Anyone left a carear in IT for something else ?

Soldato
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I have worked in IT for 5+ years (desktop, server support) and have been off work for almost a year due to Ill health, now that im starting to get better I dont know if I want to go back and work in IT, the main reasons are that my job was very stressfull, you need to learn so much and dont really get any rewards for all your effort, work your socks off exceed all the sla's the company had and you get no thanks for it.

Just wondering if anyone has left IT and moved into something completly different ? and how are you finding it ?

Suppose Im looking for ideas as I have no clue what I want to do.
The IT field seems to have lost a lot of interest for me.
 
Chaos said:
I have worked in IT for 5+ years (desktop, server support) and have been off work for almost a year due to Ill health, now that im starting to get better I dont know if I want to go back and work in IT, the main reasons are that my job was very stressfull, you need to learn so much and dont really get any rewards for all your effort, work your socks off exceed all the sla's the company had and you get no thanks for it.

Just wondering if anyone has left IT and moved into something completly different ? and how are you finding it ?

Suppose Im looking for ideas as I have no clue what I want to do.
The IT field seems to have lost a lot of interest for me.

for most people mate...

the up take on computer science degrees in the Uk is down by 50%

Stelly
 
Graduated two years ago with a mixed degree that involved a large chunk of comp sci. I've worked since then doing IT support in schools getting paid fairly low wages with no real prospects for career development and limited job security.

I'm starting a career as a tax advisor in September. Should provide a lot more prospects and security, along with better pay, though it'll be harder work.
 
Yeah but I don't think the number of students taking computer science is anything to do with IT support. Its more to do with it being one of the harder subjects, when you could take something like media studies and party every night :P
 
Been in IT for 20 years doing the same programming and stuff. I now hate it and would love a career change.. Not so easy when you have a family. So if you're going to do it, then do it now while you have the chance fella.
 
Chaos said:

Yeah, after 6 years in I.T. (support for 2, then database management, then application development and change control), I got totally disillusioned with it, and went off to fulfill my lifelong ambition of being a writer instead. Writing for an online motoring news site right now, but am also getting involved with selling pieces of work on a freelance basis. MOney's tight, but I'm a hell of a lot happier than I used to be. The change in me is almost shocking to some people :) While its hard to leave an established career behind, you can always go back to it. Missed opportunities are harder to deal with imo :)

Good luck.
 
god I'm getting depressed, just really started in the IT field and I'm being told thats its not worth it :p

Stelly
 
Stelly said:
god I'm getting depressed, just really started in the IT field and I'm being told thats its not worth it :p

Stelly

haha no don't panic! :D My OH is in I.T. and he's not fed up yet after a degree and 3 years in the field :D. Just got bored that's all :)
 
vonhelmet said:
Sure, but the point is there's not a huge amount of jobs for compsci's in this country, so people end up in IT support.

depends on your qualification and experience. a graduate will find it difficult as number of graduates > jobs available BUT there will always bee a need for developers and engineers therefore with experience you'll find that you end up taking your pick of jobs you want (thats what i'm finding at the moment).
 
Just pick something you like doing. Im a programmer and I have never really stopped enjoying it (doing games dev atm). You get some places where you loose motivation for a bit, have a break then get back to it. If it starts feeling like a chore, do something else :)

I also disagree with the bit about comp sci jobs. There is a large need for experienced programmers especially if you are a specialist in some field. For graduates yes, can be hard to get a job.
 
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Una said:
Just pick something you like doing. Im a programmer and I have never really stopped enjoying it (doing games dev atm). You get some places where you loose motivation for a bit, have a break then get back to it. If it starts feeling like a chore, do something else :)
.

Quoted for truth :)
 
Yeah I've spent 7 years in IT and I'm going into Health Physics. There's very good money and a lot of opportunites in Health Physics at the moment and it's going to stay that way for the next 30+ years anyway.
 
Stelly said:
god I'm getting depressed, just really started in the IT field and I'm being told thats its not worth it :p

Stelly

Horses for courses mate, i've been in 13+ years, still loving it, loving it more than last year in fact, not very stressful really, as long as you keep an eye on the big picture. Its taken me to places i've never had gone otherwise, and paid me well.
 
Stolly said:
Horses for courses mate, i've been in 13+ years, still loving it, loving it more than last year in fact, not very stressful really, as long as you keep an eye on the big picture. Its taken me to places i've never had gone otherwise, and paid me well.

Completely agree, I've been doing it for over 6 years and still love it. I'm my own boss and get to work where I want. I'm currently living in Kiev for the fun of it (to be with my girlfriend who's based out here at the moment) whilst being fulltime on several projects for my UK clients. They don't care where I am as long as I get the work done :)
 
Tru said:
Yeah I've spent 7 years in IT and I'm going into Health Physics. There's very good money and a lot of opportunites in Health Physics at the moment and it's going to stay that way for the next 30+ years anyway.
What the hell is health physics?
 
I spent 5 years working in IT by which point I had become sick of it. I was working over 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and driving round Ireland every other day for not so good money. I left it to train in Air Traffic Control and here I am almost two years later working less than half the hours for more than three times the money.

Best decision of my life.

If you want to change career, do it sooner rather than later. Job satisfaction is very important and without it you're in for a long and boring career.
 
z3b3dy said:
Completely agree, I've been doing it for over 6 years and still love it. I'm my own boss and get to work where I want. I'm currently living in Kiev for the fun of it (to be with my girlfriend who's based out here at the moment) whilst being fulltime on several projects for my UK clients. They don't care where I am as long as I get the work done :)

Kiev ? Lucky bugger. Famous for its chicken so i gather :P
 
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