The beauty of nearing retirement is...

gundo

ajfielden said:

SouthCoastBoy said:

Another person in IT here. Personally I can't wait to retire, with technology you are always playing catch up and as you get older the more difficult it is to stay skilled. I find it very challenging and having spent 35 years in the industry, I am very much looking forward to the day I can hang up my mouse. 

Spot on. Not much call for what I was doing 25 years ago these days
And with a new web framework, programming language etc coming out every year, I get fed up trying to keep pace with it.
I've noticed they have a tendency to re-invent the wheel a lot. 

Ditto. Been working for over 30 years, since my late 20's and happy to get off the hamster wheel of learning whatever is the latest fad in System Administration/Ops this year. Everything's going into the cloud (someone else's data centre) anyway now so the future for what I did for 3 decades is dubious. When I started I had to show users how to use this new fangled device called the mouse.

cfw1994

ajfielden said:

SouthCoastBoy said:

Another person in IT here. Personally I can't wait to retire, with technology you are always playing catch up and as you get older the more difficult it is to stay skilled. I find it very challenging and having spent 35 years in the industry, I am very much looking forward to the day I can hang up my mouse. 

Spot on. Not much call for what I was doing 25 years ago these days
And with a new web framework, programming language etc coming out every year, I get fed up trying to keep pace with it.
I've noticed they have a tendency to re-invent the wheel a lot. 

"always playing catch up"....yes, new tools & techniques, everything fluffy-fluffy-cloud-based......but alternatively, I often found myself scratching my head at how little some of the youngsters really understood 🤪🤣

Ibrahim5 said:

We have the unlimited cinema passes. If we had bought them while working we would hardly have used them. They are good value when retired and able to go a lot. Air conditioning is good in this weather!

Good thinking on the a/c front!!

Must admit, we worked on our own 'home cinema' a bit - I always find the emergency lighting in the cinema REALLY irritating!   Still go occasionally, but each time I find myself cursing those glows: I prefer the room to be in total darkness, with *only* the screen providing light.

MallyGirl

gundo said:

Ditto. Been working for over 30 years, since my late 20's and happy to get off the hamster wheel of learning whatever is the latest fad in System Administration/Ops this year. Everything's going into the cloud (someone else's data centre) anyway now so the future for what I did for 3 decades is dubious. When I started I had to show users how to use this new fangled device called the mouse.

someone had to show me how to use a mouse on my first day back in 1988. Windows 1 in glorious 4 colours and no icons. Those were the days

cfw1994

gundo said:

cfw1994 said:

Enjoy the spreadsheet! 

I love a good spreadsheet! What is this spreadsheet? Can I get it too please?

You have a message!

LV_426

MallyGirl said:

someone had to show me how to use a mouse on my first day back in 1988. Windows 1 in glorious 4 colours and no icons. Those were the days

The ironic thing is, despite all the technological advances, everything is arguably no quicker.
That's because we've piled layers upon layers of frameworks, management overhead, containers and god knows what. So you need 10x more memory and other computing resources to run the stuff. You've got to laugh  

Notepad_Phil

ajfielden said:

MallyGirl said:

someone had to show me how to use a mouse on my first day back in 1988. Windows 1 in glorious 4 colours and no icons. Those were the days

The ironic thing is, despite all the technological advances, everything is arguably no quicker.
That's because we've piled layers upon layers of frameworks, management overhead, containers and god knows what. So you need 10x more memory and other computing resources to run the stuff. You've got to laugh  

My first job after leaving University involved support on a computer that ran on 256Kb (yes a quarter of 1Mb), supported 20+ users linked in via dedicated cables, and had a gigantuan 20Mb disk to meet all of the needs of the computer itself and the data used by those 20 users. Very rich clients could have a computer with 4Mb of memory and 256Mb disk capacity, but they needed to be rich to afford the dedicated rooms that such computers required.

LV_426

Notepad_Phil said:

ajfielden said:

MallyGirl said:

someone had to show me how to use a mouse on my first day back in 1988. Windows 1 in glorious 4 colours and no icons. Those were the days

The ironic thing is, despite all the technological advances, everything is arguably no quicker.
That's because we've piled layers upon layers of frameworks, management overhead, containers and god knows what. So you need 10x more memory and other computing resources to run the stuff. You've got to laugh  

My first job after leaving University involved support on a computer that ran on 256Kb (yes a quarter of 1Mb), supported 20+ users linked in via dedicated cables, and had a gigantuan 20Mb disk to meet all of the needs of the computer itself and the data used by those 20 users. Very rich clients could have a computer with 4Mb of memory and 256Mb disk capacity, but they needed to be rich to afford the dedicated rooms that such computers required.

I love reminiscing about the old days. My first job after graduating was with AT&T UK. They had an Amdahl 5890 mainframe, and I forget the stats but it was paltry by today's standards. That machine filled a big room, with rows of disk cabinets, and these huge washing machine style removable platters. Made quite a noise. But I loved it! The privilege of being super user, and the power to delete any files at will. Yeah you could do some damage if you weren't careful
But that machine had presence. You actually felt like you were controlling something big and important.
Compare that today, where you don't even see the hardware, it's all cloud.
<sniff!> I miss desktop apps.
I've seen it evolve from mainframe, to desktop, to cloud, all in the space of my career. What's next?

ms_dhoni

I am 37, in IT and long way off my retirement, I will endure lot of what you lot went through
I am not sure when I want to retire but watching this thread and forum with interest to learn things from people.

ex-pat_scot

Similar in professional services. Change is the only constant. Most of it is for appearances' sake.
Stick around long enough, and the thinking returns in a circular pattern.

Technologies change. Approaches change.
Watch. Be curious and open to learn. Be selective in adopting some of the new "flavour of the month" ideas, because many of them will take off, just as some willl wither.
Frankly it is the curiosity (the so-called "growth mindset") that is key to staying current and afloat on the tide of change and progress.
it becomes a problem if you step off. You will be perceived to be obsolete quite quickly.

cfw1994

ex-pat_scot said:

<true stuff>
it becomes a problem if you step off. You will be perceived to be obsolete quite quickly.

I welcome that obsolescence with open arms!
Although I am personally keenly interested in gadgets & broader tech, so will keep myself as up to date as I want to be.
Stay curious!