Work and Retirement

[William]

William: On a personal note, I just wanted to say that you're one of the smartest people I know. You could be doing software development or working in cybersecurity and make $80-120,000 per year or more! You might need a bit more education (not sure of your background) or certifications but you're as smart as I wish I was. Don't sell yourself short and get a job, nay a career, that is worthy of your talent.

Bill: Sorry I hijacked your topic!

Starting new thread...

Before Covid, I was looking for "after school" part-time job (5pm-10pm) near work.  I found that they were reluctant to hire a part-timer who is more qualified than they are, even though I told them I don't want promotion or pay raise.  Also, I was competing with students from Seneca College nearby.  Money wise, it's zero-sum game.  The extra income would go to 407 ($50/day).  More tax, but also more RRSP room.  It just that I hate sitting in rush hour traffic making no money.  Of course, Covid killed that.

(1) Now, for prospect in "cybersecurity"...  Most companies outsource it.  So, you have to work for those vendors.  There aren't too many vendors, and there aren't too many positions in them either.  Because of remote working, you are competing with more people from more places around the world.  Of course, if you find a job in that field, then good.  But, it's niche market.

(2) For prospect in "software development"...  Most of activities are in "platform app", eg. iOS, Android, Windows app for some client who pays for the app.  Say, app for some bank, or app for some retail store, or app for some POS vendor, etc.  You might say, because you have to deal with clients, there would be natural barrier to global competition.  True, but the threshold is decreasing.  Now, you can have virtual meeting with people around the world.  And, they can type faster than you.

To work after retirement, you have to be "self-employed".  Still looking...

[Jason]

Money wise, it's zero-sum game.  The extra income would go to 407 ($50/day).  More tax, but also more RRSP room.  It just that I hate sitting in rush hour traffic making no money.

Get a remote job and work from home. You'd be surprised how many of those there are. I'd love if cod3poet posted more. He's worked in a few remote jobs. Or at least find a job where you don't have to commute.

(1) Now, for prospect in "cybersecurity"...  Most companies outsource it. But, it's niche market.

A lot of companies don't outsource it. Have you checked on Indeed and applied for a few? If you don't have the training, government can help with that. Everything that pays well is a niche market unless it's in education, civil service or other public jobs. You just have to find your niche. I'll admit finding a part-time job is very hard in IT, though. It's what I want, because I'm a caregiver, but most want you full-time.

For prospect in "software development"...  Most of activities are in "platform app", eg. iOS, Android, Windows app for some client who pays for the app.  Say, app for some bank, or app for some retail store, or app for some POS vendor, etc.  You might say, because you have to deal with clients, there would be natural barrier to global competition.  True, but the threshold is decreasing.  Now, you can have virtual meeting with people around the world.  And, they can type faster than you.

As in pure apps, there might be more of those being developed. But you can't do everything you can do in a niche app. And you're also thinking consumer facing. A lot of software development is specifically for businesses. I don't mean by businesses for consumers. I mean software that businesses specifically use. There is more software jobs than people who can fill them and there has been for years. Typing fast doesn't really matter. Because most software development isn't typing code. It'd spent debugging. I see constant ads for programming jobs. But they're definitely niche. If you're willing to live in another city, even in Canada, you can find development jobs. If you need experience, write something, give it away for free. It doesn't have to be anything fancy but you can point at it and say, "I wrote that."

To work after retirement, you have to be "self-employed".  Still looking...

Did you mean to say "to not work after retirement"? But self-employment could work out the best if you have ideas for software applications or apps. You don't need to get rich. You just need to have a comfortable middle class income, right? Maybe you'd prefer rich. Wouldn't we all?

But I'm no expert. Have you talked to a career counsellor? I don't think you have to be unemployed to use their services (for free). They can help you find jobs you might not even be aware exist. Some companies go through them to find suitable people instead of doing job ads.

[William]

Typing fast doesn't really matter.

It does.  This single skill speaks more about you than any other skills, because it takes years of practice to type.

Did you mean to say "to not work after retirement"?

No, to work after retirement.  That's what I have to do.

[Jason]

It does.  This single skill speaks more about you than any other skills, because it takes years of practice to type.
No, to work after retirement.  That's what I have to do.

You can continue to make some income after the age of 65 and still collect CPP. There are lots of people that do either because they have to make ends meet or because they want to because they need to feel useful. Some people go downhill (and not skiing) after retiring because work was pretty much their life.

[Jason]

I thought this article was interesting. Regardless of who employs the cybersecurity experts, there will be a growing need for them.

It says:

"A June 2017 report from Cybersecurity Ventures is projecting 3.5 million unfilled cyber jobs within the next four years. Veteran investor Jim Rogers and academic Robert Craig Baum opined in Fortune last month that higher educationââ,¬â,,¢s continued failure to provide a skills-ready workforce ââ,¬Å"will likely burst with the force of all previous catastrophes combined ââ,¬â€ a shock wave so sudden, so large, that it gathers the full force of the savings and loan, insurance, energy, tech, and mortgage crashes, creating a blockbuster-level perfect storm.ââ,¬Â

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/the-us-is-upping-its-game-against-cyber-attacks-but-the-security-industry-faces-a-huge-challenge

Even for the US, that number is astounding. Note, it's not total jobs in the industry, it's how many will go unfilled. There's a lot of IT positions that are also going unfilled but the need for cyber security experts will continue to grow faster. It's impossible to keep up with the amount of cyber attacks in the news and they're only growing more frequent and of higher impact. And you don't need a university degree to get into cyber security, either. Certification is the most important thing.

[cod3poet]

My beard is getting greyer by the minute. Teach, mentor, share, coach. If you can talk then typing speed does not matter.

Makes for remote as well, I had just mentioned in another thread 7+ years here. 100% remote, learning, working, thriving. And also struggling to fit in and trying to find a proper path. Its a slight bit of B.S. but it holds some truth sharks keep swimming to breathe when they stop they die.

It's 100% B.S. but if you are hungry, and have that drive to still want to do. ANYTHING then do the act itself can be a reward. Cash is good, remote cash is better, part time remote cash is possible. Part time remote development / cybersecurity cash is possible.

Feel free to reach out / Direct message I'd be happy to help.

[Jason]

Thanks, Brian. I may just do that. Is your job still remote? That's what I'm hoping to snag. But my background mainly involves personal use of computers so it's hard to say I have much IT "experience".