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bdandersen
bdandersen
Contributor ⭐
January 29, 2025

Pursuing education while seeking employment

  • January 29, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 6360 views
Hi, everyone --
 
I'm among those affected by the federal government's decisions to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.  Admittedly, I've viewed my role as one that might be better merged with others, so none of this is a surprise.  I'm not upset; rather, I see the decisions associated with my specific situation as making business sense.
 
But I'm 57, and have no desire to slow down.  Toward the end of last year, I chose to return to graduate school and obtain a master's degree in computer science.  However, while doing so I would also like to continue working professionally in some part-time or freelance capacity to remain cash flow positive.
 
I'm facing a couple of challenges:
 
  • First, while I'm engaged in studies I'm seeking a type of work that is outside of conventional, full-time W-2 employment
  • Second, I'm competing in a difficult job market with much younger talent who often are at a different stage in life
 
I'm sure others have been in similar situations; that is, pursuing additional education later in life while remaining employed (or seeking employment) in one's profession.  Is anyone willing to share how they've successfully navigated the terrain, networked with others sympathetic to the cause, found the work, etc.?
 
Thanks in advance,
 
Brad

    3 replies

    WebWiseWoman
    WebWiseWoman
    Community Champion ⭐⭐⭐
    January 29, 2025

    Hi, BD!

     

    Hopefully reports for 7 months severance pay will be true so that should help? As an IT person before it was labeled "IT", I suggest picking a programming language (e.g.. web-design, security, factual research), then move forward from that; offer service to industries that need that specific language

      SummerOnTheWay1
      SummerOnTheWay1
      May 13, 2025

      [Tuesday 5/13/25]

       

      @bdandersen , any UPDATES to share with us?  🤔

       

      ➡️[*** YOU WROTE: Is anyone willing to share how they've successfully navigated the terrain, networked with others sympathetic to the cause, found the work, etc.?

       

      Take care,

      Nicole  💼  (Job Forum)

      bdandersen
      bdandersenAuthor
      Contributor ⭐
      May 17, 2025

      Sure!  Here are my current thoughts and my trajectory:

       

      Hiring has atrophied

       

      My experience suggests that many employers have either slowed or stopped hiring. The number of open job requisitions, at least in the technical sector, has shrunk. I suspect that this is largely a reaction to current economic instability, and the lack of a firm financial foundation upon which businesses can budget and plan.

       

      Artificial intelligence -- specifically large language models -- is displacing traditional white collar work

       

      Nowhere is this job loss more evident than among software engineering. Tasks that defined my roles since beginning my career as a software engineer with IBM in 1990 -- writing and testing code, reviewing others' code for errors, fixing bugs -- are among those most easily performed by A.I.

       

      Past skills lack value

       

      The marginal value of skills upon which I built my livelihood has diminished to near zero. My competition in the job market is no longer human, but digital and electronic. To businesses, LLMs are far faster, more accurate and tireless when compared to me. Not accepting my professional irrelevance is naïve, short-sighted and dangerous.

       

      None of this is preventing me from moving forward; as I mentioned before, I believe I have a long runway toward traditional retirement.

       

      I've turned much of my focus away from seeking employment, and instead am investing energies into reskilling to meet changes in society, technology and the economy. I'm enrolled fulltime pursuing a master's in computer science from the University of Colorado Boulder, concentrating upon machine learning (and with this, statistics and probability). I suspect that the humans that will be most valuable will be those with a firm grasp on how the proverbial sausage is made.

       

      All of that said, I'm always open to a gig where I can be helpful and (as a graduate student) make a little money on the side!

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