Which way to go ?

Discussion in 'Training & Development' started by richyb78, Jan 20, 2009.

  1. richyb78

    richyb78 New Member

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    Hi Al,l newbie here!

    Some decisions to be made but thought i would post my situation to see what advise is out there. I have a real interest in IT and looking to pursue this career as im currently in Retail Management. I have done my ECDL certification and CIW associate certification. I began doing these courses with a training provider but found fairly quickly that the cousres arent that flexible when you are in full time employment. So i decided to continue with the home studying route although it meant me paying out a bit more cash. I will be doing the Site Designer exam fairly soon and then hopefully the E-commerce exam after that.

    However I have found that my passion isnt really within the creative side of ICT and without any kind of portfolio at this time I think it will be quite difficult to find a job once the exams have been completed. But i did find using pure HTML and markup languages interesting, so maybe my route should be more technical.

    So now im unsure weather to follow the tech side of site designing or maybe look at going to tech support route and maybe study for MCDST. Either way im very passionate about getting ino ICT and could I start applying for 1st line support jobs with the certifications i have already.

    Any advice welcome, also is age a big factor as there will be much younger applicants going for these vacancies?!?!?!

    Cheers.
     
    Certifications: ECDL, CIW Associate
    WIP: Master CIW Designer
  2. dalsoth

    dalsoth Kilobyte Poster

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    Hi and welcome:D

    Apply for the support roles anyway. Study for the MCDST cert in the meantime.

    You will not lose anything by doing so. I would definitely hire someone for a 1st line support role if i felt they were motivated, technical, able to communicate well and were working towards the relevant certs. You seem to be able to tick all of those boxes. Age should not make a difference in a negative way. You are only 30 (younger than me by a year :ohmy) and I'm sure there will be just as many negative thoughts (if not more) about youngsters applying straight from school than someone who is more mature and most likely able to communicate at a higher level. Age discrimination is illegal though but very hard to prove.

    Be positive and you will do well.

    As to which route in IT you should ultimately take, i would not like to say. Perhaps a taste of tech support will give you a better idea of what else is out there. Good luck with the job hunting. :D
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCP, MCDST, MCSA, ITIL v3
    WIP: MCITP EA
  3. Alex Wright

    Alex Wright Megabyte Poster

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    The self-study route was more expensive. Really? :blink

    If you're not that creative but enjoy working with HTML, CSS etc... have you considered learning a server-side programming language such as PHP or Perl?

    Excellent plan! Do it. :)

    I wouldn't worry about age mate. As long as your attitude is good, you're able to communicate and troubleshoot in a pressurised environment. You'll land that first IT job soon enough.

    Good luck!
     
    Certifications: 70-680 Configuring Windows 7
    WIP: 70-642
  4. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    'a bit more cash' could easily mean 'more cash than I had already paid out in order to obtain the materials necessary for home study' or 'home study' could mean 'distance learning course from the same TP'


    Or .Net? or plain ASP (Although ASP is outdated these days - given the free web developer package available from MS, I would skip ASP and go for .Net (either VB.Net or C#.Net). Funny how this option is quite often ignored when talking about Server Side programming...
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  5. Alex Wright

    Alex Wright Megabyte Poster

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    My bad Fergal1982. Read that post a bit too quickly (plus I've not yet had my morning Coffee! :D).
     
    Certifications: 70-680 Configuring Windows 7
    WIP: 70-642
  6. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    No worries, I could be wrong though, we need clarification from the OP about that, but thats what I would suspect.
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  7. richyb78

    richyb78 New Member

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    Thanx for the response guys.

    Kinda of confirmed really what was going through my thoughts.

    I think i will continue to aim for the Desktop support role just to get myself grounded and a bit of experience while i deicide more on the route i want to take. But will def continue studying and sitting exams. Site designer exam next after payday!! Have kinda already applied for some desktop support positions but heard nothing as yet. Where's the best site for such vacancies ? Mainly been on reed.co.uk

    Must agree server side tech does grab my attention wil definately look more into PHP, Perl and .Net as Web Developer route seems a strong option.

    I meant i had to pay more money out for Self Study to get the materials because i had already paid out with the TP but due to personal and work issues i run out of time to complete the course. Bit of a lesson learnt there TP maybe seem a good idea at the time but you really need to commit the time, as being in full time employment with a none flexible employer can cause real issues. I would say that if you wanted to go the TP route you would be better of making sure you have the finances behind you and only stick to part-time work while studying.
     
    Certifications: ECDL, CIW Associate
    WIP: Master CIW Designer

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