career change is it worth taking the chance

Nuts to leave, if they were doing a round of redundancies maybe grab that.

Construction very cyclical n has been on a good run the last 10 years , only government spending keeping it going now. Had a good operator ringing me to see if ready for him a couple of months ago. A year or 2 ago he'd be booked up for 6-8 months. Most lads in the game I know at 60 are waiting for hip, knees or both!

At your age heavy physical work is a risk, and possibly even more so for someone who's spent years behind a desk. So I'd expect an employer to hesitate about taking you on for anything other than occasional labouring.

The only thing I can think of for you is to combine your skills on your own project, for instance by renovating a house and selling it on? It sounds like a huge undertaking but maybe you could negotiate 6 months off from your job to give it a go, and then go back if it didn't work out?

I understand your point about IT as you get older. My husband was very similar. It's often a job for younger people.But TBH I think the posters telling you to load up your pension might be right. As you get older your physical condition is no longer what it was either, and employers want someone who'll work fast. And that's how people get injured.

can you afford to leave it based on any dependents or other commitments you have?

If you can then do, life is too short to be unhappy and being of a similar age to yourself we know that there’s never a guarantee of decades being left.

there’s loads of work in house retrofitting and not enough people to do it. SEAI we’re looking for people recently. That’s going to be an ongoing market for the next 20 years and isn’t heavy construction

I’d do it if I could but don’t have the skills

I've heard it say you can change company or change job area but very hard to change both at same time.

Are there other business areas in your current company that you could move into? Get away from the software stuff.

if you made a move like that the dissatisfaction would hopefully be gone and you could still keep an eye out for opportunities in the manual work field.

Reading the replies, I get the impression (maybe incorrectly) that some people fear change and prefer to slightly alter the existing situation.

Having left my IT job of almost 30 years within the last year, and set up a company in a completely unrelated field. I say go do what you want in life. Life is too short to be miserable at work. We become institutionalised and fear change. We think we can’t do something due to imaginary limits and fear. You will have busy times and quiet times and so it takes a bit of getting used to no having that monthly lodgement into your bank. However, it will feel far more rewarding than your current work life. You will learn and grow as you figure out things on your own.

Believe in yourself and find happiness.

I think you misunderstood what I meant by change. Implementing change in a workplace is very different to a person changing their career.

I was very specialist in my previous job. However, like most people in IT, they build up other skills that they don’t even realise they have. Changing career is always going to be a risk, and it’s up to the OP whether that risk is better than not being happy for the rest of their working life (15 or more years). We don’t know the OP’s financial situation, but they have most likely thought about it before posting. It is always possible to go back to a role in IT if the new career isn’t as expected, or doesn’t work out.

The fact that they are thinking of changing career speaks volumes. I’ve been there, and once the thoughts are there and reaching out for others opinions has started it is a sign that the decision has probably already been made, and it is impacting their current role as they are in the process of mentally checking out. Staying in the current job, and possibly in IT won’t be good for mental health either. Encouragement with realism is a good thing, rather than reinforcing any niggling fears that are hanging around.

But is it not just a question of how the OP is at 50, but also how they will be at 55, 60 and up to 65 when their current pension kicks in?

I’d be of the opinion to go for it but with a few changes .

Spend the next 2 years planning your strategy whilst doing the current job . Set up a business plan and plan and also for employing staff to do the work when you can’t do it .
Can you afford to live with low/ little or no income for long periods . The only advantage you have and it is a little one is that you might have enough funds built up to outlast this .

My 2 cents for having worked in a very physical job for decades is we start disappearing off sites after 50 years of age. I'm lucky in that I can afford to step back, but I wouldn't recommend anyone try to transition from a mostly sedentary work place into a high activity environment after 40.

A career break for a year or two might just help put things in perspective, learn some craft skills, maybe enough to start a bespoke business that can be transitioned to as your office career winds down.

hi jack can i send you a dm?