where do I begin

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 everyone
I have joined this forum looking for advice (no surprise there) . I have absolutly no qualifications in I.T whatsoever.Computors have always been a hobby in the past and my experience has been general use of software in the office and at home whilst upgrading my own computors hardware from replacing RAM to Motherboards and wireless home networking.
I am unsure of what field I would like to pursue due to lack of knowledge or where to start. I have checked a few training companies out and as you would expect they are sales first and try to push onto the first courst which comes to mind. Please could anyone give me some practical , realworld advice

 

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.

Don't poke a bulldog with a red-hot poker. Thats practical - and free. There you go!

In seriousness, firstly, welcome to the forum. You are not the first to be in the position you are in, and you certainly wont be the last. I myself started out with no computing qualifications (not even a standard grade), and I'm now a programmer. So it can be done.

I would suggest that, before you do anything, you do as much as you can to decide the kind of area you think would interest you more. That said, dont set it in concrete. When I first switched into the IT field, I wanted to be a technician, and was working towards the A+ course. I got myself a job in helpdesk and started working towards it. After a promotion into another team, I began working with Active Directory, and decided I wanted to get into AD/Infrastructure admin, etc. I'm sure at one point I also wanted to get into Security. During that point, I was also learning a little programming, and developing a relationship with the Development team in the office. Eventually I made the decision to head down the development route, and here I am.

The point, is that nothing you decide here and now should be concrete. See what opportunities come up, and see where you want to go from there. Just think about what you feel that you want to do. Even with little knowledge of the industry you can do that. Of the IT things you do right now, what excites you? Is it the thrill of hunting down a problem with the HDD and swapping it out? Or is it something else? This will give you a better idea of where to start.

Once you have done that, you can look at courses that will support that. For support, most people around here tend to suggest starting with the A+ (more information can be found in the relevant location on the forum). But if you want to get into programming, thats not necessarily the best choice. You can go with a course from your local college, pick a Training Provider (check here for some advice on this), or you can go down the self study route (which is a lot cheaper). For various reasons, the predominant opinion of CF is to self study. But dont let that push you into doing so if you dont want to. Look at all the options available and decide whats best for you.

Finally, even whilst you are doing all this, start looking for an entry level IT job (and I would recommend not being too picky on what you look for). Most areas of IT are exceptionally hard to get into, requiring at the very least 6 months of experience in the IT industry. Fixing PC's at home just doesnt cut it in this regard. That said, there are usually a few companies willing to cut you a break (especially sometimes if you tell them you are studying towards a relevant certification). Get yourself an IT job now (if you can), and the rest will begin to follow. Just to be clear here, look for the job before you have completed your first certification.

Just to hammer that last point home, I still do not hold a proper IT certificate (I do have ITIL, but it doesnt really count). I got to where I am today, just by working in the IT industry, and taking the opportunities that crossed my path.

 

Hi there and welcome

 

Firstly - Hello and welcome to the forums.

Secondly - Listen to what Fergal has said, especially that about the bulldog! ...but also try to use the search function in the forums. I'm sure you'll find out a lot of information this way (searching for and reading through similar posts).

Enjoy.

Qs

 

Hi Guys
Thanks to Fergal , I will continue to go throught the feeds on here and gain as much info as possible. The job may come a little harder though as I am now 40 yrs old but it is a young 40 so I do not want to sound defeatist.
Thanks again

 

Hi & welcome to CF

NB

 

Hi Saun, Welcome to CF. Good post Fergal

 

Welcome to the forums!

There are plenty of successful people who started in IT at a much later age than you... so it can be done! It is my opinion that if someone can do the job, I don't care how old they are, or what gender they are, or what race they are, or what their favorite football team is... I want them on my team.

 

Welcome aboard