Old guy considering computers as his "second act" Yes or No?

After I received my associates in liberal arts I have been:
A musician, a carpenter/painter (handyman), personal trainer, stock broker, and a day trader. I’m going to be 40 soon and feel that I've always had a job, but never a career. Now I plan do go back to school and get a degree in a field I can work in until retirement.
Computers have always interested me and as of right now I am leaning towards a degree in that field (CS,CIS). I have gotten allot of feedback from friends, co-workers, and associates about my decision. Half of them think it's a great idea with a future in it, the other half say I would be trying to get into a field with allot of competition/unemployment. There also is concern about my age and getting a job in a field so rich in youth.

I've been visiting this site for a while and find allot of worthwhile opinions here. So what do you guys think?

Thanks

as long as you are computer literate then a job in IT should be great...

btw, welcome!

There is a lot of competition and unemployment among tech workers at the moment, but that won't last forever. The age thing might make people pause, since they tend to associate good skills with young "geek" types. However, if you've got what it takes and can show it, you'll be fine. That's the biggest issue in getting an IT type job: be a good programmer in a couple useful languages and everything else is less important. The fact you've had other jobs and a more rounded background could even be a plus, as it could indicate good people skills and maturity. Good luck!

What type of stuff are you looking at doing? Programming, DBA, sysadmin, networking, design, etc?

Honestly, I'd say the tech industry is still in a state of flux. Entry level - medium level wages are down quite a bit as it's a buyer's market for tech people, and currently the biggest thing you can have going for you right now is experience.

I won't kid you, unless things change it's going to be rough at first to find a job, however if you can get one and hold onto it, it can also be very rewarding. Perhaps your previous experience in non-tech areas may be able to help you though, as you may be able to find tech jobs where you'll have intimate knowledge of that specific industry.

As long as you have realistic expectations and are willing to put in the work I think you'll be fine. The biggest thing is to enjoy what you do.

-b

I feel the most important thing is that you really enjoy whatever
it is that you will be doing. Not only will this make you a better
employee/boss/owner, but it will certainly show in your product and
that is most important.

Give it a try for a few weeks, see how you like it, then make your decision. Who knows, maybe you're a natural! So don't let the job market or your age discourage you.

I have a friend who's been at Motorola for fourteen years. He's had about every computer job you can think of and his advice was to get into sysadmin. He also told me to avoid programming as it's all being outsourced