I know this is a very vague question, but I figured I would ask anyways.
I have been debating changing career paths from healthcare to a more tech or computer based position. While I have always enjoyed tech, I do not currently have any formal computer or tech education. I was wondering what suggestions you may have on ways to see what options are out there, whether is be classes that are formal or informal. I am at the point where I am seeing the personal benefits of being able to work from home and have a more “regular” work schedule as opposed to the ones I have had in the past. I figured that this, mixed with my interest in computers may be a good way to find a career path that behooves me in the long run.
I have been doing some research, seeing classes that I could invest my time in such as the Google IT certifications, Harvard CS50 classes, as well as programming boot camps (admittedly which have mixed reviews).
I am interested to see what those of you who are already in the industry think of it and how to best get ones foot in the door, so to speak. Thank you
Do you have any interest in tech beyond “I want to work from home and have a regular schedule”? The reason I ask is that making a mid-life career change is tough under any circumstance and you will need to justify the time/effort/financial expense when stuff isn’t going the way you want it too.
My advice is find something in tech you are passionate about and dive into it it headfirst. Research what certifications people are asking for by going on indeed or monster and looking at job listings that interest you.
Certs just get your foot in the door though. I have talked with several managers that hire for their respective companies and they only care about certs as much as their company might require them. They want to see passion for the job, practical knowledge/experience, and a willingness to learn more than anything else. This is especially true when you are apply for jobs beyond help desk.
All this to say that if you already work in healthcare and have an established career then maybe explore some options in that field that would give you the work/life balance you are looking for before you jump ship.
I should have clarified more. I do have a passion for tech. From the young days of console gaming to more pc tech these days. I certainly need to narrow my focus before making any big move, but I have told myself to try and be intentional with identifying where my passion lies. I know that “tech” has a vast number of focuses, many of which I know nothing about and likely would not until I spend a significant amount of time learning about them.
In the past I have enjoyed running game servers for friends and working on NAS systems, but I am not sure how much I can “scale” that enjoyment to something more professional.
A possible stepping stone for you would be trying to get into a Clinical or Systems Analyst role in a healthcare IT department. It’s extremely common for nurses and techs to move into those roles as actual clinical experience with EMRs helps tremendously with administrating the back end of the EMR systems.
Look at job listings for these positions and see what skills they’re specifically asking for.
The other thing too is that as you get more involved you might find that what you started out wanting isn’t actually the direction you want to go. My Degree is in Cyber Security and Networking but about halfway through I realized that I don’t really enjoy the Cyber stuff that much and have been pivoting my skill set to an admin/network engineer. I’m debating getting some cloud certs as well.
I have been debating changing career paths from healthcare to a more tech or computer based position.
I would encourage you to do some soul-searching and planning on exactly what it is that you like about tech and computers before starting (especially if you have to pay for them) anything.
I got into “tech” before college, have all kinds of buzzwords on my resume, and 20 years into my career, I loathe what I’m experienced in and have basically hit a wall.
If you like playing with hardware, that’s a completely different specialty than software engineering. If you like helping people get through their tech problems and back to being productive, that’s a different specialty than security and compliance.
A possible stepping stone for you would be trying to get into a Clinical or Systems Analyst role in a healthcare IT department.
This is a chad move.
A solid way to up your lifelong earnings is to combine specialites like this. It slightly narrows your options for hiring, but greatly increases your salary when you find the right position.
I got into my job at a big tech company just by sheer luck really, its true about its who you know. so met a guy in a random telegram group, we started talking and he got me on a internship and 4 years later here i am as a researcher for google. its hard work some days, but it has its positives and perks, such as when i need new hardware for home and or work, i get it no questions asked.
life at a big tech is a little bit competitive to say the least but if that’s your jam then you will feel right at home!
I’m going to add to this statement beyond all the other great advices you already got on the topic: that matters just get you resume to pass the first skim through the candidates. Past that whatever you achieved on your own, what you know from your hands on experience will be the deciding factor.
During college I’ve been tinkering with stuff and I put that on my resume. Nothing insanely diffcult, but it made me stand out.
Also there aren’t any tech jobs with precise schedules. I guess it’s true for every job in this society that’s pushing every worker to their limit, profiting as much as possible from everyone.
I myself did a career change if you can call it that.
I did my bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering, then worked as a student at a startup and evolved from the classic admin to now a DevOps guy. Also starting to get into more programming these days.
I got myself there because of my self hosting experience. This passion helped me a lot. And tons of time in the evenings of tinkering. The startup was then the possibility to switch field.
I am also helping a few friends which are doing their career change after they already worked in a different industry.
All have really different paths.
One did a bootcamp and I forced her to immediately apply for jobs after the camp and it did work out.
The other 2 are doing former training which is paid by the state in Germany.
Both have jobs already.
Personally I am not a fan of certificates. Never needed them and don’t like them.
However, I will never disvalue something that helped others get into their job.
Also, there are industries and maybe regions as well, where those are actually necessary.
They also provide the benefit of you k owing what to learn. A more clear path that might be beneficial especially in the beginning.
I believe everybody can get into tech, if they take the time and effort and so expose themselves to more opportunities.
Be it local meetups, applying blindly to companies. Writing a blog about the learning experience and talk open about it.
However, don’t be fooled about the praise and glory in tech.
There are shitty jobs as well. A lot of them. You still might have unpredictable work if you get on call. Especially when you have bad on call culture where you have to basically work every night.
Also, it is not that easy to stay up to date to be relevant for the years to come. If you can not work with newer tech at work you might need to learn about this stuff at home to have better chances to land these jobs.
Unless you’re lucky enough to be a top grade coder, there are opportunities out there but
Its dog eat dog in the gaming world.
Vying for those types of work, the employer can choose who he wants regardless of skills.
Industrial automation support is always needed.
Consider getting skilled in plc/ slc/ pic program, modbus, etc.
You may end up being in house support, or traveling.
( traveling program professionals command top pay per time frame.)
Plus you get the benefits as well.
And if you consider all the automation uses, its not just Industrial, you also have commercial and agricultural automation scenarios as well.
If you are an electrician and plc/slc specialist, the opportunities are limitless.
Military. Started out in the artillery, realized my error quickly and got a lateral transfer to the Air Force.
By the time I was 26, I was working with airborne radars and electronic warfare (plus other systems) with the relevant security clearances. My qualifications were pretty unique and I ended up travelling to several NATO countries to teach specialist classes in my field. Travelled a LOT. Did two peacekeeping missions which were not that bad and two wars.
First exposure to IT was a DBASE III database on 5-1/4" floppy that was not working. Never seen it before, but I took the three inch thick manual home on Friday and after reading it, fixed the issue on Monday in fifteen minutes. There was a typo in the DB, but never told them that. Got a base commander commendation letter out of it.
Left the military with a pension and began work in the industry before the term IT even existed. Since then, I’ve done every IT / IS job there is.
As my Dad said, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.”
I know people with thirty plus letters after their name that I would not hire on a bet. I knew a Master of Electrical Engineering that couldn’t identify a thermistor on a schematic and several “qualified” IT workers who were frankly dangerous. As a result, when hiring I look at the person more than their resume. Showing up on time consistently and being ready to work puts you leaps and bounds past a lot of folks.
Start small. A+ certification will give you the basics. From there, a service desk job will give you experience and exposure to the various fields. A good employer will help you pay, or even pay in full, your costs for further learning. You may be able to do that in your healthcare facility if you talk to the right people. Your foot is already in that door and they know you. It happens in our company all the time.
IT encompasses a huge subset of jobs: programming, database, 3D modelling, web design, Infrastructure, networking, Cloud, IoT, etc. You are the one who needs to to drive your career so I can’t advise you further on specific courses when you don’t know which way you want to go.
Another pre-requisite of working in IT, make sure you watch the IT Crowd series.
Having an active clearance, even if its just an S, can open doors because assuming the skillset is there, you’re a “guaranteed” hire to the company/manger and less of a gamble. I’ve seen people with the skillset get a provisional hire only to fail background for really dumb reasons.
not sure if I can be a good example for you, but I wanted to change from business admin to tech, got a degree in systems analysis and development (shorter degree than bachelors) while working on a public hospital as executive assistant
turns out I didn’t “love” tech to get a pay cut by entering the field
don’t know about you, there are some huge cultural gaps between us but I tell you: I love stability way more than tech
I ended up doubling down on the field I already work, got promoted and shit and am looking for better opportunities within my field of experience
I would advise against searching for love inside your career and focusing on something more feasible, like money and benefits (such as good healthcare)
the bottom of this soul-searching for love inside a job didn’t get me anywhere, I find love in other things that doesn’t necessarily make me money
As someone who’s been in tech industry for eons (probably literally) and who is side-lined, I’d say either don’t go into it if it’s not your first choice and you have something else to fall back on when the inevitable burnout/ageism/bright new things/AI get you, or do it for a short time with a view to changing careers again when the inevitable burnout/ageism/bright new things/AI get you.
When I look back at how the world has unfolded, it was exciting and the right place to be in the tech industry before the 21st century, but it’s become a rather brutal, cut-throat, dog-eat-dog environment that can endlessly sort and categorize you on perceived ability/usefulness. The thing to get into is a career that won’t go out of fashion or be quickly eroded by newer and better tech and newer and better technologists; the sort of career that requires the human touch. Like healthcare, for example. Alternatively, be a major recording artist, actor or sportsperson and make millions while you can, or go into the ultimate short-term get-rich-scheme: crypto bro (or gal) and ideally uncaught rug-puller.
Cynical, moi?
Good luck with your chosen new profession! (Love of technology is often unrequited…)
One time I worked somewhere and my boss mentioned something from my GitHub profile. I was surprised to hear he actually went to my GitHub page and looked at the code I wrote when he hired me. I can’t imagine having the patience. My GitHub is a mess, everything is just half baked proof of concept but I guess even that is better than nothing?
Im going to be the alternative out here. Ive always been a tech guy. Even at young age, I’ve dabled in computers and tried to read DOS World and other computer magazines my father took home from overseas.
I’ve been a generally okay student with good enough grades but not the best. Somehow against all odds I went to a different college course (Biology) because I was good at it during highschool. I didnt want to work yet because that kind of degree wont really get you anywhere and it isnt a good course. Studied further and took Medicine. Graduated and passed the board exam. I realized that I really liked tech and I dont want to be a clinician. Took up Radiology. I still get to play with computers at work and the hobbies from Photoshop and After Effects quite translated well into another career path. I stood out in class because no one was like me.
Now I am very curious about computer aided diagnosis and AI. I cant code really and the but I am willing to take time to learn.
Maybe somehow you can push through your career and find convergence with your passion somewhere.
Having read through all of these responses, all of which are very insightful, I have learned something very important. I think that overall it would be easy to get into the tech space, HOWEVER, it would be difficult to blindly go in and hope to stand out.
Utilizing my (or anyone’s) unique interests and skills sets would allow someone to stand out. Those of you suggesting combining medicine and tech made excellent points, and it is something I am considering.
I am not sure where I will be heading from here, but I certainly received a lot of great insight and wisdom that has gotten me to think on what the future may hold in store.
