considering a career change into IT. in my 60s??

At 63, I'd say your chances of getting an entry level job are slim - at best.

Is there are CE scheme in the area which supports older people to use technology? Or can you convince an existing CE scheme to branch out and start doing that? If you really want to get into the field, then I'd say this would be your best bet: You could use the initial courses as your placement training component - and hopefully pick up side jobs as well as keeping your benefit and getting the scheme allowance.

Horrible to say but true. Computing takes the best and spits them out at 35. It has to do with how fast your brain can learn. Very few are networking or programming past 40. They most graduate to management, HR, sales, training ...... etc etc. Yes there are the odd few. All the ones in Cyber security are retired shortly after 40 (they got their pensions and investments sorted early). My friend recruits for cyber security.

The great thing about computing is you can get certified really quickly unlike science like I am in. There are also a load of IT lay offs. Age discrimination is rampant right across industry.

Can I ask, what is your long term goal? You are 63, so retirement age is in 2 years time.

My first technology based job was in tech support in a call centre, providing over the phone tech advice for broadband issues.

Pros:

• I met some amazing people, some are still friends to this day, despite it being 23 years ago
• I acquired some useful skills
• I got a letter of commendation from Sir Christopher Bland, then CEO of British Telecom

Cons:

• It is a seriously stressful environment
• The money is lousy
• The next job I got after doing tech support was based more so on the additional upskilling and learning I had done outside of the job, as opposed to the work I had been doing.

I know first hand how difficult the job market is at the moment. You didn't mention what you were working at, but I would say you need to have a genuine interest in IT to get anywhere with it. If you don't, it would be like me getting a job as a tax advisor*. It would feel more arduous for me, and I'd never really progress.

*Something I'd have no interest in going the extra mile for and learning additional stuff.

Kahli?

I regret not buying a few bitcoins back around 2008, but the people I know who did, sold them far too early and are still working away.

I also regret not starting my retirement fund sooner. As it currently stands, assuming I retire at 65 and die at 85, there is enough in my pension pot to buy 2 pot noodles a day for the rest of my life. And thats it.

My question was what his long term plan was. He is due to retire in 2 years time.

Yeah Kali linux or it was all the rage when they were talking about it.

Ahhh well these lads were in the top 2% of the class. One of the lads was doing IT support at home for a few years and night time IT support for the US market. The lads had private pensions, had the company paying for every course up grade. They sat at the smart table at college, saying they they always included people but not everyone got them.

OK well good for them that tiny miniscule percentage point of the overall cybersecurity community. It certainly is not the norm.

Like I said they were in the top two percent of the class and tapped into higher trains of thought.

Good question. There is a sense of trying to fatten the pig on the way to the fair. Its a bit of too little too late to start a new career. Very few start new career after their 30s in completely new fields.

Finance or computing being two of the easiest relative to a trade or medicine.

Its a new skillset and a new job, so yeah its a new career as the Op is not full time employed. Careers in IT are more young hires. Let me guess all the career changers went into business they either knew about or were easy to pick up like estate agent/landlord, baker, light carpentry, or landscaper or photograher.

There is a reason older people dont pick up IT, because it is designed to be learned by a young active mind. It will be hard to get work experience.

Go for it OP…everywhere always looking for 1st line tech support, some posters here waffling on about high-end developers cashing out, like wtf?

Now you see what I mean. A comany arent going to get their mentoring back in two short years.

They (what color is your parachute) say the latest time you should consider a career change is 45-47 ish. It allows the company to retrain you, recoupe your time investment and develop.

I would suggest instead looking at a parallel field. Example seen a male nurse bullied out of his job went and retrained for councellor. He went from physically and mentally unhappy to getting a new career with less hours and more money.

I understand unemployment is a massive shock. One of the best places to start would be you ETB and what color is my parachute? Now you do nt have to read it all just the first few chapters and your relevent industry chapters.

My wife retrained as a hairdresser, took almost a year but then she changed jobs a year afterwars. She still does a bit of hairdressing on the side.

"Very few are networking or programming past 40"

I did not say everyone. There are a few HFAs that can do it beyond 35 and that is programming /high level networks. Hence it appears a young industry. That first few years Certification that the company either pays for or refunds, the company gets that back, else what would be the point of taking on someone.