Hello from a Newbie !

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Hi there folks,
I'm a 29 year old Quantity Surveyor who has been working for nearly 9 years in the construction industry. I have also been the company IT manager (30 users) for this period in time (with occasional outsourced support) and am looking to switch my career to something IT/Hardware based. I have been building & maintaining private pc's for 15 years for various friends/family & colleagues and have always found Pc's intuitive or second nature.
My problems are thus:
1) I have a mortgage to pay therefore anything under 20k / without relatively swift promotion, will be problematic
2) I hate my current job (construction side); it is destroying the fibre of my being
3) I have no formal IT qualifications
4) I cannot programme, a little vb and that’s it, and have no real interest in it.

I've had advent round and got a little giddy (although the ultra-sceptic wife seemed relatively impressed with them too), and have filled in a form with seek learning. I've read various threads on this forum generally concluding that it is cheaper to go it alone, but I could do with the structure of a course.

Any advice would be gratefully & humbly received.

Md1892

 

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I've been in IT for almost 10 years and I've no interest in programming so don't see that as a barrier! A little vb is good though, puts you in good stead for doing a bit of scripting which is always a handy skill for an admin.

What sort of level would you consider yourself at? You could go the route that's often suggested here for people starting out... the MCDST and/or Network+ or A+ certifications. It's not going to be your ticket to an IT job but it's certainly not going to hurt!

Dave

 

Well, the 9 years of experience you have will certainly work in your favor. Only potential problem I see is that there is only so much that a company will pay for a hardware tech. After all, why would I pay someone 20K when I can hire someone to do it for 10K? Not saying you can't get 20K... I don't know what the pay is like in your area. I simply offer it up for your consideration.

If the money's burning a hole in your pocket, by all means, buy a training course. But all you need is a good study guide to get you through these exams... especially considering the fact you've been doing this for 9 years.

Welcome to the forums!

 

Hi,
Thanks for the prompt reply, i would consider myself at comptia level or just above

 

Welcome to CF!

I have to agree with BosonMichael. I tend to prefer self study... I just feel like I can immerse myself in the technology better. Classes I feel like I am scrambling to retain EVERYTHING. You don't really get the time to grow with whatever you are studying or learning. Granted in some situations this is fine.

One thing to consider for the short term is if you can get in to a company on the ground floor making bare minimum for you to survive, you can always temporarily pick up some part time work to fill in the gaps. Sure it isn't ideal, but if you already have 9 years in the IT environment, I would think that you'd be able to move up quicker than someone completely green.

Best of luck to you!