The more I read about being a tester, the more doubts appear. I go through a lot of comments on how hard it is now to find a job for a beginner, how the labour market has changed, that IT is for people who begin their computer journey at early school age, that people over 30 years of age are not suitable as juniors because their minds don’t adapt so quickly… A whole ocean of good advice which pulled me under the surface of my hopes.
I think most people of my age who want to change their career path are in a quite similar mood. Sometimes I have the impression that I have only one opportunity, only one choice. If I fail, there will be no second chance, because I will be too old for another months or years of learning anything new again. This of course could be completely wrong, because why stop learning after 40’s or 50’s, if you’ve learnt throughout your life?
The good thing is that I’m obtaining skills helpful in my current job. If I am more accustomed with IT, programming, agile software development etc., I will switch to translating IT texts, which could broaden my clients’ base. And if I improve my English skills at the same time, I can be a technical writer and enter the IT world through different door.
The last switch I’m turning on now is the conviction that keeping my mind in a constant learning mode makes me more flexible and more apt to study new areas. All this combined with the experience, stability, long-term perspective and other traits characteristic to my age and attitude can give me a real advantage over younger competitors on the job market.