Looking for a foot in the door

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Congratulations on getting the job


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AGHHHH Nice Well done and welcome to the world of 'Public Service'! Lol. Hey you work for the tax payer now.

As simongrahamuk, STAFF EEEK. It can be a rewarding environment though having the kids about. Problem is being part time, you may find you have about hundred people grabbing you at different times, multitasking
x 1000 will become your life.

Good luck.

 

nice 1!

best of luck 2 u mate - i am in a similar position and also just recently got my 1st i.t job!

 

Congratulations

 

Cheers everyone

 

A one-year update/rant if anyone's interested...

I started the job in February and worked part-time until June, when the network manager left for another school. The school then asked me to take over as the network manager, after working there as a part-time technician for only 4 months The big catch was that I would be on the same rate of pay as before, just with the extra hours taken into account - way, WAY below what a network manager should be earning. I didn't know it at the time, but the school are having budget problems which meant that they couldn't afford to hire someone who was experienced at the job.

Since then, the job has turned into a bit of a nightmare - I can't stand most of the people in my department (especially my line manager) and I'm the only full-time IT person in the whole school, which means I get taken for granted. I get a uni student and one work experience lad (who are both very helpful) coming in for half the week and that's it. And to make matters worse, I saw a Network Manager job advertised on the council's web site for a different school (with a similar size of network) which pays MORE THAN TWICE the amount I'm getting. I have to say though, it is all great experience though and I've learnt so much in the time I've been here.

However, I'm now desperate to get out and I'm seriously thinking about quitting, because what I'm earning now isn't that much more than what I'd get on the dole. It's simply not enough to move out on either, which is pretty embarrassing when you're 26 and your friends are all earning decent money

I've applied for quite a few jobs through agencies, but as usual, I never hear anything back from them. This was also the case before I got this job, but I thought things would be different now that I've got a year's experience under my belt... how wrong I was I don't believe it's a problem with my CV because I didn't have too much trouble getting interviews when I applied directly for positions, but if anyone has any tips for getting my CV recognised by agencies, I'd be more than happy to upload it because (as we all know) the vast majority of IT jobs seem to go through them...

 

Don't quit my friend. I was in a similar situation. I started my first IT job in a school and found within a few months i was on my own with no manager. After a bit they offered me the job to run the network at 10k less than the guy who was there before me. He was "removed" from the position, was younger than me by a year and also did not know half i did. Blagged his way in.

I left in the end because i did not like some of the people there and was finding it annoying due to the lack of cash. Took me maybe a year or more to find another job. Big mistake.

Only leave if you have something else lined up. That takes time. Remember all the hassle you had to get this job? Stick it out and talk to the senior leadership if you really need some support.

Take a stroll to Edugeek forums and you will see there are network managers on 12-14k, yet in other schools they are on 35k. It is not fair and the single status agreement was supposed to sort this sort of thing out but it only helped to screw school staff out of cash at my school.

I went to my union and it took a couple of years of being a royal pain to get my money up. I am still on less than i should but its nearer the 30k than the 20k so it will do while i get certified and look around. Hope things work out for you. Leaving a job with nothing else lined up will only hurt you in the long run. To make it worse, i'm sure the minute you leave they will realise nobody wants to work for peanuts and will up the money to what you would have accepted had you stayed. Such is life.

Agencies are a nightmare. I speak to one and he tells me how i am the ideal candidate for a job and then never calls me back. They have their own agenda. Search adverts, local papers, government websites, school websites and agency websites. Sooner or later something else will come up. Good luck!

 

NM already? How big is the school.

I wouldn't leave untill you got another job. You should look around at grad schemes maybe?

Such as RM.

 

Jiser - my official job title is ICT Technician but in reality, I have full control over the network. The school has approx. 500 kids, 250 machines and 5 servers. And grad schemes seem very competitive (even more so now, I'd guess) and my A-Level grades weren't up to much really...

Dalsoth - thanks for sharing your experiences, I wasn't aware of a lot of things you mentioned in your post. I guess I should try and stick it out really, especially in this economic climate... just out of interest, which union are you a member of? I know the teachers have one, but I wasn't sure whether technicians/support staff do.

 

I am a member of Unison. I try to encourage my support staff colleagues to join the same. It's little use if everyone in the same department are members of different unions in my opinion. If there are disputes with the school and the union, it helps to have everyone on the same side ready to take action if deemed necessary.