Hiya

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Hiya,

I'm new to this board, and new to IT. I've been reading it for a while, and it seems to be inhabited by nice people, so I hope you can put up with my jibbering now and then.

I really need to get in to a career which is more stable than my previous work (musician), as I find myself driving a Taxi to make a living when the gigs dry up. I've got nothing against driving and working hard, it's just not what I want to do, and the money is up and down too much.

I'm 44, and do have a degree but non IT related.

My question is: I want to get into IT- what's the best way for me, and how do my prospects look?

What extra problems will I encounter because of my age?

Ok, enough jibbering from me. Thanks for reading.

S

 

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Hi Welcome

Age does not matter there are some people on here who havent been in the business long and are a lot older than you.

As far what career path, what interests you? Tech support, programming, Networking.

Most people start out in Technical support then move on or progress in that field.

I would recommend studying for the compTIA A+ certification and getting the books compTIA A+ all in one exam guide 6th edition by Mike Meyers and PC Technician street smarts by James Pyles (Tripwire 45 on here) studying the books untill you understand everything, then all you need is to book the exams with Thomson Prometric or Pearson Vue.

But start looking for entry level positions ASAP

Hope this helps.

 

Welcome!

GBL's right: start looking for entry-level positions, and start studying for the A+. You might be put off by the salaries for entry-level jobs, but in time, you'll earn more as you gain experience.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I have another couple of questions if you don't mind?

First one is related to geographical location. During my travels, I met my wife while working in China. She is a language translator now currently based in Thailand. She really wants to stay in the region. I have to flit between working in the UK and wherever she is based (tiring and costly), and now we have a baby. So, ideally I would like to end up permanently in the South East Asia region. Malaysia or Singapore would be the ideal as English is the Main language. Does anybody have experience working in the IT sector in these areas? To work in these places, I think I would have to be well qualified before getting anywhere, but getting actual job experience while getting qualified is going to be difficult as I'm currently a Nomad.

My second question: For years I have been using Mac computers for my music stuff, and I understand that most of the people on this forum use PC. Would I be better getting in to Mac IT, as opposed to PC? Is there any point in training within Mac IT, as most of the world seems to use Microsoft. Apart from the operating systems, what would be the major difference?

To answer greenbrucelee, I'm not really sure which career path to take. Because of my situation, maybe working remotely would be ideal.

Thanks again for reading, and I apologise for any naivety.

s

 

No idea as to the answer to your first question... I don't have any experience in that area.

As to your second, your assessment is accurate: most of the world uses Microsoft, and very little of it uses Macs. Macintosh might be a great OS... but your chances of getting an IT job supporting an all-Mac environment is quite low. Even companies that use Macs heavily still use Microsoft OSes somewhere in their network.

Although I have supported Macs, I haven't done so much. I've found that my knowledge of PCs and OSes in general has come in quite handy in troubleshooting Mac problems. It's the same basic "stuff"... just wrapped up differently, with a few different features and quirks here and there. There's no reason why you can't learn Windows AND Mac (AND Linux, for that matter).

 

Hi there and welcome

 

Hi, thanks for your replies. To be honest I'm not really sure what direction to take.
I have been involved in creative roles (music creation) for the last few years, so something not too mundane. Also, I have to take into account where IT is heading, I need to earn money for my family and if possible be able to transfer my skills to an overseas market.

I will start with the A+ through self study, and see where this starts to lead me. While I'm doing this, I can explore and research my future options.
The biggest hurdle I can see is getting an entry level position, as I currently flit between the UK and far east where my wife and baby are. I think we will all have to live in the UK for a while for me to get a foot in the door.

Thanks again for your help.

s