Career Change, recognised Qualifications, IT training?

[Jay85]

Sorry Admin if this is in the incorrect section, if so could you please put it in the right place please thanks.

Alright so i'm here for advice and help and anything else you could give me to guide me through on what do for a career change, because simply put i'm at abit of a loss right now. Recently i've been job hunting for an IT job and have been looking into Web Designing. Having done web design (Basics) in School, College and some at university i feel like i need to brush up and take it to the next step and get some certifications before i can approach such jobs.

I did IT at GCSE, ICT at A-level and also did Computer Games Technology at nottingham trent university but however i did not finish the course which i regret completely but nothing helps by dwelling. Having qualifications here and there i thought i would be okay in getting some sort of IT job in IT consultancy and support and work my way up from there while doing some home study. However isn't as simple as that and after looking for such jobs in the industry for about 6 months now and hearing nothing back at all i was beginning to wonder where i was going wrong.

I looked around at some of the IT jobs out there and a majority of them are very specialised, requiring specific certifications in certain areas which from what i can see can only been acquired from university or maybe some sort of IT training course. Am i correct in saying that?

A few days ago i found a company called Computeach which sounded all nice and glorious, applied and got a call back from a careers Advisor which sounded more like a sales advisor introducing me to the courses i had specified. Promising me a decent job after the course(s) and decent pay and also the qualifications/Certifications i would achieve i did my own research into the company and what the qualifications are. According to a lot of people who have done the computeach course... they aren't very good and some seem to feel like they have been Scammed! I was shocked and now having second thoughts.

So i'm asking you guys who i'm sure a lot are into some sort of IT Career could possibly guide me or tell me what sort of Qualifications or Certifications i would need to kick start my long waited career. As mentioned before i would like to start off as an IT Consultant doing support and some management and then work my way up to being a web designer. I have reading material and software to do the training which i do on a day to day basis but unlike going on a course which guides you through and makes sure you can take an exam and pass it, i feel unsure if i'm learning the correct material and whether i would be prepping myself enough for exams whatever these exams would be as i don't know or unsure on which Qualifications/Certifications i need.


Sorry this is so long winded...
Please help, Advice is most welcome.

Jay

 

[Richdog]

Go for a bog-standard helpdesk monkey job that you have a high chance of getting (turnover rate will generally be high, because its a ****ty job), do it for a couple of years, then see what your options are (a little less limited, maybe you can go up to 2nd level). Without a degree or relevant qualifications you are limited pretty much to that.

Either way try not to stay in IT support for any longer than you have to, aim towards a job in a multinational company where you can provide local desk-side, on-site support, and from there use it as a means to an end.

 

[neil3k]

avoid computeach

 

[Jay85]

Go for a bog-standard helpdesk monkey job that you have a high chance of getting (turnover rate will generally be high, because its a ****ty job), do it for a couple of years, then see what your options are (a little less limited, maybe you can go up to 2nd level). Without a degree or relevant qualifications you are limited pretty much to that.

Either way try not to stay in IT support for any longer than you have to, aim towards a job in a multinational company where you can provide local desk-side, on-site support, and from there use it as a means to an end.

avoid computeach

Is working in industry the only real way of getting anywhere then? I really want to get some certifications and qualifications but unsure where to start. I've already been told to avoid IT training courses as a majority only have profit in their interests rather than the consumer.

Can you gain industry certifications through college study or would it have to be through university?

 

[Richdog]

Is working in industry the only real way of getting anywhere then? I really want to get some certifications and qualifications but unsure where to start. I've already been told to avoid IT training courses as a majority only have profit in their interests rather than the consumer.

Can you gain industry certifications through college study or would it have to be through university?

Do the certs and qualifications in conjunction with working, as the problem with IT market nowadays seems to be a ton of fresh-faced newbies, with all certifications and no practical experience, clamouring for every job. You won't walk into a higher-placed role without any experience, unless the role is specifically advertised as junior or trainee... a fistful of certs thst most people can braindump in a short space of time means relatively little in my experience.

Start with working in an actual job, and then build on that as you go.

 

[Jay85]

Thank you for the advice rich, i've booked myself into the careers office for an appointment and hopefully get myself a starting job to work my way up from the bottom up. Qualifications and certifications i will get but like you said its better to have the experience at first hand rather than just a handful of papers.

 

[KiTBoH]

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm going into an IT 1st line support job but I have no idea how I'd move up the ladder in IT jobs.
Will having experience in first line support actually benefit you when looking for a more specialised job, i.e. going into programming or networking and how do you go about doing that?

 

[Richdog]

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm going into an IT 1st line support job but I have no idea how I'd move up the ladder in IT jobs.
Will having experience in first line support actually benefit you when looking for a more specialised job, i.e. going into programming or networking and how do you go about doing that?

I did what you guys are doing... did a switch into IT from something very different, and the simple process was that I started at a crudhole, worked there for a year/couple of years, got a better job, then rinsed and repeated until I got a job for one of the Big 4 accounting companies doing in-house IT support. I did that for almost 3 years then got a secondment opportunity (for 6 months initially) in one of their partner offices in another country where the quality of life is fantastic. This was extended by 2 months, then led to a permanent position in said country, and I emigrated without hesitating. Fast forward 2 years, and i've now fought to get myself a secondment opportunity in the fee-earning side of the business, in IT Risk & Auditing... which if all goes well will hopefully lead to a Business Administration degree and a very well-paid career.

Bear in mind the following things:

• You do have to do your time in the trenches, it's a necessity for most people.
• Always take any free training opportunities you are given, no matter how trivial it seems.
• Always aim to move higher when you get a new job, look for larger companies that have a lot of resources and a lot of office in various places... such as accounting, profesiosnal services, food corporations etc etc... they can prove very worthwhile to work for in terms of opportunities they provide.
• You make your own opportunities... some of it is luck, but most of it you are responsible for needing to create yourself. Work on your social and networking skills, learn to talk to people at all levels of business, even if it means buying self-help books to improve your soft-skills... they are critical, nay essential to progressing.

 

[Jay85]

That is some good advice and talking from experience. I will definitely keep that in mind and work towards a larger goal in increments. If i could achieve what you achieved in a few years time i would be over the moon.