Few IT education questions

Cat_In_Pyjamas · 9 Dec 2010 at 10:28

Hi guys,

long story short, after a few years working for a food retailer I'm kinda tired and would like to do something else and got my eyes set on IT - mainly support based jobs. Now outside of some generic skills that I picked up along the way while using my own PC (can troubleshoot certain hardware and software problems and build my own stable PC, but haven't yet gotten into overclocking to the degree some of you have mastered for example), I'm pretty green to the area so it's clear to me I'd need to get some education before I make the leap.
With that in mind, here are my questions:

1) Should I first sign up for a course in college then go uni afterwards or would a foundation degree followed by a sandwich degree be sufficient?
The sandwich thing I view as a must given a lot of threads going on here that people without industry experience are far less desirable than those with.

2) Funding - being an EU national that's lived in the UK for over 6 years, what are my options? As I'd be forced to give my full time job up and go part time only I would lose a significant amount of the money - I'm not exactly floating on it either - currently forced to support myself and my unemployed partner I manage to pay all the bills and have a little extra for some treats every now and then.

3) With all said and done - is it worth it?

Many thanks for any help.

Begbie · 9 Dec 2010 at 10:45

Personally if I was changing jobs, I wouldn't be looking at IT.

I would be looking towards project management or something I could enjoy more.

Cat_In_Pyjamas · 9 Dec 2010 at 11:06

That sort of actually hinges on personality no? I'm more of a supporter/advisor than leader.

Cat_In_Pyjamas · 9 Dec 2010 at 12:20

Surely someone out there has some helpful advice for this? =/

neil3k · 9 Dec 2010 at 12:22

don't bother

get a trade like sparky or plumber

The Dread Pirate · 9 Dec 2010 at 12:23

[Useful Advice]Don't go into IT or you'll regret it![/Useful Advice]

Trifid · 9 Dec 2010 at 12:34

neil3k said:
get a trade like sparky or plumber

While good advice, if the OP wants to try IT than getting a 1st line helpdesk job, moving onto 2nd line ASAP would be a suitable way in.

Cat_In_Pyjamas · 9 Dec 2010 at 12:41

Plumber eh? No clue about that whatsoever, although I did attempt to fix some pipe issues in our shop a while ago (succeeded to a degree - the pipe layout was dreadful and even though everything was connected properly with no leaks there was no seal keeping the sink in the counter and the minor gap that it caused agitated someone enough to bash the thing in throwing the immediate pipes off their joints...). That's all the DIY plumbing experience I've got lol.

That aside - any advice on where I could turn for a student loan and how much I could expect to get?

Narj · 9 Dec 2010 at 12:49

Capn' $qu!ff said:
[Useful Advice]Don't go into IT or you'll regret it![/Useful Advice]

I don't regret it. Sure, I always wonder whether I'd have made it as a Marine Biologist or an Electronic Engineer, but IT has given me a secure, decent paying career.

I still find my job interesting seeing as I get my hands on all sorts of different kit.

radderfire · 9 Dec 2010 at 12:59

When changing career, make sure you think you're really going to enjoy your new career. Something that you love doing is the first thing to get right.

With IT support, the problem is that there can be a large amount of technical knowledge required, yet pay will not necessarily reflect the amount of learning you have to do to keep up. There are easier jobs out there.

I don't know much about college courses, but if it was me, I would be looking to teach myself stuff in my spare time, and then see if there was a job opportunity where I could learn on the job / gain training through the job. I imagine that it can be difficult for an IT course to teach you the things you really need to know.

Just my opinion.

Rgds

Narj · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:13

radderfire said:
With IT support, the problem is that there can be a large amount of technical knowledge required, yet pay will not necessarily reflect the amount of learning you have to do to keep up. There are easier jobs out there.

The best type of IT support is where you don't have to deal with users.

I much prefer dealing with other IT teams who know what they're talking about most of the time

1st line can be soul-destroying.

steve-h · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:20

Capn' $qu!ff said:
[Useful Advice]Don't go into IT SUPPORT or you'll regret it![/Useful Advice]

Maybe do some networking courses... but it depends on how hard you want to work.

[J.D.C] · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:21

Really worries me so many people suggest doing anything but IT and the like.

I'm quite excited about getting my placement sorted out, hopefully in some sort of developer/testing role and on the flip side, I keep hearing it's definitely the wrong way to go. :confused:

Narj · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:24

[J.D.C];17963564 said:
Really worries me so many people suggest doing anything but IT and the like.

I'm quite excited about getting my placement sorted out, hopefully in some sort of developer/testing role and on the flip side, I keep hearing it's definitely the wrong way to go.

As a developer it could be quite interesting depending on the work; fresh challenges all the time, not having to do the same old stuff day in day out.

As long as you have the logical mindset to debug quickly you'll be fine - I've heard of devs who've been "let go" after they couldn't effectively debug their own code.

Muzy · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:27

Dude, don't get in IT, programming, or any sort of Computer science courses, seriously get into DNA, laboratory field services, or anything to do with the HUMAN body. Money never sleeps in this sector of life.

Otherwise if you really like Computer science then choose a field where you can build a war-robots like Darpa e.g.

Narj · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:29

Muzy said:
Dude, don't get in IT, programming, or any sort of Computer science courses, seriously get into DNA, laboratory field services, or anything to do with the HUMAN body. Money never sleeps in this sector of life.

From what I can gather, sciences tend to pay poorly unless you manage to get a senior and/or lucrative position. I remember doing work exp in a lab years ago - absolutely loved it but the pay would have been awful.

Armitage Shanks · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:34

If you are going to do IT then definately shoot for a development type role. Avoid IT support if you possibly can. Sure if you are lucky enough to end up with a high end role or work for a decent company its good. However there is a lot of grief and drudgery involved in most 1st / 2nd line IT support jobs.

Cat_In_Pyjamas · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:36

radderfire said:
When changing career, make sure you think you're really going to enjoy your new career. Something that you love doing is the first thing to get right.

I'm very much a DIY person - like tinkering with things and would really love to learn more about how computers work (be it in detail computer assembly, support, networking, etc) so IT seems like a good area. Granted - plumbing also falls under the tinkering side of things and I remember having lots of satisfaction after I finally got those pipes sorted, but I've never given it much thought.

With IT support, the problem is that there can be a large amount of technical knowledge required, yet pay will not necessarily reflect the amount of learning you have to do to keep up. There are easier jobs out there.

Like to be kept on my toes though. Boring routine kills me. As for easy jobs - my job is easy enough - that doesn't mean I enjoy it.

I don't know much about college courses, but if it was me, I would be looking to teach myself stuff in my spare time, and then see if there was a job opportunity where I could learn on the job / gain training through the job. I imagine that it can be difficult for an IT course to teach you the things you really need to know.

Ah, but that's the crux of the problem - even if I'm a self taught IT genius - who will believe me without any form of certification or experience? A sandwich course takes care of both and gives me a sense of direction I may want to pick with my career.

chriscubed · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:38

I did a Computer Science degree from 03-06, and have regretted it so far. Don't get me wrong, I've got a job in IT that I enjoy, but the degree is pretty irrelevant to it. I wish I'd known that companies are often more interested in industry qualifications (and the obligatory 3 years commercial experience)

My main advice is to look at the job market for the sort of thing you really want to do, look at the requirements and decide what you can do to help you get that job.

Cat_In_Pyjamas · 9 Dec 2010 at 13:39

Muzy said:
Dude, don't get in IT, programming, or any sort of Computer science courses, seriously get into DNA, laboratory field services, or anything to do with the HUMAN body. Money never sleeps in this sector of life.

Otherwise if you really like Computer science then choose a field where you can build a war-robots like Darpa e.g.

Did a science degree - never finished it for a number of reasons, one of them being the absolute snoozefest that lab prep work turned out to be =/ Might have just been unlucky there, but it turned me off for good.