Sunday, January 11, 2009

In IT Training, What Is The Best Age?

By Scott Edwards

New career training is often thought to be only appropriate for young men and women, as older people won't get selected for job interviews. Whilst that's possibly true in certain sectors (despite ageism being non-PC), the IT industry has a more flexible attitude.

Age Dependency Doesn't Apply In The IT Industry...

Figures show that the majority of IT trainees studying for commercial qualifications are males aged between 25 and 35. So we could be forgiven for thinking that if we're not in that demographic, we'll have an uphill struggle to compete, as that surely must be the 'perfect' profile employers are looking for? Wrong. This assumption supposes that the IT industry has an ideal type, and that's why more men in their late twenties and early thirties change career into IT than anyone else.

In reality, it's more a case of the tail wagging the dog. The reason there are more males in this age group joining the industry is because there are more of them with circumstances that push them towards it than any other grouping. Yes, twenty and thirty-something guys can make ideal IT workers, but so can men and women in their forties and fifties (or kids just out of school for that matter) if their reasons are big enough.

The IT Industry Needs You Now...

Let's look more closely at a typical male IT student, to show why he's been driven to action at that time. Though generally intelligent and capable, he probably didn't go to college after school. By his late twenties/early thirties, he's usually got a young family, he's fed-up with his job and he needs a new challenge.

The desire for more is what powers him to act, and what gives him the commitment to see it through - and that's why he succeeds. A fifty year old female with an equivalent desire for change, and the same passion for the subject, could also achieve success in IT.

Because of the changing nature of the industry, everyone is on a level playing field. Today's IT managers don't know what they'll be doing in a few years time, so a problem now needs a person with the skill-set now. Whatever your gender or age, if you have the knowledge of, say fixing the network - you're in.

Even in these recessionary times, the shortage of skilled people in the IT industry is such that commercially qualified IT professionals are often hard to find. However old you are, if you have the commitment, enthusiasm and desire to learn, you're needed in the IT industry. - 16928

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