Choosing a career in IT. Where do I start?

Devrij

Devrij

Devrij

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I'm looking to start a new career and figured my interest in computers and maths skills would suit something in IT, but my degree in Sociology won't be of much use so I'm going to have to start at the bottom somewhere. The thing is, I don't know enough about all the different sectors to know which direction to head in. Eg network design/admin, software design etc. With no qualifications in the field I'm guessing I'll have to start somewhere like 1st line support for some large company and then try to progress up the ranks.

Has anyone else here started at the bottom and gotten anywhere good with it? Is it better to be a code cruncher or support monkey? :p I'd love to hear peoples experiences before I start, as it can be tough to work out what a job is really like until you've actually done it.

Thanks!
 
Its just not worth starting a career in I.T these days, no money in it. 1st line support is going to pay you around 18k if your lucky. Your spend years getting shafted in this area.

I'm not saying if your good you won't get anywhere but these days its just not where the money is. I mean 10 years ago it still wasn't great (when I started) and hey i'm only now just moving into a IT Projects route and no the money is not great.
 
What experience do you have?

There are certain things you could learn in your own time or perhaps go on a training course (if you have the funds) that lasts a week or two.
 
DAIR said:
What experience do you have?

There are certain things you could learn in your own time or perhaps go on a training course (if you have the funds) that lasts a week or two.
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Little to none. I've been learning how to write stuff in Python from the lectures on khanacademy.org, but nothing I could put on a CV. What kind of qualifications do you get from a week's training course?

18k would be a step up from the 15k I'm on working at Currys (with a hateful existence ahead of me as a disposable manager if I stay here), so it's not the starting pay I'm too fussed about.

I'm slowly accepting the fact that my degree doesn't open many doors (except as just "a degree"), and finding something I actually want to do is proving tricky, so I figured I'd try something I'm naturally good at: fixing computers/maths-based problem solving (did 2 years of a Beng degree before I switched to Sociology so have decent ability in the maths department).

The hope is that I get in somewhere basic, then get some company paid training that would help me progress into a field that a)pays more and b) is more challenging/interesting. Spending 4 yrs completeing an OU degree in computer science is just too long for me to waste when I could be earning more elsewhere.

Am I totally barking up the wrong tree or is it worth trying?
 
Devrij said:
Little to none. I've been learning how to write stuff in Python from the lectures on khanacademy.org, but nothing I could put on a CV. What kind of qualifications do you get from a week's training course?

18k would be a step up from the 15k I'm on working at Currys (with a hateful existence ahead of me as a disposable manager if I stay here), so it's not the starting pay I'm too fussed about.

I'm slowly accepting the fact that my degree doesn't open many doors (except as just "a degree"), and finding something I actually want to do is proving tricky, so I figured I'd try something I'm naturally good at: fixing computers/maths-based problem solving (did 2 years of a Beng degree before I switched to Sociology so have decent ability in the maths department).

The hope is that I get in somewhere basic, then get some company paid training that would help me progress into a field that a)pays more and b) is more challenging/interesting. Spending 4 yrs completeing an OU degree in computer science is just too long for me to waste when I could be earning more elsewhere.

Am I totally barking up the wrong tree or is it worth trying?
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I see. I would suggest heading over to amazon or ebay. Find yourself some reading material which relates to the areas of IT your interested in.

As for what can be gained from a course which lasts a week. Google Firebrand Training. My last employer offered to send me over to these guys a while back. Never went in the end. May still end up signing up though... When I can find the funds at time lol.

If training camps arent your thing then head back to uni.
 
Wizzkidy said:
Its just not worth starting a career in I.T these days, no money in it. 1st line support is going to pay you around 18k if your lucky. Your spend years getting shafted in this area.
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I wouldnt say thats the case for everyone. I left uni and went into a support role that was a hybrid 1st / 2nd line role at quite a bit less than 18k. Within 18 months the company had expanded taking on a new dedicated first line support desk, and I had progressed to a senior engineer earning myself a relatively small pay rise.

Now 6 months on from that I'm a team leader responsible for over 20 people and earning quite a bit more.

You certainly dont have to spend years being shafted if you put the effort in. Just dont expect to come out of uni earning 25k straight away. You will have to put in a fair amount of effort in a 1st line role for not a lot of money, but if you show willingness there is ample room for progression and with that comes more money.
 
Two of my flatmates recently started an IT apprenticeship at British Gas - one doing user experience and the other software programming. They get paid pittance but the company pays for all of their training, it could be worth looking into.
 
The IT Service desk is a hard place to start out in. It can give you a good overall grasp of IT and be a stepping stone to other areas if you prove yourself. One place I worked in 1st/2nd line but you were expected to provide 2nd line support in ALL areas of IT. Even some basic 3rd line. :eek:

Getting a job in 1st line is one thing. Getting the right employer with real career prospects and training is another.
 
billysielu said:
degree in computer science will lead you into being a programmer.

anything less is a waste of your time.
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What makes you say that? Plenty of well paid people in IT that aren't programmers, e.g. senior Technical Architects, Programme Managers etc.

In my view, for a graduate to go away and do another degree in computer science would be just as much a 'waste of time'. I wouldn't rule out study but postgraduate level qualifications could be achieved quicker and more focussed on a specific area, e.g. project management.

To the OP, one option you could look at if you don't fancy support work is software testing, might be able to land yourself a junior role paying say £20k and work your way up from there. Alternatively depending on your academic background and previous work experience you might be able to get a junior Business Analyst role if you are willing to undertake some formal training in the discipline.
 
Don’t listen to the naysayers above.

I work in IT technical support. Its all a bit of luck really, but you have to try to find out.

I would strongly suggest starting from the beginning if you in a situation that you can.

i.e. Get to uni and get your computer science degree. The basic requirements before I started my job which is in the IT department of a major contemporary art gallery in London, was a degree. Beyond that its how you stack up against the other applicants at interview in terms of practical knowledge and experience.

When I started 4 years ago, I only had done my degree and a few mcp's a little introduction to linux and an overview of the cisco ccna.

My job involves managing our unix based servers: imap, smtp, firewalls.
Blackberry Enterprise Server, WSUS.

Whilst all this is going on, I am providing support for Blackberry, iphone and ipad. I am also administrating 150 windows xp/7 desktops as well as a few macs.

Obviously being an Art gallery I also have to support Artists on a rare basis as well as deal with some more technical aspects of film and video, which the non techy ones come to me for help.

I got very very lucky, to get this job. I had next to know experience before I started, but just learnt on the job. Having a degree helped. In fact I also have a masters degree, and after about a year I asked my manager why did he choose me over the other candidate, and he said because I had a masters.

For you, if you can do a degree do it. Also try and get a work-placement as well. (very very important - this can make finding a job a lot easier)

After degree, then maybe sing up with an agency and start from there.

Or if you have no degree, well then you really need to be a techy type of person, would is playing with and braking computers on a daily basis, because when your under scrutiny they will be able to realise if you are a IT person or not.
 
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billysielu said:
degree in computer science will lead you into being a programmer.

anything less is a waste of your time.
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What an irresponsible comment.

OP, what ever you do, don't listen to this nonsense. The IT world is full of opportunities, programmers are one small portion of it.
 
To the guys who question my comment:

I know from experience the computer science route is how you unlock the 40k+ jobs, whatever variant of job you take in the end.

You can take the other route and work your way up. I'd probably suggest project management or networking in that case. You'll get to 20k fairly easily, but then very slowly creep up to 30k.

If that's enough for you, then fine. It's common for a good role to require an appropriate degree, I know there are plenty that don't - but you couldn't work at my place without it.
 
billysielu said:
To the guys who question my comment:

I know from experience the computer science route is how you unlock the 40k+ jobs, whatever variant of job you take in the end.

You can take the other route and work your way up. I'd probably suggest project management or networking in that case. You'll get to 20k fairly easily, but then very slowly creep up to 30k.

If that's enough for you, then fine. It's common for a good role to require an appropriate degree, I know there are plenty that don't - but you couldn't work at my place without it.
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I don't have a degree and I am on ... well lots ... lots more than Developers. I started my career 10 years ago as 1st Line support at a ISP helping clueless people connect to the internet with a Dial Up modems.

Quite honestly due to my life long love of computers and not being stupid it was easy and I was very good. It only took me about 2 - 3 years to move through the levels of support up to a Unix System Administrator (FreeBSD originally).

Fast forward to now and I am a Systems Manager at a dotcom with 3 teams reporting to me (IT Support, Systems Administration and Systems Architects).

FYI, my sister is 5 years older than, more intelligent than I am and has a Degree 2:1. She did Lotus Notes consulting a while back and continued on that path and is now a project manager at a very large company.. I earn more than her.

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Here is the secret to being successful in IT, you can learn pretty much all you need to know to get a good job at home.

Since you are not desperately looking for a job be REAL picky about where you go. You want a company that IS an IT company. Where their business is IT, an ISP or DotCom is perfect. Somewhere that requires lots of servers and equipment, is a small (but stable) company. Get in as anything you can, Technical Support, Customer Services... tea boy... anything... it doesn't matter. Next up, find the right people to hang out with at said company.

Any company that is successful at IT will have 1 or more uber guru. There maybe a team around them but there will be a guy or set of guys extremely good at their jobs and keep the place ticking over. Hopefully they are not douchebags (difficult to find a non-douche sysadmin unfortunately) Shockingly highly technical people tend to be very friendly when it comes to their area of expertise. So assuming you want to be them in a few years all you need to do is set yourself a goal or project, spend a bit of money on lab equipment (switches, routers, cheap servers whatever..) at home. Personally while working at the ISP in the Tech Support team in my spare time I setup a Game Service Provider. It was quite successful for about 2 years before I shut it down after joining the Sysadmin team (I know that people on this forum played on and even rented some of my servers;)). I still have 2 racks worth of servers sitting in my loft (1U Intel P4 kit).

Once you have the knowledge at least to start with you should be able to progress in the same company - keep an eye out for job openings and make damn sure you have demonstrated your skills to those who matter. Alternatively with your new found skills and your "IT Company" experience under your belt just go on a few interviews, you will be surprised what you can achieve with good knowledge, good interview technique and very little actual experience in the field you are applying for.
 
billysielu said:
I know from experience the computer science route is how you unlock the 40k+ jobs, whatever variant of job you take in the end.
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And as someone without a CS degree in my experience one is not necessary to unlock higher paid jobs.

Majority of people I know in high paying IT roles do not have a CS degree.

To the OP, get your cv up to date and just start applying for things, check out the job board sites for things in your area as well as checking out local companies. Loads round Bristol (I work there ;) ).

Look at jobs that you would like to do (and be a bit realistic with your aspirations here!), see what they ask for and work on learning those things.

This job ad is a great example as they basically tell you in the person spec what things they want you to know

http://www.cwjobs.co.uk/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=52453796

I would also start thinking now what kind of area you want to get into. Infrastructure support, design, desktop support, networking, development, security, loads of stuff :)
 
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Ev0 said:
And as someone without a CS degree in my experience one is not necessary to unlock higher paid jobs.

Majority of people I know in high paying IT roles do not have a CS degree.
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My old boss had a Degree in Psychology... he was the CTO and wrote most of the code for the first 4 -5 years of the life of the company :p In I.T. a degree doesn't necessarily help your career at all (it can do) but it damn sure does stall your career for 3 - 4 years.
 
You need to think about which general area appeals to you, IT is a very broad church with specialisms in every aspect.
Programming and network design are worlds apart and may as well be a different trade.
Experience is more important that qualifications, if you can get a helpdesk job that has exposure to multiple disciplines it might give you some idea of what appeals to you.
And then do nightclass/self study for certs in that area.
 
JBod said:
My old boss had a Degree in Psychology... he was the CTO and wrote most of the code for the first 4 -5 years of the life of the company :p In I.T. a degree doesn't necessarily help your career at all (it can do) but it damn sure does stall your career for 3 - 4 years.
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Degrees and IT jobs are funny, many people don't have them and will laud they are a waste of time and delay your career for a few years.

I wouldn't have even got past hr screening for my first ever job without one, but doesn't have to be in CS :)

Mine is in Engineering, we had guys on the team who had Astrophysics degrees, and one with surf/ocean science :p Subject didn't matter :)
 
Get into finance related IT.. Like the systems and applications investments banks use. (ie bloomberg)
Thats were the money is! IT in investment banks has a solid future, because they are using it more heavily and will continue to for the foreseeable future.
 
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