the very start! please help!!

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hello everyone im a 39 year old taxi driver looking to start a new career in IT.

im hoping to get a few pointers on where to begin my journey.

im looking to eventually get involved in microsoft mobile gaming development (because im intertested in it) and or possibly programming or desktop/ sql server support(because it seems like theres a good demand for these skills.

seems like the MTA cert from microsoft seems like a good start but can seem to find where i can do it or study online. i found one course but they wanted £800 for the windows 7 MSCE which is a bit out of my budget.

Im based in edinburgh Scotland. i found a uni that offers and IT degree however i would need to study for 2 years just to get the grades to enter the course (which would be another 3 years)

i understand i may have to study and it will perhaps take a long time to get up to a good enough level of understanding until i could enter employment however i just wonder if the degree route would be the best way forward.

i have enrolled into the microsoft virtual academy which seemed like some really helpfull courses on the basics of C, C# , and java amongst other areas.
just to get me the basics of these languages.

ive had a look at private courses. they seem to be very short but very very expensive. seems like they may not be worth the money.

anyways. any help or advice on how to proceed would be great!

thanks!!

 

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Most people here will tell you that online training is not worth the money at all especially through 3rd party training providers that provide some sort of job/cert guarantee . I did a quick book search on amazon for microsoft MTA and found this list Amazon.co.uk: microsoft mta . I would recommend you invest a bit of money in a book and read it (guess you could have it in the passenger seat of your cab and read it while you wait for the next fare to hop in.

If you really want to do some online training pluralsight.com have many programming courses that you could do and for £30 a month (first month free) you can watch their whole library of products. For an extra £20 a month you also get offline access to the library so you could download the course and view it on you laptop, mobile, tablet whatever. Pluralsight also allow you to cancel the subscription at any time through your account control panel, which is important for me before I sign up to any service I make sure that I can leave just as easily).

Save yourself a few bob and buy a book and get reading.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way but... are you sure on your career choices here because there is a hell of a difference between "development and or possibly programming or desktop/ sql server support" roles, were these choices because of percieved salary expectations? If so then perhaps some more thought needs to go in to your change in jobs.

There are different skills required in each of the above roles, some of them of course will be inter linked but I can tell you hand on heart that whilst I am a decent support engineer I am in no way at all a SQL DBA or Developer and I have no interest in either one of those career choices (my mind isn't wired to be a dev or dba).

I think you really need to take a look at what it is you want out of your career in IT and ask yourself if it's money or job satisfaction, if it's the first then I should tell you that the days of earning loads of money in IT have long gone, that most decently paid roles have been offshored to India or somewhere similar for a 10th of the cost and that most people are in IT either because they are too lazy to get out of it or they still actually enjoy it (for me I still get the buzz of IT ).

As a side note, not having a degree doesn't hurt you as far as roles in IT are concerned, at 43 and having left school at 16 (I joined the Army) I can tell you that I didn't leave school with much in the way of scholastic qualifications but it's not hurt my chances where work has come in, added to that would be that in perhaps 5 years time when you had qualified you would be going up against kids in their 20's when you would be in your 40's and just starting out in IT, not a nice vision I can assure you.

Stick with self study, as Dale mentions take out a subscription to Pluralsight and see if you actually like the career choices (you may find you can't stand it).

 

wow! thanks for all the info guys!

well i need a change mainly because im working night shift and have no family life at all. secondly i would like the opportunity to possibly earn more cash.

I had the feeling that getting my hands dirty and start doing would be the best way to start getting some hands on experience.

im really not sure what area i would find suitable to my particular skills. im hoping the more i learn the better ill be able to decide. i know im not going to walk into a high paying IT job overnight but if its going to take say a couple of years worth of training i just wasnt sure how best to focus that time and energy.

pluralsight.com looks very intersting and ill start there.

i was thinking that to get to grasp with the basics i could use some of the free learning tools available such a the microsoft virual academy. any thoughts on that?

 

There are mainy reputable Computer Based Training Companies specialising in development these include :-

Pluralsight
Lynda
VTC
Udacity
Codeschool
Codeacademy
Coursera
Tuts+

Reading books is also a good idea, I'd reccomend both. Realistically re-training into development is going to take you at least two years fulltime, probably a lot more time after that, you won't be driving a cab at 2 in the morning but you will be expected to learn all the latest tech which is likely to mean a lot of self study in your spare time for someone new to the field.

I'm also 39, but have been a developer since 18, and I'm still putting in 50 hour weeks and learning new stuff everyday.

 

excellent!

hey, even if i got a job in IT support or even freelance to start with it would mean a few less shifts in the taxi!

I only looked at the developer area since there seems to be a demand for it amd the money seems very good. I doubt i would ever be able to reach that level or area. im clever enough to know how stupid I am!

anyways. self study sounds great to me.

are there any basic industry standard certs that any of you guys would recommend that i try and aim for as well as getting practical experience under my belt?

 

Microsoft have the MTA certification :- MTA Certification & Exams | Microsoft

However you would probably be better served by taking some Udacity and Coursera courses from a learning standpoint.

 

yeah, the MTA cert was what i thought of also to start with, however i got in touch with ukmicrosoft.com and they said the MTA is not an ‘Industry Recognised’ certification and recommended i go to the MCITP: Enterprise Desktop Support Technician7. its £550 and you get an android tablet free when you register.

any thoughts on these courses and if anybody as used ukmicrosoft in the past.

thanks

 

Sounds like a rather dubious company at best. Any company trying to pretend to be another via a domain reg is suspect in my book.

 

The MCITP is an exam designed to prove your abilities, it's not an entry level exam.

Let me guess that ukmicrosoft.com don't teach the MTA but they do teach the MCITP!!! As far as the MTA is concerned, it's a Microsoft exam and if it's good enough for Microsoft then it's sure good enough for anyone else.

I wouldn't be touching ukmicrosoft.com with a barge pole if they are giving out advice like that, especially as it looks like they are passing themselves off as actually Microsoft (they aren't) and their claims of being "the U.K’s number one dedicated provider of Microsoft" is a tad contentious.

 

bloody hell guys! thats scary! I thought they WERE microsoft in the uk!

thats £500 odd quid that this forum has saved me spending!! phew!

thanks for the heads up!

I thought the info they sent me didnt seem to make sense.

on to pluralsight then ill have a look

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does anybody know where in the uk i can go for the MTA cert? I thought ukmicrosoft.com was genuine.

 

You could try checking local colleges for part time night courses, if lucky they may offer the MTA.

Most likely you will have to buy the book off amazon and self study.