Yep, I have/am currently on the tail end of having done so. I generally work in construction because there is basically no i.t work in my region and where I liv

Yep, I have/am currently on the tail end of having done so. I generally work in construction because there is basically no i.t work in my region and where I live has some of the highest unemployment in Aus. Last year in June I got hired by IBM to work as a hardware technician in the region I live in (Ive been trying to get into i.t for roughly a decade, I'm all self taught but it's my passion). I took roughly a 50% cut to the pay I earn in construction in order to work for IBM. It put me on a pay less than the mean and median wage of Australian workers, about 45k a year. Despite the incredibly low wage it was hands down the best work experience I've ever had. It's the third company in a decade of work that didn't try and screw me over as an employee by either stealing wages/underpaying me or making me do illegal shit. Construction is rife with that. It was like a breath of fresh air for my attitudes towards work. Then a month and a half ago, IBM gave me notice of redundancy. Friday was my last day on the books. I've been battling some pretty crippling depression/stress since I was given notice. Having a job I'd literally been chasing for a decade ripped out from under me was like being stabbed in the guts. I spent my first week waking up between 2 and 4am dry wretching and wanting to throw up. It took about 3 weeks to get over it. Now I'm unemployed, but grateful for the experience. It's just a pity I'm probably never going to get back into I.T, jobs are rare as hens teeth here and I have bills to pay. Life outlook isn't that great post this experience, there isn't much of a future when your 30 in construction but don't have an actual trade. But eh onwards and upwards right?