Changing careers as an engineer in your 30s is possible! 5 Steps to Change Jobs Explained

2024.04.29

  • Advice for Engineers
30代でエンジニア転職はできる!転職する5ステップを解説

Changing careers as an engineer in your 30s is possible! 5 Steps to Change Jobs Explained


Can an engineer in his or her thirties successfully change careers?
I'm interested in becoming an engineer, but how do I go about changing jobs?
I want to know what tips you have for a successful career change as an engineer in your 30s!

We believe that many people in their 30s may have questions about changing careers as an engineer.

If you are going to go through the trouble of changing jobs, you want to make your engineering career change a success without any difficulties.

So, in this article,

  • What 30-somethings need to know before changing careers as an engineer
  • 5 Steps for 30-somethings to become an engineer
  • 5 recommended recruitment agencies for engineers in their 30s
  • How to increase your success rate when changing jobs as an engineer in your 30s
  • Common mistakes made by engineers in their 30s

and other tips for 30-somethings to successfully change careers as engineers.

Use this article as a guide to becoming the ideal engineer.

You can change your engineering career even if you are in your 30s [no experience is required].


Many IT companies are looking for engineers in their 30s as much or more than those in their 20s.

A comparison of the number of job openings for engineers in their 20s and 30s on the major job search sites "doda," "Rikunabi NEXT," and "Mynavi Jobchange" shows that the number of job openings for engineers in their 30s is higher than that for engineers in their 20s on all three sites.
 

 

doda

Rikunabi NEXT

Mynavi Career Change

Number of jobs in 20s

6,396

2,620

1,836

Number of jobs in 30s

6,719

2,948

1,875

Quote: Search results for "20s engineers" and "30s engineers" on each site (as of 2/9/2024)

Searching for jobs by "inexperienced 20s engineers" and "inexperienced 30s engineers" on each site, the number of jobs in the 20s slightly outnumbers the number of jobs in the 30s, but there are almost the same number of jobs available.
 

 

doda

Rikunabi NEXT

Mynavi Career Change

Number of jobs in 20s

2,318

1,259

1,243

Number of jobs in 30s

2,312

1,245

1,288

Quote: Search results for "20s engineers" and "30s engineers" on each site (as of 2/9/2024)

Reference Site

What 30-somethings need to know before changing careers to become an engineer.


Here are three things you need to know before you change careers to become an engineer in your 30s
 

  • Types of Engineers
  • Advantages of becoming an engineer
  • It is more difficult for inexperienced people to change jobs compared to those in their 20s.


Let's look at each one in detail.

 

Types of Engineers

There are three main types of engineers: development engineers, infrastructure engineers, and other engineers.

Development engineers think about the system to be created, write the actual program, and build the system.

Infrastructure engineers build the infrastructure that runs the system, such as networks, servers, and cloud services.

Other engineers are mainly responsible for supporting the use of IT equipment and operating the company's systems.
 

 

Development Engineers

Infrastructure Engineer

Other Engineers

type

Systems Engineer

Web Engineer

Application Engineer

Network Engineer

Server Engineer

Cloud Engineer

Field Engineer

In-house SE

Support Engineer

Business

System design

Programming

Programming, testing, etc.

Server design

Network construction

Maintenance, operation, etc.

Support for use of IT equipment

Operation of in-house systems, etc.


Before changing careers, understand the specific types of engineers and find the right profession for you.

 

Advantages of Becoming an Engineer

The most significant advantage of becoming an engineer in your 30s is the high income.
 

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Report on the Results of a Country Comparison Survey on IT Human Resources," the average annual salary for engineers in their 30s is 5.26 million yen. In contrast, the average annual salary for engineers in their 30s is 4.47 million yen according to a survey by "doda," a major recruiting website, so the average salary for engineers is approximately 800,000 yen higher.
 

Reference: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, "Report on the Results of Country Comparison Survey on IT Human Resources" (June, 2016)

In addition, the average annual salary for engineers in their 40s and 50s is 6.46 million yen and 7.54 million yen, respectively, with the average annual salary increasing by more than 1 million yen with age. In addition, the maximum annual salary for engineers in their 30s is 12.5 million yen, and depending on their efforts, annual incomes of 10 million yen or more can be realized.

 

Changing jobs is more difficult for inexperienced engineers in their 30s compared to inexperienced engineers in their 20s

It is said that changing jobs for inexperienced engineers in their 30s is more difficult than changing jobs for inexperienced engineers in their 20s. The reason is that the skills required for a career change in one's 30s are higher than those required for a career change in one's 20s.

If you are an inexperienced engineer in your 20s, you will probably be hired based on your potential and willingness to learn rather than on your knowledge and experience.

However, engineers in their 30s are required to have skills other than engineering skills, such as past performance, management skills, and the ability to communicate smoothly with various people inside and outside the company.

IT engineers are said to be more demanding in terms of physical strength and knowledge as they get older, so much so that there is a theory that IT engineers retire at the age of 35. If two people in their 20s and 30s with similar skills come for an interview, the one in his/her 20s will be chosen without a doubt.

Therefore, if you want to become an engineer in your 30s with no experience, it is important to prepare carefully for your new job.

5 Steps for 30-somethings to become an engineer


Follow these five steps to help 30-somethings find a new job as an engineer.

  1. Research the IT industry
  2. Decide what kind of engineer you want to become.
  3. Learn programming
  4. Register with a job search site.
  5. Conduct your job search.


The following is a detailed explanation of each of these steps.

 

1. research the IT industry

When considering a career change to engineering in your 30s, it is important to first research the IT industry as a whole to understand your areas of interest and the skills required. This is because the IT industry covers a wide range of work.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there are six main areas of work involved in the IT industry
 

  • Common
  • Sier/SES
  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Telecommunication services
  • Internet


Therefore, if you become an engineer without researching the IT industry, your job may be completely different from what you imagined.
 

Quote: About IT Jobs

Select the right industry and position, taking into account your interests and strengths, to achieve a highly satisfying career change.

 

2. Decide what kind of engineer you want to become.

Once you have researched the IT industry and have an overall picture, decide on the specific type of engineer you would like to become.

We recommend that you decide on the kind of engineer you want to become by working backwards from "what you like, what you are interested in, and what you want to create.

For example,
 

  • I like games → game engineer
  • Interested in AI -> AI engineer
  • Want to create a cool website design → Web engineer
  • Want to create useful apps for people → Application Engineer


And so on.

Even if you are successful in changing careers, doing development in a field you are not interested in will lead to early career turnover.

Be sure to decide what kind of engineer you want to be so that you can be an engineer who can play an active role even after changing jobs.

 

3. learn programming

Once you have decided what kind of engineer you want to become, you will learn programming. Decide on the programming language you want to learn based on the type of engineer you want to become.

For example, let's say you want to become an "app engineer" who creates smartphone apps.

If you want to become an app engineer, you will need to learn a language to develop iOS or Android apps.

If you want to develop iOS apps, learn Swift; Swift is a language developed by Apple and is the standard for iOS app development. For Android app development, on the other hand, Kotlin is the primary language used; Kotlin is officially supported by Google and is recommended for Android app development.

 

4. register with a job transfer agent

Once you have learned some programming, please register with a recruitment agency.

Registering with a career change agent will give you access to the latest job postings, recent trends in the IT industry, and much more.

The IT industry changes quickly, and new technologies and programming languages are constantly emerging,

Especially if you want to change jobs as an engineer

It will also help you to match your hopes with the latest market demands.

In addition, by using a recruitment agent, you will receive support throughout the entire career change process, including career counseling, brushing up your resume and CV, and interview preparation.

 

5. conduct job change activities

Lastly, we will discuss job-hunting activities.

As the saying goes, "preparation is 90% of the interview.

In preparing for your job change, it is important to further deepen your self-analysis and clarify what kind of contribution you can make to the company and what kind of career you would like to build in the future. These details will help you prepare your resume and CV, as well as for interviews.

Once you have prepared for your job search on your own, ask a recruitment agent to correct your resume. Receiving expert feedback will help you create a higher level resume/resume.

Once your preparation is complete, proactively apply to companies to become the engineer of your dreams.

5 recommended recruitment agents for engineers in their 30s


The following five recruitment agents are recommended for engineers in their 30s.

 

  • United World
  • doda
  • Geekly
  • Uzcari IT
  • Mynavi IT Agent

 

Let's look at each one in detail.

 

United World

United World's specialists in the IT industry work closely with each and every one of our clients to support them in their job search.

Features of United World
1. Introducing IT companies that match your preferences
We will introduce you to companies that match your preferences by leveraging our knowledge and experience in recruiting IT companies since our establishment.

2.Immediate response and action

We realize a customer-first approach by responding to messages quickly, making phone calls when necessary, and taking immediate action via Zoom, etc., without placing a burden on job seekers.

3.Aim to increase your annual salary
Of those who have used United World to change jobs, 97% have achieved an increase in annual salary. In some cases, our agents have negotiated annual salary increases of more than 1 million yen over their previous job by negotiating on their behalf, which would have been difficult to do on their own.
 

Areas covered

Nationwide, Overseas

Type of Occupation

Engineer, SE, consultant, marketer

Management Company

United World Inc.

Citation: United World

 

doda

doda is a recruitment agency that supports job seekers with dedicated advisors for each industry and occupation.

Features of doda
1. One of the largest number of job openings in Japan
doda offers a wide variety of jobs, and as of February 10, 2024, there are 280,911 jobs available (including private jobs).

2. Job Search Procedures on Your Behalf
doda handles the submission of application documents and scheduling of interviews on your behalf, making your job search more efficient.

3. We know what kind of person the company is looking for.
We communicate directly with the company's hiring manager and use information that is not available in the job posting, such as the type of person the company is looking for and the workplace environment, to assist you.
 

Areas covered

Nationwide

Type of Occupation

Engineer, SE, PM, Designer, etc.

Management Company

personable group

Quote: doda

 

Geekly

Geekly is a recruitment agency specializing in the IT, Web and game industries.

Features of Geekly
1. Abundant experience in helping people change jobs
We provide thorough interview preparation based on data from over 75,000 interviews, and as of 2023/11, we have helped over 13,000 candidates change jobs.

2. Improving the way you work
Geekly can introduce you to companies that offer low overtime and remote/flexible work options to match your ideal work style.

3. Increase your average annual salary
Through career counseling, we can introduce you to companies that match your skills and experience, and have a track record of increasing average annual salary by 760,000 yen. (As of June 2022)
 

Areas covered

Kanto, Kansai

Type of Occupation

Engineers, creators, sales

Management Company

Geekly Inc.

Citation: Geekly

 

Workport

Workport is a recruitment agency that has received a high customer satisfaction rating for three consecutive years.

Features of Workport
1. Over 670,000 career change consultations
Our experienced career change professionals will share with you all of the know-how they have accumulated in the 20 years since the company's founding.

2. 2 types of resume and CV creation tools
You can create your resume/resume in a way that suits you, with either a tool that can be easily created on the web or a template that can be downloaded and used.

3. 43 domestic offices
From Hokkaido to Okinawa, we support job seekers throughout Japan. We can introduce you to jobs that match your preferences, including large companies, small and medium-sized companies, telecommuting, and high-income positions.
 

Areas covered

Nationwide

Type of Occupation

Various engineers, SE, PM, etc.

Management Company

Workport Co.

Citation: Workport

 

Mynavi IT Agent

Mynavi IT Agent is a job change agent ranked No. 1 in the 2023 Oricon Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Features of Mynavi IT Agent
1. High annual salary increase rate

Our IT-savvy agents offer career plans, and 73.7% of our clients have increased their annual income by changing jobs. (For those who changed jobs between 10/1/2021 and 9/30/2022)

2. Full career change support
Our dedicated IT industry advisors, who are well versed in the career change of IT and Web engineers, will support you from job introduction to joining a company.

3. Wide variety of job openings
As of 2/10/2024, we have a total of 18,134 job openings and 5,915 private job openings, so you are sure to find a position that meets your needs.
 

Areas covered

Nationwide

Type of Occupation

Engineer, SE, PM, IT consultant

Management Company

Mynavi Corporation

Quote: Mynavi IT Agent

How to increase the success rate of engineers in their 30s changing careers


The following are six ways that 30-somethings can increase their success rate in finding a new job as an engineer.
 

  • Obtain certifications
  • Accurately identify your experience and skills
  • Build up your portfolio
  • Thoroughly analyze the company
  • Be highly motivated and career-minded
  • Use a recruitment agency that specializes in the IT industry.


We will explain each of these one by one in detail.

 

Obtain a certification

To increase the success rate of your engineering career change, we recommend that you acquire qualifications that will enable you to objectively prove your skills.

For example, the following certifications are highly regarded by companies.

  • Java Silver" certification for Java, which is used in many development projects
  • Python 3 Engineer Certification Basic Exam" for the popular language Python
  • Basic Information Technology Engineer, a gateway to success for IT engineers


Having a certification also conveys your commitment to learning and willingness to learn, and can be an appealing point in an interview.

In fact, according to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 30.4% of companies cited "qualifications" as something they value when hiring mid-career permanent employees.

 

Accurately Identify Your Experience and Skills

Experience and skills are important factors for successful job change by those in their 30s.

According to the summary of the 2020 Job Seeker Survey, 66.1% of job seekers in specialized/technical jobs said they were hired for their "immediate ability to make use of experience" and 52.7% for their "specialized knowledge and abilities.
 

Reference: Summary of the 2040 Survey of Job Seekers

If you are in your 30s, management experience as a team leader and the ability to make use of your past experience will be required.

Please prepare for your new job by knowing exactly what kind of work you have done and what kind of skills you have.

 

Creating a Portfolio

A portfolio is very important when an engineer is looking for a new job.

A portfolio is a document that summarizes an engineer's skills and experience. A portfolio should focus on the projects you have worked on and the deliverables you have created.

Including original work that you have created yourself in your portfolio will help you showcase your technical skills more strongly. Document the concept, design details, implementation, and steps to completion of your work, and if possible, make the source code available on GitHub.

 

Conduct a thorough company analysis

Thorough company analysis is essential when changing jobs. This is because company analysis can prevent mismatches with companies.

Especially for engineers, if you apply to a company without thinking, you may not be able to do the kind of development you want to do.

For example, if you want to develop a smartphone application, but you apply to a company that only builds business systems or servers, you will not be able to develop the application you want.

To begin with, if you say "I want to develop an app" to a company whose main business is building business systems and servers, you will not be accepted.

Please thoroughly analyze the company and find a company that matches what you want to do and the nature of the work.

 

High Job Motivation and Career Awareness

Job motivation and career awareness are extremely important in the job search process. In fact, according to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 69.9% of companies listed "work ethic and career awareness" as important when hiring mid-career permanent employees.

While 61.4% of companies cited "communication skills," 69.9% cited "work ethic and career awareness," indicating that "work ethic and career awareness" are important in mid-career hiring of permanent employees.
 

(Citation: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, "Results of Corporate Questionnaire Survey")

Be specific, such as "I can contribute to this part of the company" or "I will grow with this kind of career plan" to convey your high motivation and career awareness to others.


Use a recruitment agency with strengths in the IT industry

If you want to increase your success rate in finding a new job as an engineer, use a recruitment agency that specializes in the IT industry.

When you work with an agency that specializes in IT, you can expect the following support
 

  • Creation of resumes and CVs based on their knowledge of the IT industry
  • Share knowledge unique to the IT industry that you need to know
  • Creating a more effective portfolio


These are just a few of the things we can do for you because of our IT industry expertise.

For example, since United World has been focusing on recruiting for tech companies since its establishment, our agents are specialists in the IT industry. We can use this knowledge to support your career change and introduce you to the best companies for you.

Common mistakes made by 30-somethings changing careers as engineers


There are three common mistakes that 30-somethings make when changing careers as engineers
 

  • Not changing jobs due to a lack of skills
  • Changing jobs without a clear idea of the kind of engineer you want to be
  • Being made a manager instead of a developer


Let's look at each one in detail.

 

Lack of skills prevents you from changing jobs.

If you lack programming skills when changing jobs as an engineer, your chances of failure increase.

Experienced engineers, in particular, are hired with the expectation that they can make an immediate impact, so programming skills are essential. In fact, when looking at jobs that are looking for experienced engineers, many positions require at least three years of development experience using programming languages such as Java, PHP, and Python.

In addition, programming skills are required even for those with no experience. A survey by Revatec Corporation found that 28.0%, or about 30%, of companies place importance on "programming skill level" in the selection process for hiring new graduate engineers.

Since programming skills are emphasized even among new graduates, those in their 30s are expected to be more skilled, even if they have no engineering experience.

 

Changing jobs without a clear idea of the kind of engineer you want to be

If you do not have a clear idea of the kind of engineer you want to be, there is a high possibility that you will not be able to change your job to become an engineer in the first place.

This is because there are so many different types of engineers that it is difficult to decide which company to apply to if you do not have a concrete image of what you want to be in the future.

In fact, the job descriptions of development engineers and infrastructure engineers differ greatly. Even among development engineers, there are many different types of work, such as web engineers, application engineers, embedded engineers, and so on.

Even if you are able to change jobs, there will be a gap between what you imagined and what you actually do, and you will probably feel that your job change was a failure.

Therefore, it is important to clarify the image of the kind of engineer you want to become and then conduct your job search.

 

Being made a manager instead of a developer

A common mistake when changing engineering jobs in one's 30s is to become a "manager" of the progress/team instead of a "developer" of the program.

Basically, engineers develop as a team. Therefore, it is essential to have a leader who is in charge of progress management, task management, and negotiations with clients.

Many companies ask engineers in their 30s to manage a team as a leader, not as a developer.

If you want to work as a developer, make sure you know what your duties will be when you change jobs.

What engineers in their 30s should check when choosing a company


There are three things that 30-somethings should check when choosing a company for their new job
 

  • Does the company have a good training program?
  • Does the company have projects that will help you acquire skills?
  • Whether or not the ideal work style is available.


Let's look at each one in detail.

 

Does the company have a good training program?

The quality of the training program is an important factor when selecting a company for a new position.

Training programs include
 

  • Post-employment programming training
  • Various types of training such as programming, database, cloud services, etc.
  • Communication and management training


and more.

Companies that offer extensive training will provide you with many opportunities for personal growth, allowing you to acquire skills that are highly marketable.

However, be wary of companies that require more than six months of initial training after you join the company. Some companies say "six months of training," but send you to an electronics retail store or call center, where you will learn engineering skills on your own from learning materials.

 

Are there projects where you can learn skills?

If you are looking for a new job as an engineer, we recommend that you move to a company that has projects where you can develop your skills.

One type of project where you can acquire skills is a project where you can develop using programming and cloud services.

In post-development testing, there is no opportunity to use programming, so you may not gain much skill as an engineer.

Many companies that have projects that allow you to develop your skills also have the following characteristics. If you are looking for a new job, check to see if the following applies to you.
 

  • Excellent learning support system
  • Large number of projects to choose from
  • You will work in a team, not alone.


Please check the skills you want to acquire and the projects you want to work on before you change jobs.

 

Can you work the way you ideally want?

When choosing a company, it is important to know if the ideal way to work is available.

For the ideal way to work,
 

  • I want to telework
  • I want to work flextime
  • I want to work a lot of overtime and earn a lot of money.


and so on.

If you change jobs without confirming your specific working style, you may end up with an unsatisfactory working style.

For example, server engineers and network engineers are responsible for physically connecting servers and networks on-site. Therefore, they would not be suitable for those who wish to telework.

Are there projects where you can learn skills?


The following three skills are required of engineers in their 30s.
 

  • Management skills
  • Flexibility and adaptability
  • Challenging spirit


Let's look at each one in detail.

 

Management Skills

Management skills are extremely important when considering a career change as an engineer in your 30s.

This is because companies hiring engineers in their 30s are looking for people with not only technical skills, but also the potential to become team leaders in the future. The engineer must be able to work individually, but also be able to work as part of a team.

Engineers may work individually, but in most cases, projects are team-based. Therefore, communication and cooperation among team members are essential.

Engineers in their 30s are often asked to perform a wide variety of management tasks, not only technical, but also project management and setting team goals.

From a company's perspective, an engineer who can not only solve technical problems but also effectively lead a team to a successful project will be highly valued.

 

Flexibility and Adaptability

Flexibility and adaptability are important because you are changing jobs in your 30s.

The reason is that changing jobs requires flexibility in dealing with a different corporate culture and adapting to a new environment. In particular, if you are an engineer with no experience, flexibility and adaptability will be even more important because your new job will be very different from the work you have done before.

While people in their 30s have skills and experience, they tend to have fixed ways of working and ways of thinking that have been formed over many years of their careers. Therefore, simply being flexible and willing to adapt to a new environment and team can differentiate you from other job applicants.

Show your flexibility and adaptability during interviews and you will be successful in your engineering career change.

 

Spirit of Challenge

Aspiring engineers in their 30s need to be willing to take on new challenges. 30-somethings already have a certain level of expertise and work experience, but it is essential for them to explore new areas for further growth and career advancement.

For example, new IT technologies include cloud services, artificial intelligence, and big data. Those who can proactively learn new technologies after joining a company will be very attractive to companies.

Developing soft skills such as project management and leadership is also important for a team-oriented position. During the interview process, please show that you are willing to take on challenges and be proactive even after joining the company.

Frequently asked questions for 30-somethings changing careers as engineers


The following four questions are frequently asked by people in their 30s who are changing careers to become engineers.
 

  • Will I be able to increase my annual salary by changing jobs?
  • Is the theory that engineers retire at 35 true?
  • How long does it take to change jobs?
  • Should I use a recruitment agent?


Let's look at each one in detail.

 

Can I change jobs and increase my annual income?

It is possible to change jobs and increase your annual salary as an engineer in your 30s. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Report on the Results of a Country Comparison Survey on IT Human Resources," the average annual salary for engineers in their 30s is 5.26 million yen, which is higher than the Japanese average.

In addition, 73.7% of the respondents used Mynavi IT Agent to increase their annual income above the amount they earned before changing jobs, or more than 70% of the respondents increased their annual income.

Of course, it cannot be said that annual income will always increase, but it is possible to increase your annual income by changing jobs as an engineer.

 

Is the 35-year-old engineer retirement theory true?

IT engineers are often told that they will retire at the age of 35 for physical and knowledge reasons. However, in reality, engineers do not retire at 35; there are many engineers in their 40s and 50s who are still working.

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Current Status of IT Human Resources," the average ages of various types of engineers are as follows.
 

  • All occupations in the IT industry: 46 years old
  • System consultants and designers 38 years old
  • Software creators 37 years old
  • Engineers 42 years old
  • Other information processing and telecommunications engineers 39 years old


The age range for all industries is above 35 years old, so it would not be a problem to be over 35 years old.

 

How long does it take to change jobs?

Generally, it is said that the job search period is 3 months.

The following is an idea of a specific job change schedule.
 

  • Research the IT industry: 1 week
  • Decide what kind of engineer you want to become: 1 week
  • Prepare for your new job (resume, CV, etc.): 2 weeks
  • Applying for jobs and interviewing: 4 weeks
  • Making a job offer and joining the company: 4 weeks


If you study programming in advance, it will take at least one to three months to learn programming. This will increase your job search period by 1 to 3 months.

Please proceed with your job search at your own pace and without strain.

 

Should I use a recruitment agent?

You should use a recruitment agent. This is because there are many advantages to using a recruitment agent.

For example
 

  • You can have your resume and CV corrected.
  • You can learn about the latest job change situation.
  • You can apply for private jobs that are not available on the Internet.


and more.

We recommend that you register with multiple recruitment agents and find the one that is right for you. We recommend that you register with multiple recruitment agents and find the one that is the best fit for you.

summary


In this article,
 

  • What 30-somethings need to know before changing careers to engineering
  • 5 steps for 30-somethings changing jobs to become engineers
  • 5 recommended recruitment agents for engineers in their 30s
  • How to increase the success rate of engineers in their 30s changing jobs
  • Common mistakes made by engineers in their 30s


are explained.

If you are in your 30s and looking to change careers to become an engineer, it is important to prepare well in advance.

Prepare your resume and CV, prepare for interviews, and take the first step toward your new job.

If you are looking to change jobs to become an engineer, we recommend registering with the recruitment agency "United World".

We will introduce you to companies that match your needs, based on our knowledge and experience in recruiting for IT companies since our establishment.

Let's work together with a recruitment agent that specializes in IT in your job search.

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