This is probably something common so if anyone has dealt with this before please advise what is the best approach I can take to overcome this problem.
I'm nearly 30 and I'm seriously not happy about where I am so far. I feel stuck because I’m not doing what I was supposed to be doing when I came out of my Computer Science Bachelor degree in 2005 – 7 years ago. And the longer I stay in this pigeonholed career the slimmer my chances are of getting back on track.
Back in 2005 it was really hard for me to find any role after my graduation. So after 6 months of searching, I landed on a Telco helpdesk role, and I took it without hesitation. Then this lead to web content management – which was great as it was closely related to what I was supposed to be doing. This was supposed to be my opportunity. However, things changed quite rapidly within this organisation. I was no longer working with web content, but rather company processes – dealing with process improvements and escalated customer issues by means of managing the content. So it became less technical, and more about the process. Systems changed, so I no longer am required to work with HTML/Dreamweaver. We are now using word docs and the occasional visio flow for the processes.
When I try to look for other jobs, they require technical skills that I have not touched for a very long time! The experiences that I have are tied in with the organisation as it deals with the company processes. I do have transferable skills such as stakeholder management in a corporate etc. But how far can transferable skills take me if I want to get back to my root – IT related roles?
I have considered doing a Master in IT, but I’m told by many that I will become overqualified, and it isn’t something that employers look for more so than experience. For me, the master degree is an outlet for me to get back into learning new technologies and get a bonus in master accreditation to boot. However, I don’t want it to hinder my career option. Would a certificate be more appropriate for what I want to achieve?
I have also considered starting my own site/company. I have a few ideas that I want to achieve, but it is taking a long time to get it off the ground since I have full time work. And it is taking a lot longer especially since I have to update my knowledge on programming as I march on this one man band wagon.
If you have overcome something similar, please let me know how you achieved this, or give me some advice on how best to manage this? It has been 2 years since I started feeling this way. It is making me depressed and is affecting my life in general.