How to explain a 9 year gap in IT?

[Anonymous]

I am 52 and have not worked the last 9 years. Prior to the break I worked for 17 years in IT primarily in Java progressing to a Technical Lead/Manager role. I have a masters in computer science and also completed all 3 levels of the CFA but not a charter holder. I have not kept up with the technology trends and want to get input on what technologies to learn and the types of job roles to target.

As a male how do I explain the 9 year gap? I focused on my 3 kids but are now old enough that I have time to take up a job. Wife is on a nice career track and it made more sense for her not to derail that.

I have worked through the whole software lifecycle interacting with business end users, developers, testers and navigating through the whole organizational software approval process. I am very organized, detail oriented with good follow up and keeping team on target. This kind of leads to project management role, I can imagine but not sure how important PMP and other certifications are now a days. Part of the time as a Tech lead it involved PM role as well and I did that for a quite a bit of time.

I have good knowledge of finance theory and definitely enjoy working in a role that would combine both finance and IT. I am not looking for any particular minimum salary right away. When I quit 9 years back I was making about $160K including bonus. I am sure that is nowhere close what I can expect now.

Please share your suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Have you kept up on new IT tools (AWS, Azure, K8s, etc...)? if not, I would start there.

[Anonymous]

Cloud stuff is hot right now. But, at least in my organization, a prerequisite for being hired as an IT project manager is "knows absolutely nothing about IT." So maybe work somewhere else or don't do the project-manager thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cloud stuff is hot right now. But, at least in my organization, a prerequisite for being hired as an IT project manager is "knows absolutely nothing about IT." So maybe work somewhere else or don't do the project-manager thing.

Ha ha! So true! But PMs that understand software development and IT are banging our heads too.

[Anonymous]

There are still a lot of Java jobs out there... you have expertise there, go with what you know. It doesn't hurt to learn new things, but you won't have any proven experience in it. PM or engineering manager would be good fits for you.

I mean, look there are still plenty of C jobs around -- and if someone had taken 10-15 years off, their skill would still be relevant, because the language hasn't changed (much).

Explain your job gap like you did here -- makes perfect sense. I think in this day and age, most folks would accept that.

Can you ping any of your old contacts from 10 yrs ago? That may be a good place to start...

[Anonymous]

This will be hard. Ageism is fierce.

I would post and read up on hacker news.

A 2nd tier startup actually may give you a shot b/c they often need gravitas and most premier programmers know it’s a raw deal unless you are founder. But it’s good resume building.

Otherwise, Fed contracting weighs heavily towards years of experience, not necessarily recent years. So they would be in your favor as well as degrees. NASA especially is good for greybeards.

Cloud is hot, so take some certs, but definitely look for your skills in postings. Open a GitHub and make a portfolio of work there.

[Anonymous]

My spouse is older and no issue getting a job. But, instead of focusing on SAHD, focus on what you have done, especially certifications and keeping up with new technology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My spouse is older and no issue getting a job. But, instead of focusing on SAHD, focus on what you have done, especially certifications and keeping up with new technology.

Your spouse was out of market for a decade?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you kept up on new IT tools (AWS, Azure, K8s, etc...)? if not, I would start there.

I have not kept up. Should I focus on AWS or Azure? It looks like I need to pick at least one of the cloud providers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are still a lot of Java jobs out there... you have expertise there, go with what you know. It doesn't hurt to learn new things, but you won't have any proven experience in it. PM or engineering manager would be good fits for you.

I mean, look there are still plenty of C jobs around -- and if someone had taken 10-15 years off, their skill would still be relevant, because the language hasn't changed (much).

Explain your job gap like you did here -- makes perfect sense. I think in this day and age, most folks would accept that.

Can you ping any of your old contacts from 10 yrs ago? That may be a good place to start...

Thanks! Lots of good suggestions.

I was using mostly straight Java with Struts at that time but did not use other frameworks (the frameworks I used do not exist anymore). Do you have any suggestions on what would be a good framework to learn if I continue to focus on Java?

I can ping old contacts, but first wanted to get "battle ready" by brushing up on some core skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This will be hard. Ageism is fierce.

I would post and read up on hacker news.

A 2nd tier startup actually may give you a shot b/c they often need gravitas and most premier programmers know it’s a raw deal unless you are founder. But it’s good resume building.

Otherwise, Fed contracting weighs heavily towards years of experience, not necessarily recent years. So they would be in your favor as well as degrees. NASA especially is good for greybeards.

Cloud is hot, so take some certs, but definitely look for your skills in postings. Open a GitHub and make a portfolio of work there.

By Fed contracting do you mean jobs at Booz, Mitre, etc?

[Anonymous]

Get the pmp. Lots are and it’s not that hard
Get a good study book and take the test
Look for jobs that say pmp while also finding java jobs

[Anonymous]

I'm older, too, working as a java developer and thinking about cybersecurity. Is it doable for us to get some certs and move into that career?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you kept up on new IT tools (AWS, Azure, K8s, etc...)? if not, I would start there.

I have not kept up. Should I focus on AWS or Azure? It looks like I need to pick at least one of the cloud providers.

Azure. JEDI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will be hard. Ageism is fierce.

I would post and read up on hacker news.

A 2nd tier startup actually may give you a shot b/c they often need gravitas and most premier programmers know it’s a raw deal unless you are founder. But it’s good resume building.

Otherwise, Fed contracting weighs heavily towards years of experience, not necessarily recent years. So they would be in your favor as well as degrees. NASA especially is good for greybeards.

Cloud is hot, so take some certs, but definitely look for your skills in postings. Open a GitHub and make a portfolio of work there.

By Fed contracting do you mean jobs at Booz, Mitre, etc?

Nah I would look at smaller shops like SGT, Columbus, etc. maybe SAIC.