Is it worth doing?

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Hi all,
I have become disillusioned about doing these exams. I rang up the IT dept in the place i worked and asked them would they employ me if i became A+ certified. The reply was that they would only employ people with work experience in the field. I assume this will be the reply i get everywhere i ask. I`m 32 and i am starting to think i`m too old to have a worthwhile career. Is there anybody out there that can inspire me to open my books again?

 

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you need to keep trying, you are probably doing what I was and applying for jobs that are way past your experience level.

You need to be applying for entry level/trainee positions and have the A+ will certainly give you an advantage over someone who doesn't have it and has no experience.

Eperience is the thing that counts if you have none then apply for jobs that don't require any.

 

Thanks guys, i`m not far off doing the exams anyway, so i may as well bite the bullet and get cracking.

 

Your IT department may not employ any entry-level techs because their jobs don't relate to entry-level tech work. Thus, they would need people with experience, not just certifications.

So can you get into IT at age 32? Absolutely! But you'll most likely have to start out in an entry-level IT job (just as most of us did). Worthwhile certifications to pursue at your level are the A+, Network+, and MCDST. Start with the A+ and start looking for an IT job NOW... not after you get certified. The certifications will merely help you look MORE attractive to employers.

Best of luck to you!

 

I was 31 when I quit my dead-end night-shift job( of 13 years) and decided to go down the cert route. A year later I was A+ N+ and Microsoft MCP certified, but with no commercial experience, although I'd had computers since the ZX spectrum/vic 20 days etc. I applied for all manner of IT jobs and for some I was just making up the numbers at the interviews, but I went for one interview with the company I'm still with, and they were willing to take a chance on me. I was 32 when I got that job, so, no you re not too old. You need to believe in yourself and believe you can do it.

Good luck

NB

 

I reckon it's worth getting your certs, and then flashing them at some non-profit organisations in order to gain some experience. In my town alone, I can think of at handful of companies who'd like someone to come and sort out their IT problems (but don't have the money for an official guy).

Then of course, have them write you some references, and apply for some jobs.

 

if you think you are old at 32 that makes me ancient,i'm eleven years older at 43,and planning a career in IT abroad ,with my A+ and other future qualifications i might get, so that may give you some hope,may'be i am just kidding myself i suppose,i'm confident that as long as i don't leave it to 50 years old,which i feel is getting on a bit age wise, i'll get work.if no ones wants to employ me i'll employ myself.
The reason i took the A+ exam is just to say i haven't wasted 10 years repairing computers at home,and this certificate says i can do what i say i can do,in terms of college they didn't teach me any repairs that i didn't already know how to do,but i learned a bit about customer care and quicker ways to diagnose computer problems,the health and safety issues,business security and a few other things,the course was good fun too and i always wanted to take the exams.

 

I am 40 now and changed from a career in teaching to ICT. I had to take a big pay cut back then but I am glad I made the change. I am now probably earning what I would of been on if I had stayed in teaching however I dont have to worry about terrible teenagers anymore just users! Users you have to love em. I mean we would all be out of a job without them!

 

Why anyone would change careers to get into IT at this point is beyond me, but maybe the employment situation is different in the U.K. Here in the U.S.A. tech never recovered from the dot-com bubble bursting and our "leaders" keep kicking IT workers when they're down by increasing the number of H1B visas every year. Putting that aside for the moment...

Experience certainly is invaluable, but there's something to be said about structured learning too. I found I filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge going through the training materials for various certs, even the low-level ones. Sure, experience teaches you what's important in the real world but to be well-rounded you need the theory as well as the practice. For example, you may never have a practical use for all seven OSI layers, as the TCP/IP stack really only uses four (or five depending how you count), but if you don't know them all you're not going to impress anyone.

 

No youre not too old just keep trying and use the advice on here. Basically start at the bottom and work youre way up.

I also belive being certified will help you along the way

 

I have to agree with Crito to some extent, I don't think we've been hit as hard as the US, but I do feel that the industry is not as rosy as some have been led to believe. The near future is likely to be a little rocky when the fallout of the credit crunch really starts to bite.

I expect people of this generation have grown up with home computers and therefore think they are well suited to a career in IT. A successful IT career requires far more than simple basic knowledge, or a few one off courses. There are also probably far easier ways to make money for most people.

However I also wonder that if you're so passinate about IT why did it take 15-20 years to make the decision ? I'm 34 and I'm starting to feel it, once you've been on a few deathmarch projects you'll know what I mean.

I think everyone deserves a chance, and if you want it bad enough go get it !

 

Ease up, you'll be 50 soon enough believe me and you'll still have another 15 years employment left before you retire.

Pete (52).

 

I was 33 when I changed from teaching to IT (must be something about teaching , eh Xenophon ;) ) and 2 years later I have my MCSA and work as an 2nd/3rd line engineer for an NHS trust, playing with AD, Exchange, clinical systems, fibre optics, building new PCs, repairing old ones and all things IT.

You're a year younger than I was when I fully got into it, so I say go for broke.
Computers are here to stay and at some stage they will need fixing

Try looking for experience in the voluntary sector to get some experience and possible future references.
http://www.it4communities.org.uk has a few "jobs" in your area.

The exams only really prove that you have the knowledge, experience tells you how.
It all depends on whether you want to or not.

 

...perhaps in Omaha. But things are great in IT in the Southeast US.

 

Still learning and will be 54 this year.