CS or IT Degree - Does it Pay to Go into as a Second Career?

I've always be tech-smart and look for the technologically-efficient way to do things.

I've picked up SQL and some Visual Basic. And I'm 36-years-old having not gone to college during the easier employment era of the 90s. Having had to take care of 2 terminally-ill parents and chronically underemployed older siblings took up my time. I really hate finance, the bulk of the jobs here in NYC. My first job was in insurance and I hated it. I worked for small family-owned distributors and I hated that but I got promoted into administering their ERP system and learned a lot. Plus, I had a year's unemployment to deal with in 2009-2010 so this put be far behind. I enjoyed tutoring when I was unemployed - but it paid a paltry $15 per hour since I wasn't a certified teacher (you'd get $20 per hour but that was better than $15...). I've even thought about getting a TESOL and working abroad. And I'm still dealing with debt caused by my family situation as well as fibromyalgia.

The question is: at this point, is it realistic to go ahead and try to get into I.T. as a DBA, business analyst, or web programmer? I don't like networking and all the on-call hours. I like solving business problems. And I live in the NYC area where there is a supposed Silicon Alley.

What say you, members of the Degreeinfo community? Am I better off going into another field?

 

Yes, it is completely realistic, especially since you have some experience. Other than nursing, I can't think of many other fields besides IT that accept career changers as readily.

 

There really is not much of a Silicon Alley in NYC in the sense that there are pure Flagship Tech/Software Companies, Information Builders is one of the few with their HQ in NYC (I worked for them briefly many years ago). There is however a TON of consulting work to be done in NYC. I am an Oracle Certified DBA and it is tough to break into the field but not impossible. You will need to be certified (naturally I recommend Oracle paths but there are others) but you may be able angle an entry level consulting gig with the likes of Accenture, PWC, Deloitte. It is much harder now but if your resume gets before the right set of eyes your experience may just give you a chance. Try to find metrics for the work you did as the ERP System Administrator such as number of end users, up/downtime, tasks performed and time to resolution, etc. Quantifiable always crushes Qualitative in IT. Your tutoring experience goes a long way to training and mentorship; which is HUGE in the consulting field. Don't sell yourself short. If you love IT then go for it. It is a very interesting field in which to work. I suspect your experiences running the ERP (let us know which one if it is Oracle, PeopleSoft or SAP, it is a big plus) places you beyond a boring Business Analyst job.

 

The ERP System were were using was built originally by NxTrend 30 years back and was bought by Agilisys, now Infor, which owns all these vertical industry ERPs that specialize in the Electrical, Industrial more B2B distribution instead of mainly manufacturing as SAP was. The technology was Unix-based OpenEdge (aka Progress) database and was pretty robust for what we needed it to do. However, I suspect that the consolidation in the industry will lead it to be improved but not further developed until there is more client-industry push to radically improve it.

Another related question: do you think that there is a market for open source skills? I work at a medical research hospital and find that the research division which mainly works with Macs is under-served by Microsoft tools. Most of the labs don't have good procurement systems - more like spreadsheets - and it's frustrating for my boss to calculate for recovery for internal researchers with the hodge-podge of data cobbling that I have to do out of Cognos to feed her spreadsheet cost to give her landed cost plus labor costs, etc. Being non-profit and in the life sciences, I feel that pursuing open source is cost-effective and might yield better tools for the researchers.

I value your opinions.

 

Thanks for the tip

It looks like my original reply was lost when the DB went down.

The ERP that I worked with before is niche produce for the industrial distribution industry (electrical, metalworking, MRO) called SX.enterprise, originally developed 30 years by NxTrend who got bought by Agilisys who then became Infor. Infor owns all these vertical industry ERPs and MRPs. There's really no market for it and I don't enjoy the industries that use it.

I guess my dream would be to be a consultant so I can make enough money to take off. Hopefully the PPACA will work out to be advantageous to be a consultant, financially speaking.

I'm thinking healthcare might be the best best because we are a healthcare magnet here in the NYC area, also in the tri-state area. Plus I've been around medicine most of my life - dad was a doctor (passed away 12 years ago) so I know billing and medical terms/codes, etc. My employer encourages and pays for healthcare administrative programs but I would much prefer doing I.T. healthcare. I need challenges and novelty not the monotony of clerical administration that I've been doing a lot of my working life. :tired:

 

You should always keep in mind that a lot of these IT jobs are outsourced to Underdeveloped like Phillipines and India. I know a lot of people were asked to leave at a very short notice to make way to Indian Outsourcing companies who charged in pennies. Many people who work in those companies do not have a Computer science degree. A lot of the Management positions were retained in the USA. If you like solving business problems, i would suggest you do CPA or CFA or even CISA or CISM. The last 2 are IT related ANSI accredited certifications and you can work as an IT Auditor and you do can solve or identify business issues and suggest remedies. Even with CPA/CFA/CIA you can be a Financial Auditor. If you combine CPA with CISA you can do boh. I know a few who do both. I have both CISA and CISM. Let me know if you need any more information about preparing for those certs and passing the written Exam which is held twice a year by ISACA.

 

Indeed, the development and low-level system administration work has been mostly outsourced. That is why with his/her background in training, on-site consulting is a distinct possibility. Yes, it is rough and uncertain at times not really knowing "where" you will work next but if you prove yourself to be a valuable member of engagement teams you will do very well in the services industry. Just my perspective. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Financial side of IT and governance but I get the sense the OP is really interested in "real" IT work.

 

As a programmer I don't seem to have trouble finding work. In fact I turn down offers.

 

I believe that if you plan to work for yourself there is work to be had. You will again, be more or less in a consulting role, which can be very lucrative. What has definitely been off-shored is in-house development work. IBM, Oracle, Accenture, and many end customer companies all rely on off-shore staff (in India, Romania, Philippines) or system integrators / contractors (Wipro, Infosys, Tata) to do low level programming. I know this for a fact. There is certainly demand for competent IT people (or else I would be doing some other work to pay my bills). There are definitely certain skills in crazy demand: UIX, Mobile App Development, Business Intelligence/Analytics. I am happy to work in the IT field and am fortunate every day to enjoy doing my job (I work in BI/Analytics having cut my teeth on custom Data Warehousing work more than decade ago -- that is why I recommend getting certified as a DBA -- it is a valuable skill/credential to have). I think I have given enough of a pep talk. Get out there and develop your 3/6/9/12 month plan. Seriously focus on time blocks that short because things change fast in IT.

 

Thank you for all your insights. I've been LONG contemplating going into business for myself but life got into the way. If I can net 55-60K a year after expenses - including taxes, retirement, and health insurance - then I will be content as a consultant. Plus I relish novelty and sometimes just being in a different environment for some time seems like a way to accomplish that.