Am I wasting my time

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One word of advice, GBL: Leave the past behind!

Loads of people, including myself, have followed a similar road to yourself. You must only look forward - forget what happened seven years ago. If you cling to the past you will stay there. I only got my dream games job when I'd let go.

 

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Here's a scary thought. Freddie and I are starting to think alike.

How bad do you really want this? You said this was always your dream job. Will you walk away that easy? Maybe you don't like the job you have right now. Nobody said that you have to keep it forever. But in the meantime, keep to your studies, keep working toward your certification, and hold on to your dreams.

You mentioned that your finances were a bit of an obstacle. Managing your finances is simply a matter of changing your habits. Adjusting to fit your budget. I once wanted a new deer rifle so bad that I was able to quit smoking just to afford it. I've bought a lot more than that with the money I saved over the years.

 

All I can say, GBL, is that life isn't fair. It's up to you to make something of it. Nobody else can do it for you. I was always told by my parents that I'd never amount to anything. I believed them for far too long. It wasn't until I decided to get angry and prove them wrong that I started to do something with my life. I finally started to think I was worth something, no matter what anyone else said, and believe me, there were a lot of people saying I was worthless.

I can say this though. It's the determination to prove them all wrong that still inspires me, that makes me just do whatever I have to do to succeed. When I've been so discouraged that I just wanted to give up, when every light at the end of the tunnel was just another train coming, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I just kept moving. That's what you need to do too. Just keep on moving towards your goal. Take that anger you have against all the naysayers and use it to motivate yourself. Use it to do something positive.

If I hadn't done that for the last 5 years I'd have given up. I lost the belief that anyone would ever hire me, but I just kept on moving because I wasn't going to let them beat me. I used the anger at the injustice of people who knew a lot less than I did getting jobs, getting ahead, to give me the desire to keep on plodding along.

You can do the same thing. All it takes is the desire.

 

Hey GBL,

I know what the frustration is like when you're out of a job, money is running out, expenses are coming in and debts gotta be paid. In cases like that it really makes you question your career goal and sometimes it even makes people question their faith and beliefs! But know one thing for sure: you will NEVER be in a position when everything will be lost and you will be left without hope. There will always be an opportunity, hope and a way out.

I must confess that after I did a pc technician package course (an intro to A+), I thought that I would've gotten an IT job easily. But that was just as if I had nothing. I sent out countless applications over and over, but none were accepted because no one had any regard for the package I did. So I learnt several programs and other stuff while at home like accounting programs, graphics, 3d modelling, HTML, CSS, web designing, etc. And then I thought that I should include those too on my CV. So I got a little hope there and I sent out alot more applications, only to find out that those skills didn't earn me any type of position at all in IT. I really did lose hope there. I just wasted alot of money doing the package thinking I would get a job, only to find out that people wanted higher certs.

I knew that I had the ability to do anything an IT tech could do and that employers were throwing away a valuable employee due to ignorance, but the only thing that blocked me out was a simple "recognised" little paper to say that I'm certified in the field. Then I knew that A+ was what I had to get. But the cost for A+ training and material and exams were far out of my reach. The total cost can be compared to one of the latest Dell or HP desktop pc models on the market currently! HUGE! My dreams of becoming a certified professional IT tech were over -- cuz I couldn't afford to get an A+ cert. All I had was the knowledge, but nothing on paper (certs) from a highly recognised institution.

Then my mom advised me that since its not working out, that I should just send out "open" applications instead. In that way I could get any type of job and work and save until I have enough to pay to learn A+. I thought that it was good advice, cuz there wasn't any other better option. So I sent out "open" apps asking for "any position suitable to my qualifications within your company". And after that I got a few replies and I settled for a data entry job at a popular store. I got a reasonable salary there that I didn't want to leave! But my mind was still on IT.

Eventaully I came into contact with you guys here at CF and I realised that once I could get the right books, that I could self-study and get the A+ without any training sessions or anything else! Thank you guys so much for the motivation! I didn't know something like that was possible. So I got the books to borrow from friends, so all I had to do was save money for the exams! Now, after close to 4 years of searching, I finally have a moderate IT tech support job just because I got the A+.

My advice to you is simple. Don't get frustrated if you don't get an IT job right away. Employers want to see certs. I know you may be well knowledgeable about IT (I was in the same position), but many quacks out there say the same thing. And because of those quacks, employers ask for certs -- and that is what makes genuine people like you and I suffer. Employers no longer take our words for granted because quacks lied to them in the past just to get a job. Employers no longer trusts anyone unless they have a cert.

So I advise you to get any job you could get your hands on now (for the time). At least you'll be getting money. Once you get money, you'll be able to pay off debts and SAVE. Do just what I did: Save until you have enough for the exams, and study in the process. So as soon as you have enough to write the first exam, your studying would be at the point where you could sit the first exam. Make sure you're confident and fully ready and then write the first exam. I know that you'll definitely pass that, so after passing that you could take a breather and then repeat the process again for the last exam. Work, SAVE, study and kick the exam's butt! Now once you've achieved the A+, start sending out apps -- DO NOT leave your job at this point until you get a suitable reply for the IT position you want. If not, then continue the Work, SAVE, study process for Network+.

Right now you're in a financial jam. Any job now is better than none. Get any job now and pay your debts, and study towards A+. Forget what the doctor said, YOU PROVED THEM WRONG!!! And you did so EVERYTIME!!! And if you did it back then, then you most definitely can do it again! You love IT? Then you'd make the necessary sacrifices like ffreeloader mentioned. Don't give up if you don't get an IT job right away. Get the certs first. Get a regular job now and start saving for the exams and materials and you'll definitely make it!

Good Luck Mate!

 

This is VERY SOUND advice here GBL -- TAKE IT! It doesn't matter whether our disabilities may be physical or mental, but we should all use our determination to prove our weaknesses and the naysayers wrong. I was never good at studying.....not even when I was in school with teachers to help. So for me to be by myself and self-study A+ would be something far out! But I decided to break that mental barrier and prove the odds wrong. And I did it!

What all of us experienced people here are basically saying in a nutshell is: "Use your weakness to motivate & strengthen you and you WILL succeed!"

 

Ok GBL, listen up to someone older and wiser (?)

I left school with no qualifications and spent a lot of my time working in factories - nothing wrong with that, the pay weren’t bad and the peeps were great to work with. When I got made redundant for the second time and with a 3-year-old daughter and a son on the way, I decided it was time to look for a better job with prospects and started looking at jobs that, to me, offered a better future. However, with no qualifications and no experience I was wasting my time as no one would touch me, therefore I went back to school at the age of 27 and took the same exams that 15/16 year old kids take (GCSE). At this point I decided to stay on and do an A level type course and I had two choices - Business & Finance studies or Computer studies. Like an absolute prat, I thought that the Business studies would offer me more opportunities and took that. In fairness, the Business studies has served me well and I have earned more in the last 12 years than I ever would had working in a factory.

I am now at a point where my kids are a lot older and simply earning as much money as possible to pay for all those bills is no longer as desperate as it once was (don’t get me wrong, I still want to earn as much money as possible). I have spent all my working life going to work for one reason and that is simply to earn money - job satisfaction and doing something I find interesting has never been a requirement.

I am now at a point where I would really like to chase a job in IT and have been studying towards it now for a couple of years (not always as heavily as I should mind). I have my A+ and am working towards the N+ and like a lot of the others here, I have years of experience sorting out computer problems for friends, family and work colleagues. I have applied for a lot of IT jobs in the last year or so (since getting the A+) and have not even had an interview and to be honest I was recently beginning to believe that I was wasting my time, so much so, I switched from studying for the N+ and started reading up on Linux.

I now find that that was a mistake and should have had a little more faith - I was invited for an interview on Monday (12th November) for an IT tech job with the Education Department who supply support to Primary Schools. It sounds a great job, no more sitting in front of the same computer at the same desk typing in bills - this was visiting lots of sites on a daily basis sorting out computer problems - would have suited me down to the ground. There was a written test beforehand that was harder than I expected but that I did alright on and then an interview where I thought I was absolutely crap However, despite what I thought, they rang me up and said they liked me and thought I had done very well and although they were offering the job to another candidate, they wanted to flag me as a "holding candidate" which means that if the first guy turns it down or doesn’t work out in the next three months, they will offer the job to me – of course, I fully agreed to that

The point of this (overly long) post GBL is to say – stick at it, you really don’t know what’s around the corner. If I had done computing 12 years or so ago I most certainly would be an old techie by now, doing a job that I actually enjoy getting up for. Equally, for me to get invited for the interview I just had (aged 40+, not an exhaustive list of qualifications and little “business” type computing experience) and to come second, is an achievement in itself. Needles to say, I’m back on the N+ books studying when I can so when the next interview does roll around (and it will) I will be ready.

Keep at it mate

 

Thanks for the encouragement people, I will keep trying.

If something doesn't turn up by he time my debts are finished then I think I will have to consider moving.

 

Well that is probable..and if you can get that money owing monkey off your back sooner then do that.

I had to make some hard and brave decisions in my late teens and early 20's about my life, as I had lost my mum when I was 19 to cancer, failed my Leaving Certificate at 17, and was involved with a "bad crowd".

Basically a lot of people wrote me off there and then - as if they have any right to do so!

I spent the next 10 years studying various subjects before I really broke into IT at about your age. I quietly dropped away from having anything to do with many nasty opinionated folks I grew up with, as they get jealous when you succeed anyway.

The key to success for me was to do the extra work that no-one else wanted to do, and I ended up making it all happen.

The working environment changed again several years ago and I am still studying - probably always will be.

GBL, Live your life well my friend and really have a red hot go at it!

So what is your A+ deadline?

 

GBL,

APPLY. What's the worst these companies can say? No. EXACTLY! You're a valued member of these forums and I'm sure that you'll soon be a valued employee for a reputable IT firm. Persevere, and you WILL succeed.

Alex

P.S - For a bit of inspiration check out this thread:

http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=20854

 

Sounds like you are wasting your time (in your current approach), you need to change your approach then you won't be wasting your time !

You appear very capable and suited to IT, I'd say move to a city ASAP, it will vastly increase your chances of landing a job. Ignore your debts, you have to speculate to accumulate, this is one area where the reward justifies the risk. Widen your job hunt, tell them you are willing to relocate but you might need help with the costs. Lodging can be very cheep, you could live with a familly for as little as £50-100 a week.

Best of luck, go out there and do it !

 

Unfortunatley I can't ignore my debts as they are bound bu the county court.

 

Cheers for the advice

I have been ready for the A+ for ages but untill I have enough spare cash I cant take the exams, so I just keep re-reading the books and studying in the hope I get a good score for when I do take the exams

 

Have you considered applying further away with a view to relocating if offered a position?

As dmarsh says lodging could be quite cheap, allowing you to pay off your debts at the same time as doing a job that you actually want to do?

 

I didn't mean to literally ignore your debts !

I meant, don't use them as a barrier stopping you from getting to where you want to be. You may be able to relocate and save costs, you may be able to relocate and increase earnings, you may be able to get relocation allowance, you may be able to renegotiate your payments....

You mention you drive a BMW for instance, have you thought of driving something cheaper ? You could exchange assets for cash and buy some financial flexibility. Although I'd make sure you still have good transport as this is also very important when working.

Where theres a will theres a way !

 

The payment for ccj can only be altered if there is vast change in circumstances, such as I loose my job.

My debt will be clear at the end of March so I think I may save as much as I can upto then whilst still applying for jobs around here, then if no luck apply for jobs in Leeds (as I know the area well) and Newcastle and then I will have some money if a move is needed.

 

Well, do you put money aside every paycheck toward that goal? I don't know your spending habits but most of us blow a few bucks every week on something that we don't really need. This is what I meant when I asked how much you're willing to sacrifice. Rather than wait until you have all the cash in one month, sacrifice going out with your buddies and having a few beers. If you smoke, stop smoking. Save the money at every chance you get. Do you eat a lot of fast food/restaurant food? Stop doing that and cook your own, brown bag it for lunch. Put other things aside until you get your A+.

Every time I've bought a book I've had to give up something else. Every time I've upgraded memory in my computer I've had to not do something else I might have done. I'm wearing mostly the same clothes I had in 1999 when I had quit working because of my back because I'd rather spend money on reaching my goals than clothes. Just what are you willing to give up to get where you want to go? Just how badly do you want that goal? Can you taste it? Does it keep you up at night just thinking about it? Just how badly do you want it?

 

Freddy's right. I'm currently eating Ramen noodles most every day for lunch (not going out to eat fast food all the time) because it's SO important that our family can afford two things:
1) for a home in a great neighborhood with wonderful schools
2) for my wife to stay home and raise the children, even though she was making as much as I was when she was working. She wants to stay home, I want her to stay home, and the kids want her to stay home.

We wanted these two things enough to make sacrifices for them. No going out to movies, and no buying DVDs - we rent the $1 movies on buy-1-get-1-free night at Blockbuster. No new books - we borrow them from the library, if they have them. No new music. No brand-new computer games the day they launch. No tickets to sporting events. No new clothes. No vacation every year. No new car... not even a replacement hubcap for my left rear wheel for my '99 Altima with 169,000 miles on it. My wife and I even promised to not buy each other birthday and Christmas presents this year.

Bottom line is this: if you want something badly enough... if something is important enough to you... you will sacrifice whatever you have to sacrifice in order to get it. It's all a matter of priorities... you will do whatever is more important to you.

 

I almost never eat out for lunch and it's amazing how much money you can save by not eating out and not buying coffee out. I have always taken my lunch and coffee is generally free at work. At the current job, the sodas are also free (though I don't like sodas) and usually someone brings in bagels, donuts, muffins, or what have you. Also (at least in my case) I can control my nurtition better if I bring my own food.

@ Michael: While I like Ramen soups, they have almost no nutritional value and are loaded with salt. At least at my age (just a few days younger than Moses), skrewing around with salt and empty calories is a lot more of a risk than with you young guys.

 

Who needs nutrition? I just want something to fill my belly. I'll get nutrition at home.

If we had free Cokes here, or if I could kick the caffeine habit, I'd be RICH!