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 Isn’t A Factor 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.

Actually, the truth is it’s more a case of the tail wagging the dog. There are more males in this age group with circumstances that push them towards it than any other grouping, and that’s the reason there are more of them joining the industry. Yes, sure they can make ideal IT workers, but so can males and females in their forties and fifties (or youngsters just leaving school for that matter) if their reasons are big enough.

IT Needs You Right Now…

A closer look at a typical male IT student shows why he’s been driven to action at that time. Though bright and capable, he probably didn’t go into further education after school. By late twenties/early thirties, he’s usually a guy with a young family, he’s bored with his job and he’s looking for a new challenge.

What gives him the commitment to see it through is the desire for more – that’s what powers him to act. That’s the reason why he succeeds. A woman in her fifties with an equivalent desire for change, and the same passion for the subject, could also do well 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.