17. No job. No GCSE's. No experience.

Tom2k8

Tom2k8

Tom2k8

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Stoke on trent.
Hello guys.

During my last year of school I didn't attend much because of problems I don't want to discuss.

Because of this I didn't get any GCSE's and didn't get into College.

What options do I have now? I really want to find work, but all the things I look at require experience except the really bad jobs which no one wants to do.

Will I have to take a crappy job? I'd love to work in I.T as I feel it's the only thing I'm good at, but I don't know which part of I.T and I'm pretty sure companies wont take on people who have no qualifications.

Any advice on this matter please?

Thanks.
 
Retail for a few years, or look into Modern Apprenticeships, or college for GCSE's and other available qualifications.

Oh, and you'll probably get flamed to hell about qualifications and the lack there of, by people like Fox, but ignore them as they are too busy protecting their precious pieces of paper. I left school at 16, and am now a software developer earning more than every graduate I know in my industry (bar some contractors,) at my age (26). I have nothing higher than 3 GCSE's and 3 NVQ level 2's, all without the student debt to boot. :)
 
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Try and do some certifications, maybe try and find an A+ course at a college? look up all the microsoft courses (MCDST, MCSE, MCSA) and see what you can find, you can always get a job somewhere low-key to get some cash to do certifications in your own time, sometimes its just a case of buying the book, learning from it at home, doing online tests, find some forums aswell because you get great support, and then book the exam.

When I was at college doing my HNC then my HND in computing, my tutor was talking about how certifications can actually be more beneficial than a degree in some cases(some employers favour them), having both would obviously give an advantage... I know you can get a job in a call centre like Dell just by having a MCDST cert, and then just work your way up. Maybe not as easy as that though.
 
Advice?

Yeah, go to college and get your GCSEs.

What school did you attend though? Please say it wasn't Edensor or Blurton.
 
Thanks for all of your advice guys.

So I have a good chance of getting into College although I don't have any GCSE's? That'd mean I'd have to take extra courses though I think.
 
I'd say either work on getting your GCSEs again (do it before you're 18 or you'll have to pay IIRC), or I'd suggest you should try and get an apprenticeship somewhere.
 
Well the college down here offers quite a few free courses (inc GCSEs in Maths and English) for people who haven't achieved a full level 2 (GCSEs).
 
Can you still do your GCSE's? Else if you want to do IT and you've got no money buy some books and get yourself certified in maybe A+ and an MCP in XP or Server...or whatever area you want to be in. OS is generally a good place to start and you can branch out from there.
 
Contrary to popular belief, the government is pretty good with people in your situation. Go and do your main 3 GCSE's (Maths, Eng & Sci) at a college. Depending on how far you got it should only be a year.

Do this and many more doors will open to you.

Good luck, nice to see someone actually wanting to do something about their situation for a change rather than just complaining about it!
 
Tom2k8 said:
Hello guys.

During my last year of school I didn't attend much because of problems I don't want to discuss.

Because of this I didn't get any GCSE's and didn't get into College.
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GCSEs aren't really that important. Very few employers will actualy ask you prove you have them so you can say you have them when you haven't. This also applies to degrees as well.

Tom2k8 said:
What options do I have now? I really want to find work, but all the things I look at require experience except the really bad jobs which no one wants to do.

Will I have to take a crappy job? I'd love to work in I.T as I feel it's the only thing I'm good at, but I don't know which part of I.T and I'm pretty sure companies wont take on people who have no qualifications.

Any advice on this matter please?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

At 17 you'r still young. You could go back to college redo your GCSE's then your A-levels or equivalents and finaly do a degree.

Though you could bypass this altogether if you'r very knowledgable in a particular field (say programming) and can show this in an interview, however most 17 years old don't have the confidence/life skills to do this. So my advice would be goto to college then uni.
 
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I'd also advise on returning to college. As mentioned GCSE's aren't exactly as important anymore to most employers. Perhaps look at a BTEC first or something?
 
Berserker said:
There's a response to that, but I won't engage in a flame war. :/


Anyway, I'd contact these people > http://www.connexions-direct.com/

They'll probably be able to give you the best advice to fit your circumstances.

Edit - list of local services here. There's quite a few in your area.
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+1 sorted my sister out with loads of options. She is 25 now and sorted!
 
magick said:
GCSEs aren't really that important. Very few employers will actualy ask you prove you have them so you can say you have them when you haven't. This also applies to degrees as well.
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Companies often use 3rd parties to check for GCSE/A/Degree results, although often it's just the degree that they check.

magick said:
At 17 you'r still young. You could go back to college redo your GCSE's then your A-levels or equivalents and finaly do a degree.

You could bypass this altogether if you'r very knowledgable in a particular field (say programming) and can show this in an interview, though most 17 years old don't have the confidence/life schools to do this. So my advice would be goto to college then uni.
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You will NEVER get an interview, unless it's out of curiosity, without any formal qualifications. But judging from your writing style, use of language and spelling (better than the average poster here) you'd have utterly no problems getting your bread and butter GCSEs (Maths, English, a.n.other (science? or ICT if you're interested in that area)) so that's where I'd start.

Good luck!

edit: +2 for http://www.connexions-direct.com/
 
Kainz said:
I'd also advise on returning to college. As mentioned GCSE's aren't exactly as important anymore to most employers. Perhaps look at a BTEC first or something?
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BTEC First requires four D's or equivalent college course, not sure if he'd be a able to get on, they do consider mature applicants though so could be worth a shot.
 
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