10 + years of Administration want a change - IT?

[Matt_West_Mids]

Hello,

Well I'm 35 years old having worked 10 plus years in a local government administration role I'm getting very bored with the same things day in and day out. Really fancy a change would love to move into IT but no idea where to start any advice? Currently on £21k a year paying rent etc so worried about a drop in wage at the moment.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Can start with Comptia A+ if you have no IT background.

Buy the books, study and take the exam. It won't cost much apart from your time to study.

If you have IT knowledge already then Microsoft qualifications will help you.

Thank you will have a look.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

It's worth noting that some of the IT related qualifications you'll probably end up aiming for require renewal every X amount of years, it isn't a big deal and if you land a job in the role you want as they'll probably cover any such costs anyway. I'm a little out of the loop in that regard as I no longer work specifically in the sector I was in (computer networking/administration), but as an example Cisco certs (CCNA) would set you back around £200 each and require renewal every 3 years. That was the case for certain other certs too, although it's not a massive deal if you're genuinely interested in putting the work in and entering whichever sector. Depending on the sector of IT you work in, it's a constantly evolving job where you're always learning and coming across new tech, so if stagnation is a worry it could be a good area for you to go into.

Could be a plan to book an appointment with some sort of career advisor and outline where you're interested in going and doing, they'll be able to direct you in the direction you need to go and what to expect.

malachi raised a good point regarding where you live, some places are crying out for skilled IT work and others not so much.

Thank you for the reply interesting point on renewals but if it's something your interested in suppose that's not much of a ball ache.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Not at all, and as I said if you're wanting a change due to finding regular Admin work boring, IT is generally an ever evolving creature. Hopefully it's not something you'll get bored of, so whatever work you put in should pay back in the long term. You do need to put the work in day by day to remain up to date though.

No I love everything about computers it's the only interesting part of my job currently haha. so can't see me getting bored of it.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

That's good!

I'd think long and hard about what you want to do within IT before committing to anything though.

Do you want to program?
Work in networking, systems admin?
Computer repairs/support?

There's a wealth of areas and it's an idea to figure out where to focus before just taking random courses.

I will say that there's a large difference between enjoying something as a hobby and working with something day to day however, really think about this before you jump into it all.

Id ideally like a support repair role I think. Kind of do unofficial IT support now and love it every aspect of it. Particularly helping people with problems / issues.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Thanks all I know I can't do what im doing currently forever so need to think of something else. I'll have to have a think on different options definitely want to do something involving computers / technology though.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Very good idea.

Working general admin might not be the OP's problem really, the fact he's working in government sectors might be the issue. I've never in my life come across a government (non-political) position that wasn't absolutely soul sucking. If you enter a different industry doing the same work, where there's a very different culture and different context/workload, it could do wonders. Not only that, but once you're there and have proven yourself, you could apply for in house positions which are different, but have transferable skills. Or even simply being the right fit, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of IT related (more so in development) positions look for the right fit/mindset over skills and qualifications, as they want to take and grow the person.

Yes I have thought before maybe it's the public sector part of the job that's the problem. It really isn't great.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

I'm also reminded of what was said earlier, that you might not be management material given how long you've spent at the role. Now that's something I disagree with to a point, I've found personally, and from talking to people I know within the government sector, that those who are promoted are not always the best fit for the role. In fact, it's often the case that people are promoted because they're unlikely to challenge the person promoting them, there's a high degree of incompetence when it comes to government sector workers. This may be hyperbolic on my end, but it does fit both my experience and that of those I know, including those who have worked within said areas. I'd say the most concerning thing is the fact you've worked there for ten years without looking for work elsewhere, but the fact you're looking now is definitely a positive thing. I'm guessing in your case you simply have not been in the right environment, and a move will do you the world of good.

Look to move under the same role imo, ten years experience is a good thing. Spin it as a positive, but I'd say look for professional advice in this regard, someone that can point you in the direction and tell you how to put a good spin on the fact you've essentially stagnated in the same role for that period. I think if you, as mentioned earlier, move into a similar position in a new place and industry, that you might find yourself much happier, with far more avenues open to you even if you don't want to remain as an admin worker specifically.

Yes I've certainly seen and worked with some inept useless managers who haven't got a clue. Love the ones who try and tell you how to do your job. I may of been doing administration for 10 years but not all in the same job / level. Current job coming upto 5 years now.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

I have a cousin who used to work as an admin for a local council and was on the way to management, the guy above him retired and someone else moved in. My cousin was constantly knocked back, heavy workloads were moved to him out of the blue, very unrealistic things were expected of him. He suddenly found that he went from enjoying his work to hating it, a complete 180. It was entirely down to the new guy in charge, he didn't like that Bob (lets call him that) had shown initiative, he didn't like the idea that Bob might rise above him one day. This was basically confirmed, my cousin overheard him giving these reasons, and while anecdotal on my behalf in this thread I have no reason to doubt him. He moved into a different sector and has since done extremely well for himself, he's living in the north of England (so low living costs) on an 80K a year wage. Wouldn't happen in almost any other industry, there's generally too much accountability for things going wrong.

A move can do you a world of good.

Certainly ringing a lot of bells for me. The more you do the more they put on you. Constantly getting new tasks but not having anything taken off you etc.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Yup.

Thankless tasks with zero reward no matter how hard you work or how well you do.

Time to move on bud, you're better than that.

The best bit is when you do something and someone else i.e. manager takes credit for it.

Happens a lot!

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Government administration is a bit vague and IT is quite a broad area - have you developed some IT related skills in your several years of work experience so far?

What are you like academically? I mean administration could mean anything from absolute nut low dogsbody type job through to having some decent levels of responsibility for stuff?

So I mean do you manage projects? Could you look at transitioning to IT project management? Or are you doing some very basic role and might be looking at say getting into some low level IT Helpdesk type role (that could be soul destroying at 35 tbh..).

Do you have OK A-Levels? Do you have a degree? You could look at a degree apprenticeship where you combine work and study with a sponsoring employer. If you already have a degree then you might look at some relevant MSc course perhaps or some distance learning course - perhaps just a grad certificate/diploma etc..

No degree or A Levels only ok'ish GCSE's if I am honest.


absolute nut low dogsbody type job - I Wish

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

So what are you actually looking for?

A jump from low end admin role to low end IT role?

Have you thought about rectifying the education situation - like perhaps looking at an OU degree or access course etc..?

The lack of A-levels doesn't have to hold you back in that respect and it might well be better to put some effort in there in the short term to improve your long term prospects if/when going for a career change.

Yes pretty much to start with. Although its not really a low end admin job I'm doing but get where your coming from.

I'd like to retrain in something computer related basically.

rectifying the education -This is something I would consider.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Take a look at degree apprenticeships - perhaps contact the admissions people and ask about alternatives entry routes, like if you went for some sort of evening school/access course as an A-level alternative. Like they're generally more vocational IT degree courses so not too demanding academically at a glance at least.

I just think some entry level - do vendor certificates - become call centre/printer monkey route as some general "IT" types would go down would be rather depressing at 35.

On the other hand getting something more akin to grad training combined with studying for a degree at the same time could be much more interesting for you... but is something you might need to look into and be prepared to perhaps study for a year or so part time to get to the point where you can apply for something like that.

for example:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/apprenticeships/degree-apprenticeships



AFAIK you don't pay tuition and they start you off on about what you're earning right now rising to 30k by the time you finish the degree. Would be a no brainer compared to where you are now if the pay is stagnant, only question is the entry requirements and how you can rectify that (access course, OU etc..) and how you can sell your current work experience. But I think it would be well worth exploring getting paid 20k rising to 30k to gain 4 years work experience and a degree rather than paying for some IT certificate and starting some help desk job.

Cheers mate will take a look.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

Not strictly true, I've not done a single exam since my Windows Server 2000 MCP back in 2000. This got me a foot in the door doing desktop/server support. I've since progressed to a senior IT architect at a global bank, before that I worked at LogicaCMG (now CGI) in their Space & Defence division and done 10 years at Accenture.

I don't have a degree either. If you want to get in to IT, give it a go, what have you got to lose?

Nothing really current job isn't going anywhere fast. Really want a change going to have a look on job market see if theres anything suitable and look at courses I think.

Thanks for your message.

 

[Matt_West_Mids]

What processes and areas of public sector? Those would be useful to software companies selling into goverment. So don’t undersell yourself.

Careful that a lot of software is outsourced to India and other locations. In terms of skill sets - don’t replicate those available in low cost locations. It may be better doing a maths/statistics degree part time - that opens up data science, computational analytics for banks, energy companies etc but also opens up to quantum computing.

Children's social care at the moment and the longest I've been in.