly low barrier of entry, and from there I've known a few people who moved from QA into Developer roles. So there's that route.
Okay, that sounds promising. By QA I believe you mean software QA, right?
Yep, correct
Different companies have different requirements, but generally if you know a bit of SQL and a bit of Linux terminal commands you should be good. Maybe have a browse through a testing framework like Selenium, though frameworks would vary depending on what the company does, so don't fret too much about that.
Playwright is another good testing framework to lean
DevOps?
Okay, I don't really know what DevOps means or is. I'll have to search on this one. Thank you for giving me something to consider. π
You are welcome, have a good day!
No. I switched to DevOps and it's worse.
There's not enough Linux admins. Come to the dark side. I make so much more money than I ever did doing desktop support.
The hard part is convincing somebody to hire me without formal production experience. I am in the classic Catch-22 situation: How do I get experience if nobody will give me the opportunity?
You're going to need a portfolio of stuff you've built if you want to show you can do it but if you have a nice webpage that you setup professionally and have Linux skills on your resume you'll get a hit. My company cannot hire competent Linux admins fast enough.
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Thereβs a lot of good advice here. I just want to add that you absolutely do not need to go back to school. Itβs a waste of money! Iβm 100% self-taught, work in βDevOpsβ and not a single employer in the last 6 years has asked me about my education or credentials. I enjoy it and it pays well. You donβt have to do DevOps though. Lots of jobs in IT and employers are competing for skills.
I don't know why I am languishing as senior desktop support then. It seems I lack the ability to even get my resume in front of anyone, let alone an interview.
Believe it or not, with the right skill set (ie if you have skills that employers are looking for) you wonβt even need to apply. Headhunters WILL find your linkedin. Right now the market is noticeably slow and thousands of IT professionals got laid off in the last few months alone. The economy will recover soon though so maybe get ready for when that happens by learning new skills. AI, big data, IaC, etc are all in demand.
This is why now it is a good time for me to hunker down and simply learn and get through this tough time. Much as I hate dealing with the over-privileged assholes in state government, I'll do what I have to whilst learning.
How many employers have you gone through in 6 years?
3 (all contracts and by choice). But I did at least a dozen interviews in the same period and no one ever asked about any diplomas.
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I'm currently a software dev in the US, and I've always got a few things in the back of my mind: USPS, UPS, tradesman (electrician, carpentry, plumbing). Also not sure what your family situation is like, but if it's just you, I've always found the idea of owning my own tiny home exciting, and it could potentially reduce your financial burdens opening up more options for work because you won't need as much money.
If you are wanting to move into a more programming oriented career, then I would say that while a college degree is useful it is by no means required. One of the things that you could do is complete a certification course and then apply for an entry level position, you'll take a pay cut but unfortunately that's common when changing careers. What type of work are you currently hope to move into?
I have to search for a course that would hold weight and not just look like Uncle Slappy's IT Career School.
Indeed. I'm certain they exist, but it's a case of needing to research which organizations are reputable and respected for their certifications.
This happened to me in my mid-thirties. I tried a couple pivots. One was to web development, which I found didn't really help the burnout. So I pivoted again to project management. Project management doesn't pay as well, but the hours and workload are far easier to deal with. It's also a lot more accepting of older workers than IT is. Find yourself a project management position in IT somewhere. If you can get one in information security you could build up some time in that sector and get the CISSP, which would open a lot of doors to great paying jobs.
I tried Project Management and did not succeed at it. I am thinking of the DevOps course of action. I am still relatively young at 46. I'll try and make the pivot.
Hey person, I was in tech support for about 6 different companies, over 8 years. I left that to become a consultant. Best move, for me. It's a lot like TS but you earn more and make money for the company, instead of being a cost center.
I taught myself some coding before I got my first job. JS and web technologies in my case. If you've been successful in TS for years, you could do this next.
Goat farming
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