Another career one - has anyone left IT for another career?

[CareerChangeNC]

I'm really stuck and going round in circles so desperate for any help or ideas no matter how radical.

Also if anyone has experience of changing career in other areas but has tips on how they went about it, that would be brilliant too.

I've worked in IT for over 20 years and I've lost all interest in it - I'm finding it boring and repetitive and absolutely don't want to spend the next 20ish years doing anything like what I'm doing now. I'm also hating corporate life and the politics and being stuck behind a desk all day.

But it's all I know, so I'm clueless about what I could move into that I might enjoy. When I think back to when I was young - I loved Maths and was v good at it and picked IT because I loved solving problems and knew job security was good. I've also been told I've got excellent presentation skills. But I think I'm a classic introvert; I don't do well when I'm put on the spot and prefer time to go off and do analysis/prepare in the background - I also struggle in big groups so I've given strong consideration to teaching but don't really think I'd have the temperament for it on a regular basis. I also don't think I'm an 'ideas' person - I prefer fixing things rather than designing something brand new.

I'm lucky in that I have some leftover money from a redundancy a few years ago, so I could retrain if required. But I also can't afford to make a mistake and end up just as miserable but starting at the bottom again. I'm very scared of changing but I'm more scared of being this unhappy for the rest of my life.

I know this is a bit of unique one (most people seem to change into IT) but I'll be grateful for any help/thoughts.

Have you considered Accountancy. Not that I know anything about it but you mentioned maths, analysis and solving problems.

I work in IT and spent years as a programmer. About 13 years ago I made the move to Technical Consultancy (employed, not freelance). I work on the implementation side, but no two implementations are the same. My programming skills have paid dividends, but I don't do it every day, or even every week, but keep my skills and knowledge current in that area.

I'd never go back to development as my main role anymore (unless I had to) and consultancy is far better paid than development.

May be worth looking into another area of IT?

Thanks Hello and Phil for replyingthese are v helpful ideas.

It's interesting because Accountancy was my second choice when I was young - but now I just wonder if I'm a bit too late to start, but I will do some digging.

Also in terms of consultancy - the company I currently work in actually has a consulting division but they always seem super stressed and the staff turnover is huge. But it's also something I've been thinking about in terms of moving to a different part of IT. More research required....

Happy to chat if it would help. I’m a career coach - can give you a free half hour to help you explore your options. Just drop me a PM if it’s something you’d like - no worries if not.