Re: Career Changer Needs Advice
Date: 1996/07/22
Message-ID: <31F3BE8C.4BFA_at_highsierra.com>#1/1
Hi Mark -
Here is some "in a nutshell" and "for what it's worth" advice from two who made a career change...
Although we had considerable background in software development nuts and bolts (me at all levels for mainframe then PC business systems / databases and Tom for applied science software engineering from the Voyager for Caltech / JPL to ocean physics) - we went into custom software development for business systems and now are developing software for Internet to database. Anyway, we think it is important to keep upgrading skills etc. but taking classes is not what will do that for you. Tom has a ton of Microsoft Certifications, but these certifications have never gotten us jobs. So, go for what you want - if you want to go to school - then go to school. If you want a career change - then don't go to school - take the direct route.
1 - Save enough money up to allow yourself time to get started on your new enterprise. Expect some hard times. Ours came in the FIFTH year, not the first or so years. Weird, eh?
2 - "Sell" what skills your potential clients are buying. If you like VRML or CD ROM game development and nobody around you wants those skills, then you are getting into a hobby and not a career change. If YOUR world wants Microsoft Access database development for the Web, then learn how and offer it. (Business systems sound boring? You will find a way to make it interesting for you. For example, Tom, who did as low level of code as anybody for years, has.)
3 - Expect to keep changing and upgrading your skills.
4 - Find a "bread and butter" offering that makes you some basic money. After you get this happening (it is Internet dial-ins and Web pages for us) then you have the basic security you need to get your more fun / long range / esoteric or whatever plans in gear. Our more long term stuff was the development of products for Web sites.
5 - Go through the personal development it takes to learn not to get "whittled down" and not to "give away" your services (value) for too low a price.
I don't know if that is what you asked for. But, we are pretty happy after making our own career changes about 5 years ago and then last year to go into development for Web providers.
M. Kay Aufrance
Aufrance Associates & High Sierra Web Site "Software Development for Windows NT Web Sites" "Presenting Lake Tahoe to the World"
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Received on Mon Jul 22 1996 - 00:00:00 CEST