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I am working at a job which has no potential for growth and due to uncertainty I may lose my job in future. Job is very niche and may not have overlapping skills with other jobs that may be available at that time when I am fired or lose my job. Considering I am in my early 30s I may not be preferred for entry level jobs for other roles that I may apply for by gaining those skills. So how do I prepare myself for this uncertainty?

Or simply put how does one get over age based discrimination that is present everywhere when applying for entry level roles?

I don't have inclination towards programming or software development. I am looking more towards finance and management in general.

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  • Is there perhaps neighboring fields where if you spend your free time acquiring some knowledge about, that knowledge overlaps well with the one you have ? Thus making a nice portfolio of "skills" ? – DakkVader Jan 29 '20 at 7:12
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    This is a little to less information to give a good answer, but anyway. I started a new (sort of) entry level job in my early 30's so it is possible. – user180146 Jan 29 '20 at 7:30
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    @MawgsaysreinstateMonica I live in 3rd world country. People liking their jobs is rare sight. Got to pay the bills somehow. – Stupid_Intern Jan 29 '20 at 8:40
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    There is a Dilbert cartoon that says "don't expect work to be fun. If it was, the company would make you pay to come to the office" :-) – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 29 '20 at 10:21
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    I think that you should be looking for a new job now. – Mawg says reinstate Monica Jan 29 '20 at 10:22
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We have had a few similar questions : niche or obsolete skills, how can I find a new job, in a new field?

The answer is generally to prepare yourself to look attractive to employers in the new field.

Try to volunteer for some Open Source projects in your new field of interest, or at least crate a portfolio, put an app on GitHub, read lots of books, take lots of training courses (*), especially if they offer a qualification, or at least an acknowledgement that you completed them.

(*) Coursera offers hundreds of free courses from top universities world wide.

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My advice would be:

  • don't wait to get fired, but start right now with your job search and the preparation to said jobsearch
  • learn something you'd like to do in the future. How about https://fast.ai for example?
  • start making something yourself. Either work on open source projects or - what I as a hiring team lead find even more impressive - start a side project. Get inspired by indiehackers for example.
  • do something that I call 'career due diligence' (would love to help in this field - just shoot me a note) to make sure that you don't end up on a dead-end in your next gig again.
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The best way to break into any field is to start doing it for charity. I've done this myself. Due to employment laws being as they are, any employer worth his salt is looking for experience. Experience is actually more important than education in most instances.

Find a charity that needs help with it's finances, or management and do some work for them.

It may require a temporary sacrifice of all free time, and even reducing your sleep for a while, but think of it as an investment in your future.

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