Need advice about work
Hello!
I need some advice about work. I'm 34 and I have a child. What direction do you think I should be looking in job-wise? Because of AI, I'm not sure whether it's worth staying in IT and on top of that, my department was recently shut down at my company, so I'm out of work.
My goal is to be able to rent a decent place, cover health/medical costs, food obviously and to take my child on holiday at least once yearly (I couldn't affort it before).
I'm based in Europe. Right now I'm actively learning to knit, just in case.
Could you suggest what kind of work you'd recommend so that I can be that "man of the house" for myself and support myself properly? If it matters: I'm celibate and I don't plan to enter into a relationship, but I need to get my child on their feet and I honestly have no idea which way to move.
My salary has always been low, I'm tired of it and I'm responsible for a child. So I'm ready for anything. Ready to learn anything, do anything!
Thank you!
my brother works in HVAC on the larger side of things (casinos, hotels, malls, airports, etc) and does really well for himself on the project side of things. He got started on the automation side of things --- but yeah, good job in an industry that isn't going away any time soon. Another excellent career is elevator repair --- you typically work indoors, has decent pay, occasional overtime, etc. Both are worth looking into and also benefit from your background in IT.
Its worth noting that elevator repair work pays very well, ( I see the rates we pay our techs) but also it is a more dangerous job and that may or may not be something someone is interested in with a kid.
OP, what about working in IT but for the government or similar more stable entity than perhaps a private company?
If you are coming from IT I would also suggest a physical technical trade, anything that uses electronics extensively would probably use some of your current skills.
The caveat I would add is that you may want to reconsider this advice if you either don't enjoy or have low aptitude for physical work, it's not a panacea. I've worked in trade and adjacent jobs my whole working life, I've met plenty of people that I wished weren't doing that kind of work or they wished they weren't.
Not sure what you mean by "IT" but once the chaos settles down I firmly believe use of computers and software will increase. That means computer skills will be useful for employment. We're not yet saturated on software - there are so many problems yet unsolved. Everything from fusion energy to that mom & pop shop that really should be able to get a computer to solve their problems but hasn't found the right thing yet. People will be getting themselves into all kinds of trouble with vibe coding/vibe security/etc. which will require an expert to help fix.
If you're willing/able to spend time getting training and/or working a low-paid apprentice position for a while, I'd suggest a skilled physical trade. Electrical is not getting replaced by AI any time soon. You can make really good money if you're good at the job. Another bonus being you don't have to sit at a desk for eight hours a day. See also, plumbing, heating/cooling engineering, telecoms, etc. etc.
It’s not a lot of information to go on. It really depends on where you are in Europe, and also if you are in a major city or at least close to one. Where I’m at, software development is not quickly being replaced by AI and there’s still vacancies open, although it is becoming less. Being a software dev is still a pretty good job, so I currently don’t see myself abandoning the field yet. What makes you want to switch?
Tradespeople are in high demand here, but what I always wonder is how you would be able to do that kind of work until retirement age. A lot of those jobs are hard on your body.