Career change ideas

[DT4K]

I've been doing software development for 8 years now and I'm thinking about a change for two reasons. One, I want to make more money and two, I just don't want to write, test, or support software anymore.
I've got a wife and kids, so going back to school full time or completely switching fields and starting at the bottom of the income ladder isn't an option. At this point, I'm not really sure what I want to do, so I'm just exploring possibilities.

I figured you guys might have some ideas I hadn't thought about.

I've considered an MBA or law school (though I'm not sure how feasible part time law school is), but I'd love to hear other suggestions.

 

[DT4K]

Anyone with ideas?

 

[invidia]

What's your undergrad degree?

Professional school is the only answer for not starting on the bottom of the income ladder. Ever thought about patent law?

 

[acheron]

my wife went to law school in the evening while working up to 30 hours/wk at the same time. it's tough but possible if you have a good work ethic. (i would not have been able to do it, even if i was inclined towards law.) i will caution that the job market for lawyers currently sucks horribly, and yet there is record enrollment in law schools. if you go now, there are going to be a lot of other lawyers graduating at the same time as you, into a market that may not really need all of them (even if the job market recovers by then, you're going to have a lot of competition from people you went to school with as well as the more experienced people who were laid off this year and while you were at school.)

i'm getting a little tired of software development too, my planned solution is to have kids and stay home with them while my wife the lawyer works.

 

[DT4K]

My undergrad is in CS. All my experience is in MS development (VB6, VB.Net, C#, SQL Server). Most of it has been in a manufacturing environment, with one year in the middle spent at a small software company(30 employees, but growing rapidly and very successful). In terms of job satisfaction and interest, I definitely preferred the software company. But I ended up trading that excitement for a more boring job with much better pay and benefits.

I do enjoy tech and my preference would be to work for some kind of tech company. I just don't want to be a developer anymore.

That's why I was thinking an MBA might be a good way to move more to the business side and eventually get into an upper management/leadership position, possibly for a software company or another tech related company.

If I did something like law, I definitely don't see myself in criminal law. I was thinking more along the lines of corporate law, maybe working as counsel for Microsoft or Intel or something similar.

 

[acheron]

If you're interested in management, I think the MBA is probably a good way to go.

 

[nakedfrog]

Two words, dude: Ultimate Fighting.

 

[TallBill]

College Professor

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Are you at the bottom of the pile still? You should have some project lead experience by now.

 

[Aharami]

if you're interested in staying with the same company but just moving over to the business analyst side, see if your company will reimburse you for tuition. most large corporations have something like this

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
Are you at the bottom of the pile still? You should have some project lead experience by now.

Well, I have Senior in my title and my income has gone up pretty regularly, so I wouldn't say I'm at the bottom in that regard. But I'm still a developer. When there are only 2 or 3 developers and no analysts or architects, and there are dozens of small projects going on at any one time, there really isn't much opportunity to "lead" a project. Most of the work is either solo development or a partnership between 2 developers. So I've lead projects, it's just that I was basically the only one working on them. At least that's how it's been for me, working in a manufacturing company on a small IT team.

My company did offer reimbursement, but it's on hold for the time being. I'm also not sure what they require in terms of a commitment to stay with the company. If I do end up getting a graduate degree, I'd like to have my options open when I'm done.

 

[acheron]

I've worked at both a small company and a huge company that offered tuition reimbursement -- in both places, you had to work there for a year afterwards, if you quit sooner than that you had to pay them back. Not really a big deal, but something you have to take into account.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Two words, dude: Ultimate Fighting.

LOL...awesome idea.

On a serious note...I think MBA or law school are your two best options. Either way, I'd say try to get into the best one you can...take the huge loan out. Believe me...it will work itself out in the long run if really put the effort in. My buddy did software development for 5+ years, got his MBA from Kellogg and is now working for what is likely the premier Management Consulting company in the world. He definitely does not regret it one bit.