Am a newbie here so please help?...

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Hi all have had a wander around this site after joining today and hopefully this is the right forum....

I have been a mototrcycle tech for nine years
I have no qualifications in IT
Have been 'playing with' PC's for years now and have some understanding of them (a little)
I am currently unemployed due to an altercation with my previous boss
I wish to move into IT due not in whole but in part to it's potentially lucrative salaries
I need advice as to which training companies are worth using
I have been to Cerco, UK IT Training, Microsoft Campus, Joskos and Computeach.
I was underimpressed and don't know what to do now.
I am also skint..
Please help!!!!!!!

 

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Hi there Bogster, welcome.

Ok, firstly don't be attracted to IT based on the promise of a big salary. It just doesn't happen. people who work in IT earn a 'normal' wage. Not mega bucks! You get the odd few who will earn 'big' money, but these people are the best at what they do and have been in IT for a very long time.

You're skint, buy some books and train yourself. Thats how many people do it. The A+ is the suggested starting point for your IT certification, as it will give you the fundamentals that you will need to progress in your career.

Take a look around our forums and I'm sure you will find that you questions have been asked, and answered before.

 

Thanks very much! I have actually wanted to get into IT for quite along time but had fallen into the "I'm comfortable where I am" trap and given that my previous occupation ceiling limit (which I achieved) is around £24,000 more than that seems quite alot indeed..
My biggest problem is that even with training myself and qualifying I will still have no experience of working in the field. What I need is a very entry level job so I can earn and learn. I realise my age may count against me (i'm 34)... In reality does this ever happen?
Sorry if I didn't look hard enough for previous threads on this subject am looking now!

 

indeed. don't expect a quick solution or an easy entry to a lot of cash. be prepared to make a lot of sacrifices in time (including quality time outside normal office hours) and money. you have to sow before you can reap. yes, a more than decent salary may (or may even not!) await you in the end, but that can take years, and even then the sacrifices don't end there.

 

Bogster, I've wasted a few grand with training companies in the past. My advice is to self study for the A+ with the myers book, I also found it useful to buy a cheap pc from ebay that I could take apart etc. You should be able to get the A+ done in a few months of hard study. It not only gives you a good basic knowledge but can help you decide which direction to go in. I spent 3 grand with computeach learning how to program on Java. I've passed, but to be honest I'm a pretty average programmer and discovered the hard way that it's not what I want to do.

There are lots of threads on here about getting your first IT job, the gist is that it's really really really tough, but not impossible. I think one of the guys set up a website on the subject, hopefully someone else will post a link to it. I wouldn't wory about your age, it's the lack of experience that I've found to be the major obstacle.

Good luck

 

This is the website I mentioned, some great advice

http://www.first-computer-job.com/index.html

 

HI Bogster, welcome to CF.

Doodlebug the cheque is in the mail- JK

I would say that right at the very beginning it's important to look at the different directions an IT career can go in and make a decision of your first couple of certs based on that.

What would you like to be doing in a few years time? Do you want to be looking after Microsoft servers? Linux servers? Cisco routers/switches? Developing applications? Developing web based solutions? Building hardware? Specialising in security? VOIP? Designing Networks? Writing Operating Systems for mobile phones?

At the beginning the entry level stuff is all pretty similar, A+ is probably the best starting point regardless what direction you go in.

Where you take it from there requires a bit of thought so you can avoid ending up in a situation like me where I want to work with Cisco hardware, have a Cisco cert, 7 years of IT experience but can't get a Cisco job because I've got the wrong experience.

 

Wow I am overwhelmed at the response. Thankyou all very much. I don't know what else to say but thankyou very much. What an awesome site

 

If crap bosses wind you up then the IT industry is definitely not for you .

Seriously though good luck and welcome to the forums.

By the way, you ask if your age is likely to be a problem. Although you're hardly over the hill and age shouldn't come into it at all IMO, in my company at least, all the managers in the IT department are pretty young and they all seem reluctant to employ people older than them.

My boss is extremely young for his position ( 28 ) and according to my colleagues, my age was almost a barrier for him employing me and I'm only 25!

Of course, this is purely anecdotal evidence and I'm sure other companies are different.