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1. Chasing The impossible

1. Career Transition in My 50s | 

It was a reckless challenge—like throwing an egg at a rock.

A senior asian with virtually no hands-on IT experience and imperfect English, dreaming of career transition to an IT professional in Australia—just the idea itself was sheer delusion.

The decisive reason I chose Salesforce, a customer relationship management platform, as  the destination for the next journey was based on the advice of a current Salesforce developer who said Salesforce  was experiencing a surge in the revenue unmatched by any competitor with an exploding demand for skilled professionals.  



To make my dream come true, I studied so hard even during the weekend enough to taste metal in my mouth from overwork. I acquired the certifications and even gained hands-on experience through the unpaid volunteer work.


2. Frozen job market and lost hidden card

However, maybe the poor timing is a part of my destiny—just as I was preparing for employment, the economy took a downturn and the job market for Salesforce rapidly froze. The competition for employment grew fiercer. Job postings seemed to mock job seekers, demanding a minimum of two years of commercial experience even for entry-level roles.
Furthermore, the reality of employment for seniors turned out to be much tougher than expected.  The gaze toward the senior job seekers in the job market was cold. 

Still, I didn’t let go of hope. I had one hidden card left in my hand.
After going through the document screening, the online assessment, and the video interviews, I finally made it onto the merit list for the Australian Digital Traineeship Program, a recruitment initiative run by the Australian government. When a vacancy opens in a government agency, the program pulls the candidates from this talent pool and provides a one-year traineeship before offering permanent employment. But the list has an expiration date. One day, an email arrived.

 ‘The validity of my placement would end in a month.’

In other words, if there’s no contact within that time, all my efforts would evaporate and I’d return to square one.

 ' You have done your best and leave the rest to the fate.'

3. Decision 
The fate’s cruel answer after having done everything felt like a bolt from the blue. I stood there empty-handed with no return for my sweat and time. Like a sailboat lost in the vast ocean, I was adrift.

I felt anger at my own naïveté for believing in military-style slogans like 'You can do it' or  'Make it happen if it doesn’t.'
But I also wondered: 'Maybe I was just one basketful short of building a mountain.'
Still, I had to accept the reality that the senior at my age couldn’t keep taking the uncertain risks or following only my enthusiasm.  

 'The journey to become an IT professional ends here.'

I chose to stop the journey to the Salesforce eco system in order to enjoy the freedom to stop, and the right to choose the next path.

Looking back, a truth I have learned through the experience came to my mind:
'If it’s not meant to be, if fate doesn’t allow it, no amount of effort will make it happen.'
I had to accept this life lesson with humility.




And yet… my heart aches when I think of my kids. They cheered me on, paying for my Salesforce admin certification exam. They were overjoyed when I passed it on the first try. I can still picture their faces—how disappointed they’d be.  

'Kids, I’m sorry. Dad didn’t quite make it. But… the challenge will continue because 

'Our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.'

This blog was originally written in Korean by Young Hwa Son and first published on Brunch, a Korean writing platform. The link is provided below.  https://brunch.co.kr/brunchbook/heavenwarehouse


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