I'm 25 years into my IT "career." My recommendation: Get the fuck out while you can. Prior to this part of my working life, I worked on cars professionally for about 10 years. What you say about tangible work has been my biggest lament for the last 20 years. The first five years of IT were the best; I was a desktop technician who directly worked with, and helped people every day. That was almost as satisfying as doing cars was for me. Why did I move from cars to tech? Money. Why did I move on from desktop support to systems administration? Money. Money is not worth living your life for, but it took making those moves to figure that out. But that wasn't the only problem. Over the years, IT has moved from being sort of isolated and removed from the usual catch-all, day to day office sort of career to being folded into, and enveloped by the office environment. Now the bulk of my time is spent justifying what I do to people who have absolutely zero clue about my job or how to do it. I'm now required to take all of the generic so-called training (brainwashing, cheerleading, woke bullshit) classes that the rest of the office does. I went from doing tech about 80% of my day to doing bullshit office make-work, explaining changes, and explaining myself and my actions before actually doing any real work to management idiots about 80% of the time. Now, I'm at an age where retirement is becoming a more tangible option, and what am I planning on doing once I do retire? Something tangible, something that I can see makes a real difference in the real world.
If I had it to do over again, I would still be a mechanic. As it is, provided there's no mandate, when I leave IT, I intend to become a long haul truck driver.
I'm 14 years into my career as a mechanic, finally got master certified. I find it both stressful and rewarding, and have been making a more than reasonable flat rate income. The most positive side for me is I have very little oversight, don't have to deal with limp wristed retards or clueless boomers, and am free to do and say as I please, for the most part. We have NEVER been forced to wear masks or get jabbed at any point in time, either.
If you can keep up with new technology and are good at diagnostics you have demand and job security, particularly related to electric vehicles.
If I were to retire right now (which I'm not even close to, despite women typically retire/resign from labor jobs earlier than men) I would specialize in something. Could be growing one type of plant or raising one type of animal, fixing specific models of tractors or cars, doing auto transmission rebuilds for specific makes (if you're a glutton for punishment!) Or repairing small engines, electric motors, household equipment, etc.
I have soldering ability and can read schematics, I may be able to repair control modules for vehicle applications. Modules are expensive and increasingly harder to get. The modules and equipment needed to repair them don't take up much space (comparitively) and can be repaired at my leisure. It seems like a win in the short term, anyway.
You sir have shown wisdom that I did not possess 25 years ago. Good job. Were this ten years ago, I might think about switching back, but at my age, no one will ever give me a second look, and that's totally understandable. That's not to say that the money isn't good, or even great, but there are more important things in life than money. I also think that due to any real meaning derived from my career, it has motivated me over the years to learn a lot of skills at home on my own time that I may not have otherwise learned. I learned how to cast metal, light machinist work, welding, gem cutting, various homesteading skills, and I still work on at least some of my vehicles (mostly a 1985 4runner), as well as quite a long list of miscellaneous things that necessity required me to learn.
Your automatic transmission comment made me laugh, as I believe there is one of my old ones (TH350) still disassembled from the mid 80s somewhere in central California. Holy shit is there a lot of stuff inside one of those...Never attempted it again, just got out the checkbook for someone else when that problem arose.
On Jan 31 my employer is going to revisit my vaccine exemption, and if it's rejected at that point, I'll get half of my wish: I'll be out of IT, unless I can peddle my skill set to another employer that doesn't require such nonsense.
If I had it to do over again, I would still be a mechanic. As it is, provided there's no mandate, when I leave IT, I intend to become a long haul truck driver.
A fuckin MEN. I twisted wrenches for years. Glad I left though because there are no more mechanics just glorified part swappers. Computers in cars took care of that shit. But when I hit my new state Long Haul driving is my preferred new vocation as well.
I helped a friend move from near Portland Oregon to Casper Wyoming back in June. He filled up a 26' U-haul and handed me the keys. I got on the road, and about 5 hours into the trip I asked myself "What the hell am I doing in an office?" I was outside, on the road, just me and my thoughts, looking at the countryside go by, and not arguing with the wife. Probably about the time I hit western Utah I made up my mind. Came back through Montana, Idaho, and Washington, and had the best time I'd had in years doing anything that resembled work.
I'm waiting to see which direction the trucking industry goes with the vaccine mandate, and once my employer fires me for not taking the jab, I'm out, and on my way to train with a trucking company.
Sounds like an excellent plan. I wish you MUCH luck and good fortune!
(post is archived)