# A new career - what is in demand?



## Caveat (12 Sep 2007)

Hi all

In my late 30s and up to now, have found myself in a succession of sales based positions - I appear to be quite good at it but don't really enjoy it.

I'd like a complete career change before I get much older - almost anything considered (but with less of a 'customer' emphasis ideally).  I've been trying (in vain) to find out what the country needs in terms of skills/professions etc as I was hoping that while it's impossible to make any career 'future proof',for now at least, it might be a good starting point.

I have a BA(Hons) degree and would consider augmenting that with further education as long as it could be completed by distance learning.

I know this is all very vague and I don't really expect actual career recommendations but if anyone knows what is in demand or is likely to be in demand I'd appreciate the feedback.

Thanks

C


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## Vanilla (12 Sep 2007)

I'd say the country could really do with someone who could invent a perpetual motion machine. Or find new sources of renewable energy which are cost effective and efficient. Plus personally I'd love if someone invented one of those 'beam me up Scotty' machines so that traffic jams could be completely eliminated. How about it?


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## capall (12 Sep 2007)

In the company that you work now can you see any position you would like to be in. I am sure alot of people who start in sales move into other related areas.
I don't think you can really pursue a career now by saying what is in demand.
You need to have some specific preference


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## Purple (12 Sep 2007)

Vanilla said:


> I'd say the country could really do with someone who could invent a perpetual motion machine. Or find new sources of renewable energy which are cost effective and efficient. Plus personally I'd love if someone invented one of those 'beam me up Scotty' machines so that traffic jams could be completely eliminated. How about it?


 


Ye canna defy the laws of physics.


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## Welfarite (12 Sep 2007)

My own personal opinion is that "Nannystate" issues will drive the future. Think of the requirement now to have Safepass for every employee on building sites. You could make a new career out of delivering Health and Safety courses and seminars. Once the government brings in some regulation, it creates a career opportunity!


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## Vanilla (12 Sep 2007)

Purple said:


> Ye canna defy the laws of physics.


 
Oh Really? Ah well I was always useless at Physics. Well how about something easier then- like solving the current health care system crisis?


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## Purple (12 Sep 2007)

Welfarite said:


> My own personal opinion is that "Nannystate" issues will drive the future. Think of the requirement now to have Safepass for every employee on building sites. You could make a new career out of delivering Health and Safety courses and seminars. Once the government brings in some regulation, it creates a career opportunity!


Or you could start an anarchy group. Just make sure it's well organised.


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## droileen (12 Sep 2007)

Lifecoaching is "trendy" at the present & a good sales technique / persuasive powers would help you in this area.


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## ClubMan (12 Sep 2007)

droileen said:


> Lifecoaching is "trendy" at the present & a good sales technique / persuasive powers would help you in this area.


I just wonder if somebody who posts on a bulletin board asking for career recommendations is necessarily the most suitable to be telling others what *they *should do?


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## Caveat (12 Sep 2007)

Thanks for replies



capall said:


> In the company that you work now can you see any position you would like to be in.


 
No, company is quite small.



Welfarite said:


> Once the government brings in some regulation, it creates a career opportunity!


 
Good point - but hard to predict though.


Would appreciate any further advice - I know I should have a career preference but I don't really.  No harm keeping my options open. 

So what about finding out what is needed in the country, what there are or are likely to be shortages of - is this a bad approach?  I realise of course that trends/conditions will change but doesn't that affect almost anyone in the private sector anyway?


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## droileen (12 Sep 2007)

ClubMan said:


> I just wonder if somebody who posts on a bulletin board asking for career recommendations is necessarily the most suitable to be telling others what *they *should do?


 
That`s a bit "off the wall" Clubman - You are mistaken - I never " posted on the bulletin board asking for career recommendations" So please get your facts straight.

I was only responding to Caveat`s request for suggestions.

P.S. And by the way - I am not a Lifecoach !


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## U2Fan (12 Sep 2007)

How about recruitment? Recruitment Consultants are always in demand, and candidates with sales experience are usually welcomed without the necessary recruitment experience.


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## redstar (12 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> So what about finding out what is needed in the country, what there are or are likely to be shortages of - is this a bad approach?



You need also to consider what you are good/bad at - for example, you may find there is a demand for IT/Computing staff in the future because so few school-leavers are opting to study computing courses now, but would you have the aptitude or interest in that area ?

Maybe consider becoming a consultant, self-employed or as part of a consultancy firm, in sales/marketing, giving courses or advising in those areas ? What about a post-grad diploma in a business related area  ? You might need that for a consultancy role.


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## Pique318 (12 Sep 2007)

Become a politician....loadsa money, more holidays than anyone and when you're working, you're not really doing anything !

Or become an 'artiste'....get a Lotto/govt grant and throw some random pieces of junk together and sell it for a fortune to someone with more money than sense.


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## Vanilla (12 Sep 2007)

droileen said:


> That`s a bit "off the wall" Clubman - You are mistaken - I never " posted on the bulletin board asking for career recommendations" So please get your facts straight.
> 
> I was only responding to Caveat`s request for suggestions.
> 
> P.S. And by the way - I am not a Lifecoach !


 
Think ClubMan referring to OP, not you droileen...


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## Purple (12 Sep 2007)

Vanilla said:


> Think ClubMan referring to OP, not you droileen...



You should have said nothing, I was looking forward to seeing where this went... 

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showpost.php?p=485854&postcount=8

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showpost.php?p=485867&postcount=10

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showpost.php?p=485890&postcount=14

Anyway, I think droileen has a thing about life coaching.


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## z109 (12 Sep 2007)

A while ago, I would have suggested anything to do with a building trade that could be done part time at a local VEC/tech. Not sure it's a good idea in the near term, except maybe interior decoration (on the assumption that employment levels remain stable, but people find it difficult to move due to the slow market).

I work in IT and enjoy it, but it's not for everyone. Many people start off on it and by the middle of year two they've had enough.

Given that most of the population can't count and don't understand statistics, what about being a leading economist? Even with no training, you can't be as one-eyed as the current crop we have!


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## ClubMan (12 Sep 2007)

Vanilla said:


> Think ClubMan referring to OP, not you droileen...


Exactly - there's the small matter of "context" when reading bulletin board threads...


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## Caveat (12 Sep 2007)

yoganmahew said:


> I work in IT and enjoy it, but it's not for everyone. Many people start off on it and by the middle of year two they've had enough.


 
I'd consider IT Yoganmahew - have unrelated BA, would a postgrad diploma be sufficient for an entry into this?

What in your experience have people "had enough of" by year 2 - do you mean year 2 of study or employment BTW?

I've very little IT knowledge/experience but I'm a fast learner - would it be recommended to do a _niche_ course or would a more general qualification be more beneficial do you think?

I suppose the 2 main positive things I've heard about an IT related career are:

Not as 'ageist' as other professions can be - all kinds, all ages.

Fairly steady demand, which may increase as less 'new blood' comes into the market (as another poster suggested above)

Would appreciate any feedback & thanks to all for replies so far.

(Except of course those pair of wags, Vanilla & Purple  )


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## ClubMan (12 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> (Except of course those pair of wags, Vanilla & Purple  )


I never knew that these two were married to famous sportsmen!


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## Purple (12 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> Would appreciate any feedback & thanks to all for replies so far.
> (Except of course those pair of wags, Vanilla & Purple  )


I can see what you mean about Vanilla but I was just trying to be helpful!


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## Purple (12 Sep 2007)

ClubMan said:


> I never knew that these two were married to famous sportsmen!


 ... and I never knew I was a woman. That means that my wife is a lesbian... she could have told me!


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## z109 (12 Sep 2007)

Caveat said:


> I'd consider IT Yoganmahew - have unrelated BA, would a postgrad diploma be sufficient for an entry into this?


I don't know in Ireland - I would suppose so - there are some other threads on this from people who have gone this route, so they may be able to give more info. I have a history degree and was trained at the first company I worked for, so I have never actually studied!



Caveat said:


> What in your experience have people "had enough of" by year 2 - do you mean year 2 of study or employment BTW?


Both really; the drop-out rate at college is high (I remember hearing higher than any other course, but that could be my memory playing up). Even after they get into a job, many people find the lack of advancement a bit of a downer - you either go into management or stay as relatively poorly paid technical (relative to the idiot managers you work for).



Caveat said:


> I've very little IT knowledge/experience but I'm a fast learner - would it be recommended to do a _niche_ course or would a more general qualification be more beneficial do you think?


If I was studying from the view I have now, networks would be where I would go. It's essential to all large businesses and probably has the best chance of getting employment with no experience. In particular, intranet networks and information management within a company. I have also seen some good public service opportunities with this. It can be phenomenally boring, though.

The main bad things about the industry are:
1. It is extremely difficult to get a job without relevant experience.
2. Programming work tends to be outsourced to eastern europe/the far east.
3. You will be expected to know more and work harder than other professions in the company.
4. The pace of change can be very high, especially if you end up in a bleeding edge company.
5. It's always your fault.
6. Your salary will not rise with your technical experience and ability.

With your sales background you have a couple of options to make life easier in getting a job:
1. If you have sales experience in a particular field, look at the IT usage in that field and specialise in something that you can use your previous experience with.
2. Look for a job in a company that is sales driven, i.e. a supplier of software/networks/systems so you can be in a customer facing role - many technical people are unsuited to being out of their cave.

HTH.
YM


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## Caveat (12 Sep 2007)

Cheers YM - thanks very much for that.  Something to think about.

Still open to suggestions though


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## gearoid (12 Sep 2007)

I'm not sure IT is a great industry to get into in your late thirties but if you find you have a talent then there's people I know did convert into excellent programmers in their early thirties at least. 

I am late 30's myself and would perhaps choose to move out of the programming ranks in the next few years. At the moment I'm working in an Irish semi-state and the working culture is much more conducive to a long career than some American outfits. 

There are a lot of 22-26 year olds working mad hours in the industry to get the experience though and you might be competing against them. Plus the companies with this culture are getting lots of business and outsourcing rapidly. Also there tends to be a lot of out of hours work, carrying bleepers, mad hours coming up to deadlines, particularly in programming disciplines.

At this stage the older ones are trying to use their experience, communication skills and maturity (not likely to skip off to Oz!) to keep ahead. At a certain stage I think your priorities change and many older workers are less keen to put in these hours.

Best of luck whatever you choose and I don't want to put a dampener on things!

G


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## Welfarite (13 Sep 2007)

Perhaps approaching recruitment agencies/FAS and asking them to tell you what jobs are in demand by employers but hard to fill?


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## Purple (13 Sep 2007)

If you find out that sewer cleaners will be in high demand will you look for a job in that area? Why not try to come up with a short-list of what you would like to do first and then find out what the demand is for those jobs.


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## Caveat (13 Sep 2007)

Purple said:


> If you find out that sewer cleaners will be in high demand will you look for a job in that area? Why not try to come up with a short-list of what you would like to do first and then find out what the demand is for those jobs.


 
Well that would be the sensible route obviously - but as stated, I really have no idea what I would like to do yet.  Suppose I've been doing the same thing for so long.

And yes, *if* being a sewer cleaner paid well I'd have no problem with that.

At least you wouldn't have to _*listen*_ to much crap.


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