First impressions

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Hi,

I think I may have posted this in the wrong place so I’ll try here. First impressions eh,

I’m 38 &I have recently been made redundant from my job, of which I did for 18yrs. I would now like to get into IT (if I’m not to old now). I was told of this site by the nice man from NITL & would be grateful for all the help & advice you can give. I have looked at MCSE through home study but am weary of the courses and costs (£4500+). Had visits from Computeach & NITL & couple of others to follow soon. Also thought of trying to get through Comptia A+, N+, etc on my own, maybe using something bought from e-bay and then using a home study company to complete to MCSE.
Also any advice on going through collage or Open Uni would be great as they seem to do different courses (tech support, hardware supp for ICT, BSc, MSc), that they say will give the skills needed to pass Comptia, or would these do in their own right.

Its all so confusing and it’s the thought of wasting all that money has put me off for the past 4/5 years now but as I now have no job prospects I feel I need to take the plunge now or never.

Sorry to drag on a bit

Thanks

 

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Welcome to the forum.

Unfortunately, although the intentions were good, the practice is flawed. Double posting tends to be frowned upon in forums.

As for your predicament, there are plenty of arguments for and against going with training companies/self-studying. Have a look around the forum, I reckon most of it's been covered before.

 

Hi, and welcome to CF. Don't panic and definitley don't sign up for anything until you have had a good browse of this site. There are many companies offering unrealistic training/job promises for great wads of cash. I think I'm correct in saying that the general 'push' at CF is towards self-taught. This does require a lot of self-motivation (something I have plenty of....I wished!). There's plenty of quality training materials available and I think it's fair to say that many (expensive) training courses will include a fair amount of self-education anyway.
Too old at 38? At 56 I'm not so much a 'new kid on the block', but more 'old crock on the block'.
Good luck with whatever you decide. Regards.

 

Don't worry about your age. Recent legislation has been passed that makes illegal for an employer to discriminate on the basis of a candidates age and amount of experience they have. Age doesn't really matter as long as you can prove you can do the job.

Welcome to CF btw

 

Welcome,

I know exactly where you're coming from. I'm 38 as well and 2 years ago decided I'd had enough of plodding along and so I went to college and did a couple of exams. Nothing that the industry will probably recognise but at the end of it I had a free voucher to do my A+.

Now, I don't know how much you know about PCs but if you have one at home and you are able to add or replace, say a graphics card then you should be able to start by going for your A+

Have a look on CompTIA's site for the exam objectives. You have to take 2 exams for this. Also, buy a couple of good books on the subject. There are many out there and elsewhere on this forum you'll find ones that are recommended.

I, too have had so called 'course advisers' (well one actually) in my home - NEVER AGAIN - trying to sell me grands and grands worth of material with all sorts of 'guarantees' at the end.

Self-study suits me best though. At your own pace and if there are questions or problems that you run into, you only have to ask on here or search the Internet for a ton of excellent info.

I spent 6 months doing A+ and I've spent a very lazy year or more faffing around learning Network+ which I'll eventually do before Christmas. All this and still no job in IT. But I'll have 2 good foundation exams and then, when I get that entry level IT job - well, who knows what next.

Wow, I must be feeling optimistic today

Seriously though, look down the path to self study - it's cheap as chips...ish

Good luck

 

Hi I have studied with Computeach (took a course in C took 2 years and with time off work now and then about £8000 £4000 for course and the other £4000 in time of work and other costs)just a quick note. I do not believe that Computeach will help you get any job in the IT world. It has been a very negative experience for me. Stay away. Have to go all the best John