I'm 49 and recently quit my job as a mortgage underwriter to take MCSE 2000 training (CD ROM-based) full time.
I had been in mortgages for about nine years and had reached the point that I utterly loathed the idea of going to work and facing yet another day dealing with brokers and loan officers who want me to suspend reality in order to get their deals through.
Before mortgages, I had a 22-year career in the U.S. Navy in telecommunications and cryptologic operations.
I'm now at a point in my life that I will not accept anything that does not satisfy me. I think those of us clustered around the 50-year mark are usually more financially established and ascribe more importance to satisfaction with life (a part of which is our job/career) than might a younger person. (Please understand I'm necessarily speaking in broad-brush terms here.)
I am not certain that being an MCSE -- I actually want to become an MCT and teach -- will be my final career move. But it doesn't matter. I think the point to remember about "mid-life MCSE's" is that they have the freedom to make those kind of choices and take action to better their lives.
And I'll declare I'm "middle-aged" somewhere around age 80, not before.

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Sherman,

I also am 49 and share essentially the same feelings. I have been in the same job or at least the same company for 29 years. Have been a field engineer for large laser printers ( the ones that connect to mainframes and are used by financial institutions to merge variable data into monthly statement forms.) The pressure and the need to be able to respond 24 hours/seven days a week tends to wear on a person. I got out of that into a less intense environment.

I wonder if being a network administer for a large network wouldn't be just as demanding. Either way, if the system doesn't function, the people who are paying the bills want it fixed.. NOW!

I like your idea of teaching. A retired Air Force guy I met on the Network+ forum has just started teaching networking classes at a local college where he lives. That sounds much better than getting called out all hours of the night and holidays to solve these very challenging technical problems.

As for me, I like programming and web site development and will probably work in that direction.

I wouldn't think there would be a big demand for fifty year olds who are trying to start new careers. But in the IT world, maybe the shortage of people with the needed qualifications is enough to make employers set their desire for young people aside and give us old folks a chance. When I was young and my son was just born, my wife and I got up early in the morning and delivered newspapers. One of us stayed in the car with the baby and the other delivered the papers. Then I went to work and my wife stayed home with our son.

I've noticed younger people who come into my field. If their baby sitter is unavailable or they have maintenance problems around the house, they just stay home and expect to be paided anyway. We had to put our job/career first and make other arrangements for dealing with our personal problems.

But for some reason, management is hungry for younger people and us middle aged folks need to try to prove we can cut it. Anyway, we already know we can cut it and like you, I can be selective in what I do. Still need to work, but I can now afford to look for something I like.

Good luck,

BobR

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I'm 54 and completed my MCSE in May. I have since completed an A+ in July.
I was a machinist for 29 years and have been a CNC programmer for nearly 4 more. I have recently interviewed for a manufacturing engineer and am applying for a CNC supervisor position, an MCSE gets noticed on a resume.
I posted an HTML resume @ dice.com for systems engineer, CNC programmer or manufacturing engineer, but seem to get more bites on monster.com and headhunter.net.
Unemployment is under 4% here, so I think something will come along.
Best of luck you guys,

Gene

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Hi there.

I go to school with students are in the 45 to 50 year old range. They have the same fears about finding work that you do, and I'm going to tell you what I tell them.

I feel that middle aged MCSE's offer life experience and maturity to their postions. If I was an employer, I would not hire the 22 year old because they were 22, I would hire the person who was most qualified for the job, and I would take maturity into consideration, because I wouldn't want to hire a pompous kid who thought they knew everything. I would want to hire the person with maturity, knowledge, and the person who demonstrated an ability and desire to learn.

For a mature person to go back to school, requires a strong commitment. They've been in the work force long enough to know what they want to do.

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Sincerely,
Paisleyskye
Best wishes and peace to all!!!

(MOUS WORD97 and EXCEL97, A+ Certified, 93.3% on Networking Essentials)

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