FYI: Adios

[flyguille]

I was in the same boat - a dinosaur. In my case, I worked for a company that did contracts for the government. So I had active clearances and there are special resources (job sites) for people with clearances. That was my only true advantage because I wasn't fluent in any other language. However, I was familiar with a few other languages.

Recommend building a resume and describe the languages/tools you are familiar with, i.e., Visual Basic (specify if also .Net), XML, HTML, SQL, JSON, Python, MS Office, etc. There are many examples of "programmer" resumes out there. It is important to fudge a bit on the resume (but not outright lying) so that people will look at it. Once you have a resume, post it on job sites used by recruiters; google if needed. Recruiters will contact you. I gave myself 2 months to wait on recruiters contacting me. Then the plan was to go out and actively apply for specific positions. While waiting on recruiters, I was still looking for specific jobs, but not focusing on that. Messing with recruiters gives you a bit of practice "interviewing" since you've been out of that for awhile. Several different recruiters contacted me each week.

In my case, the recruiter for the position I was hired made contact with me about one month in. At first, I turned down the job because I felt I wasn't qualified for what the job listed as "required" skills. I then got calls from the company and had a few interviews. I explained I was not familiar with the languages they needed and they would need to convince me that I was a fit for the job. They did that. They explained they were really wanting someone that was a leader, can adapt, can learn quickly, etc. It ended up the required skills weren't really required for the position after all -- that isn't too uncommon. I also emphasized that I would need ramp-up time for any new languages, but promised I'd be effective (not fluent) in a matter of a few weeks.

The salary was a huge plus, about a 20% increase from what I was currently making. That was offered first so I didn't even try to haggle; plan on keeping job for 5-10 years at most; then retire. I was also willing to relocate if needed and that can be attractive when recruiters talk to you. Relocation isn't always an option for many people. But I spent 20 years in the military and packing up & moving is something I was comfortable with. I was 90% truthful to the recruiters and 100% truthful during any interviews.

And just FYI. The entire process was 100% virtual. Interviews were via phone and video. It is vitally important you make a good impression, don't give them any reason to doubt your sincerity. The only time I actually met my employers in person was when I went to their office to sign the paperwork -- COVID changed things a bit.

Dedicating ourselves to one major language is an obstacle. But another obstacle is self-imposed: thinking we are dinosaurs. We have experience, we adapt, and old dogs can learn new tricks.

Many of the high paying jobs were focusing on "big data" via java and/or python; just more FYI.

My CV is on a well known IT contacting website, I have several contact attemp from recruiters per month, but, I ignore them, because I feel most of it come from those freelance networks, or just scams losing my time, looking for "south american (where I am, Argentina) cheap wasteable programmers". So, I continue in my own boat, and have trusting problems to work for someone else.