Some Advice If you will

Discussion in 'A+' started by caser, Jul 11, 2008.

  1. caser

    caser New Member

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    Hello Ladies and Gentlemen.

    First off i will just say a big thank you to the founder, administrators and of course the posters of this great forum for all of their hard work. It is truly amazing the amount of information that is available here.

    Well Where to start . I am a 30 year old Male living in the U.K , I am married with 3 children , and to cut a long story short I am looking for a career change. I have been in the motor trade for 13 years and for the last 5 years have been running my own company as a towbar fitter in the south west. I have really had enough of the motor trade now and would like to get back to regular employment as i believe the benefits are better for me and my family .

    Now to the I.T bit ......... Well I have been into computers for the last 6 years mainly as a hobby to start with, but I found myself nearly addicted to them over the last 3-4 years , I am more than capable of putting a system together , installing operating systems, basic wired/wireless network systems, software installations, basic web design, sound recording, designing and maintaining basic forums, remote admin to name a few. I have been self taught with the aid of great forums, friends and of course the great google.
    Now i would really like to get into it as a career but i am hitting massive hurdles in my quest :(.

    I have been supporting family , friends and a couple of small businesses with their it problems over the last few years with great success. I am not one who blows their own trumpet but i have a great skill in being able to get to the bottom of problems that occur in day to day pc faults , be it software, networking or a number of other mishaps that computers give users day in day out.

    I really am the sort of guy that thinks he is not good enough at something and leaves it to the people who are good at it to fix it , but with pc`s i am very confident that with enough time I can rectify any problem that occurs with the everyday home user / Small business computing.

    Now you have a little insight into what I claim I am capable of, please help !!!!!!

    How oh How do i get into the I.T trade ???? I know that is a big ask but i really feel stuck. I have taken the advice of alot of the posters here and purchased the Mike Myers Aoi and I am currently studying that in view to take my comptia a+ exams asap , but , I live in a remote village and there seems to be little jobs around for an entry level pc tech in my area. I am more than willing to commute each day but all I seem to be hit with is the facts of, to get a entry level job i need Experience and qualifications. Now how do I get experience if I cant get into a job as they require experience to get into it ?? I know alot of you will have faced the same problems as myself in starting your I.T careers so i was looking for advice on the best way in .
    I have thought about starting up on my own just as a home user/ small business pc tech and see what work I could get , but I would rather have a paid job that will give me experience and allow me to climb the ladder. I would like to be a Field technician eventually ( i think that's the one) in where i would be sent out to sort out end users computer problems , ranging from resetting passwords to sorting out network faults. I am more than prepared to start out as a first line support or even making the tea to be honest , lol.

    Anyway , Sorry for a long post and boring you with all the information , i just hope i have explained myself well enough so someone can maybe give me a clue as to where to start .

    Just one last note , I am trying to get into the trade as i have a genuine passion for I.T , obviously i would like to climb the ladder and maybe one day earn a reasonable salary but my intentions at the moment are purely the interest i have in computing / I.T.

    Many thanks for your help

    Caser.
     
    WIP: A+
  2. panosd

    panosd Bit Poster

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    hi there caser!

    working in IT myself with very little certification I would definitely advise the helpdesk route. try applying at a local ISP and get some experience!

    A lot of the people here also recommed the A+ and Network+ certificate so they would probably be a good starting point for study. I'd say to go for the MCDST but im already in a company that pays for me to get it so obviously you dont need it already to get here :) right now I'm doing desktop support, starting with resetting passwords but soon will be full-fledged remote networking in PCs and fixing all manner of problems! It's exciting!

    Anyway, best of luck. I'm sure you'll do well in your endeavours :)

    oh, and repost this in 'new members introduction'!! Not many people will actually see this here :P I'm just going to every section in the forums out of interest as a new member..
     
  3. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    Please don't repost your post in multiple forums. Members have various methods of seeing threads on CF, notably the home page (certforums.co.uk and certforums.com) which displays recent posts. As well as the search facilities that allow you to view all posts on CF made in the last day/since your last visit/etc. What we dont need is the same post everywhere in the forum. It clutters the place up, and only serves to break your possible answers into multiple locations. Stick to a single thread, and have all your responses in that thread. Its easier to read, and keep track of.

    Welcome to the forum.

    I have some good news for you. You are already in IT. If you are providing support services for small businesses, then you are accumulating commercial experience in IT. This will make it drastically easier for you to get a full time job in IT. Start looking for entry level roles (or even perhaps second line, depending on how much experience you've actually got), either in Helpdesk, or in Local support.

    Whilst you are doing that, you can look into studying for a certification or two, to cover the experience you have already gained. If its been fixing PC's, etc, then I would look to the A+ for starters. There are various routes you can take to gain this, but the most advocated here is self-study. Take a look around the forums, there are various posts/articles on the merits on self-study, Training Providers, etc.
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  4. caser

    caser New Member

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    Thank you for your responses :)

    I was not going to repost Fergal , i did my homework and guaged how many viewers looked at what section and as i am self studying the A+ i thought this section would be the appropriate one, but thanks for the heads up on repost`s :).

    i did wonder if my little bit of work with the small companies would help my quest but as it is only now and then and it is not paid i did not know if that would be taken seriously by a potential employer.

    Starting on 1st line support would be great , like i said i would even make the tea if i had to lol.
     
    WIP: A+
  5. Fergal1982

    Fergal1982 Petabyte Poster

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    Well, thats a good attitude for a start, and will help you get in.

    Employers really care about commercial experience, but it doesnt really matter if its paid or not. Homers for friends wont count though (in most cases anyway - worth mentioning you do it though). Unless you charge them of course.
     
    Certifications: ITIL Foundation; MCTS: Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010, Administration
    WIP: None at present
  6. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Fergal's advice is on the mark. :)

    Welcome!
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!
  7. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    Hi and welcome to CF:), keep the hope and attitude up and keep studying as well as applying for 1st line IT helpdesk support roles etc.
     
    Certifications: MCSE: 2003, MCSA: 2003 Messaging, MCP, HNC BIT, ITIL Fdn V3, SDI Fdn, VCP 4 & VCP 5
    WIP: MCTS:70-236, PowerShell
  8. caser

    caser New Member

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    Thank you again Fergal. I do get paid from most of the homers I do as a lot of them tend to be friends of friends, so I think I may mention that fact but not make it a big thing out of it.
    I do feel somewhat reserved about my experience though as the companies i have been working with have a very basic setup in their offices, perhaps that’s just me and i am reading to much into what happens in the real world of I.T. As i said in the original post though, I can very quickly adapt to any sort of I.T Related problems thus far in what I have been supporting, so with the right employer and a little guidance I hope I will be fine. Its just getting the break I need to get my foot in the door is a worry.

    Once again thank you for you response, it is very much appreciated.

    Thank you for the Welcome BosonMichael, i have been reading a post this evening where you have been very honest and helpful to a guy that had a concern regarding his degree that he never quite passed, you seem an extremely helpful person and I would just like to thank you for the time you seem to put into helping on this Forum.
     
    WIP: A+
  9. BosonMichael
    Honorary Member Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    You are very welcome. It's my pleasure to help. I built a solid IT career, and I want to see everyone else succeed as well. If that means taking a little time to provide guidance, so be it.

    You wouldn't believe how many people have said that I am "too negative" or simply "trying to keep the new guys down". In fact, I believe the opposite is true, and I am glad that you share that viewpoint. I am simply relating what I believe to be the truth based on what I've seen and heard and experienced in IT. Why would I not impart that truth to others, and deprive you of that knowledge? I'd much rather you learn from it and build a career the right way, ya know? :)

    Thank you again for the compliment. I appreciate it. :)
     
    Certifications: CISSP, MCSE+I, MCSE: Security, MCSE: Messaging, MCDST, MCDBA, MCTS, OCP, CCNP, CCDP, CCNA Security, CCNA Voice, CNE, SCSA, Security+, Linux+, Server+, Network+, A+
    WIP: Just about everything!

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