Anyone here work in tech?

My degree is broad . Computer Science.

To narrow it down, I’m interested in Software Engineering/Developing and dabble in AI.

(no message)

Well this died out quickly...

I was hoping to discuss in email as I didn’t want to get too personal but anyway.

I have 19 years in O&G construction. 11 in supervision. I’m obviously expecting a pay cut but I’m good with that since I’ve paid off our vehicles and do not have debt other than a mortgage.

I’m looking for advice on the job hunt.
There’s so many scams on legit job boards. I’m willing to travel to most states and my wife and kids would be 100% fine with it.

As for making the jump, Where do you start and what do you avoid? My backup plan should I not find anything suitable is to get an MBA to salvage some of my management experience. What’s the best job board in your experience?


From my understanding I’m ready at a disadvantage being mid 30’s in this field

With AI doing more and more of the code lift going forward, the real skill in software development is problem solving. Have you looked into the software companies serving your current industry? Actually having worked in that area might give you a leg up.

I think you need to decide on your desired type of position - sounds like you want to code...but there are lots of other tech jobs.

You could even look into project manager certifications...since it's important to understand the tech skills behind the projects.

I am in my mid-fifties and have done a lot of varied tech stuff - from coding, support, database work, server management, and some networking. Since I have a lot of different skills, I have been able to adapt to job changes as the projects change.

You could look at the state civil service website to see the types of positions currently hiring. State will be somewhat lower pay, but good benefits and a pension. Probably a slightly easier entry point as well...

LA Civil Service Jobs

if its coding/software eng/dev youre looking for, you're about 2 years late from the boom, and boy was it fantastic. the biggest hurdle a newbie is going to face right now is that there are a lot of very qualified experienced people still looking for jobs from all the layoffs at some of the larger firms, making the job hunt pretty competitive and putting those without experience at a disadvantage. the economy hasn't been great for creating spending dollars to fund new jobs/startups either. the recruiters in my experience have been pretty quiet lately, but i also work in a fairly niche language. that said its not impossible. first thing i would do is get your github in order. have a personal project on there, not some cookie cutter code from a bootcamp or school. you can also search github for repositories looking for contributors if you don't have an idea for a personal project or how to build one from scratch. If you know JS and looking for opportunities to contribute, Mozilla, at least used to and i assume probably still do, have a bunch of volunteers squashing bugs. Not sure where you are located, but bc you are here im going to assume louisiana. get on the baton rouge slack and nola slack, both have job boards. polish up your linkedin and you can search for jobs there as well. i know Revelry in nola was recently hiring and its a good place to cut your teeth, they also have a 3 month paid apprenticeship program that is very good and can lead to a permanent role with them or with one of their partners or a the very least get you some contacts in the industry that could lead somewhere.

quote:

---

From my understanding I’m ready at a disadvantage being mid 30’s in this field

---

quote:

---

Outside of mom and pop shops, you're likely screwed.

---

He'll be fine if he really wants it. I started very close to mid-30 and work at a fortune 500 now. That said smaller can be better.

OP, another tip...in the beginning while I was job hunting I used Upwork to pick up freelance gigs fixing bugs and adding small features to people's websites. It definitely helped boost morale and give me something to do while job hunting. I even got to the point where I started using it get paid to learn some framework or other piece of tech. After getting some good reviews and credibility doing smaller jobs in JS I was able to land several big jobs and regular clients that basically paid me to learn React, unbeknownst to them.

I work in tech but on the sales side. My understanding is CS / programmers / developers are in a bad spot right now. When Elon fired 80% of Twitter everyone else realized they were wildly overpaying massive teams of devs that were doing practically or actually nothing. Those teams shrank dramatically.

This happened to coincide with an extreme tightening of tech expansion, so very few new roles were created the number of open jobs has stayed incredibly stagnant and wages have decreased to reflect that.

On top of that, about 6-7 years ago everyone was told to "learn to code" so you have a new generation of college grads now flooding the market looking for work. Competition is insane and you see 10 year industry vets begging for work.

The current meta is security and compliance.