Hello

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

Hi, im looking to get some help from all you IT techies out there.

I am going to post on the training forum in more detail.

Eamon

 

Welcome dude!

 

Welcome to CF !

 

Ive decided to give more details of my situation in this thread.

Im 37 years of age and i have come to a crossroads in my life and am desperatly looking for some advice.

I am currently umemployed. For the last four years i have had a number of jobs, mostly within the transport industry as a driver. From 1999 to 2002 i was employed as a Computer Operator for a major retail company. I went into this job as a total IT newbie and started at the bottom rung of the ladder. Before that i was employed within the Printing trade. Whilst working as an operator i learnt quite a bit about VMS and i enjoyed the IT enviroment. After the 3 years in this role i moved departments and became a field engineer, looking after the computer systems for approx 30 stores within london and the home counties. I only done this for a year and i admit i did struggle with this time. Things didnt work out for me in this role and i lost the job. From then until now i have had mainly driving jobs that basically wasnt going to get me anywhaere in life. Ive decided i have to do something, and fast. The are 2 options that are available to me.
The first one is to try and get back into IT as either an operator or field engineer at entry level.
The second is to do the knowledge for the black cabs within london.

Ideally i want to become a field engineer but do not know where to start. I went on an evaluation day with CERCO IT training company and passed the tests and they want me to start on the 4 week fast track course with them asap. The 4k fee is a problem as i do not have any savings although the option to borrow the money is there for me. I am worried that i will spend so much money with no garuntee of a job afterwards although CERCO have told me that living in London is a major plus on that side of things.

I can go down the knowledge route to become a black cab driver which would mean at least 2 years studying.

Its been 4 long years since i worked within IT and i am disappointed i didnt stay with it.

Any advice is very welcome

Thank you

Eamon

 

You know, it doesn't matter how old you are or what experience you have. If you want to get into IT you have a good chance, as long as you apply your self. With that said, I and many users on this forum would highly recommend that you take a self study root instead of paying 4k on courses that you can do your self. Also you don't want to have a debt. I don't really understand why these training companies always say they guarantee work. I personally don't see how they can keep their promise regarding a job that they guarantee you at the end of your course, unless it's a job with in their company.

Getting the education and certs is a good way to start but you have to start with the basics. Just because you obtain a few certifications and pass a course, it does not guarantee you a job. With that said it does not mean you can't find IT work, you sure can, it's just might be harder because of little experience you have, but it is very well possible.


Good luck!!

 

Beware of promises of employment after shelling out a lot of cash for a course... a course isn't going to magically get you into IT. There are entry-level positions out there that don't require a course. Study (on your own, without a course) for the A+ certification to give yourself an advantage over your competition.

 

Hi there and welcome

 

Hello and welcome,

Can't really add more to what BosonMichael has said. Self study for the A+ a good entry certification, that way you get a feel for what is needed and you can decided if the IT industry is for you.

 

Hi there and welcome

As at @Rafek I second the......"Self study for the A+ a good entry certification".