I've been in IT for coming up 8 years and I still love it. There is always something new and it never stays the same for too long. Plus I can spend all day at work in front of a computer and then go home and do a good few hours gaming as well. I would say its down to the person and not the industry
I need help sorting my life out! Career in IT.
- Thread starter Alfie
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I've been in IT for coming up 8 years and I still love it. There is always something new and it never stays the same for too long. Plus I can spend all day at work in front of a computer and then go home and do a good few hours gaming as well. I would say its down to the person and not the industry
If you dont mind me asking
What part of Cambridge and how much ?
PM me and I'll give you some details
Soldato
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PM me and I'll give you some details
Doh
Just realised Cambridge is a 1:30 commute
thought it was more towards ~1hour
Soldato
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- Nottingham
That really depends on what you are doing and what the environment you are working in is like. Yes, this can be the case if you are working in a high pressure environment for a company that you don't like but IT is a large industry with lots of different things to do ... and if you don't like it then you can also look at moving into other areas within IT.
The majority of 1st line folk never leave 1st line (because the majority are unbelievebly useless to be quite honest). You should be able to find a 1st line job without many issues. Just brush up on the basics like resetting passwords and sorting out network printers.
I wouldn't try and find a job with big companies like IBM, Fujitsu, CSC, etc, as they never offer any training for the 1st liners (they know that the majority are completely useless and not worth the investment). Look for smaller companies and you'll find that they're more likely to pay for your training. Get the certs on the job, not before it - an MCP, MCSE, CCNA without any experience is completely useless.
I wouldn't try and find a job with big companies like IBM, Fujitsu, CSC, etc, as they never offer any training for the 1st liners (they know that the majority are completely useless and not worth the investment). Look for smaller companies and you'll find that they're more likely to pay for your training. Get the certs on the job, not before it - an MCP, MCSE, CCNA without any experience is completely useless.
My girlfriends father works in IT and he has a nice house, 3 kids and a good lifestyle. He is happy and just as keen as ever. This does not and cannot apply to everyone right?
Exactly, I enjoy working in I.T. but then again I don't stay if I'm not someone that moans about a job, I just find a new one. It's the same in any field though, there's a few people who simply cannot help themselves, if you don't like working where you are or what you're doing then change it, but quit moaning about it.
I picked I.T. as a career quite late on though, some folks picked it for college or University and then didn't feel that could get out of it. Where as I became an electrical engineer and moved into I.T.
Love it, still enjoy my computers at home too and have skills that will always be in demand.
Nah, i've been doing it for exactly 20 years...its taken me around the world, i've met types of people i'd have never met had i stayed working in my home town and i never tire of learning new things...every day is a school day and i love it.
Sucks to be you, i guess.
I tend to think that if a person doesn't get out of 1st line in five years they are never going to get out.
Well said Stolly, if people don't like it then get out - I'm fed up working with negative I.T. folk who do nothing but bitch and moan about their lot in life then do sod all about it!
I.T. is a good career, learn something every day and get to deal with lots of people face to face, most of whom are great.
I.T. is a good career, learn something every day and get to deal with lots of people face to face, most of whom are great.
Sorry to sound negative but I agree. Well up to a point.
I guess it depends’ what IT work you do. First and second line support via the phone for business and home users is a nightmare.
I am getting out of IT. I worked for Virgin (well due to takeovers and mergers it was Telewest, then NTL/Telewest then Virgin) for 7 years doing first and second line support. I did support for ADSL Broadband. It can be very stressful at time due to various reasons. Over the month we had to have our call average at 330 seconds, 1 minute from ending one call to being on your next call, all kinds of psychological tricks and rules about what you must say and must not say when on a call. You often had to deal with customers who are idiots (sorry but it is true), angry customers, know it all customers, condescending customers etc.
I then worked with BT for 2 years doing second line support for business users. Same s*it different shovel.
I then worked for 2 years at a hospital going around fixing PC’s, upgrading PC’s, installing software and hardware etc. I thought it would be more enjoyable and it was up to a point but I still had to deal with a lot of unappreciative moaners.
On saying that though I know there are good IT jobs out there. Just don't take a job doing support over the phone.
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Let me guess, you have been doing 1st/2nd line support work for 10 years and have never really had a challenge, or challenged yourself?
Thank you to everyone. I've had a look through the rest of the comments and there are a couple of things i'd like to query/mention:
This concerns me a little. I would get very bored if these were the sorts of tasks I'd be doing. Presumably there are more challenging tasks to do? I'm way more knowledgeable than this. I was messing about in DOS when I was a child and I know a good ammount of stuff in most areas. Problem is I have nothing IT based to put on my CV except.........."I can do it guvner, honest!"
THIS LEADS ME ON TO MY OTHER COMMENT:
I'm interested in everyones opinions, even those that advise against it. However, I must stress that I would only stay in 1st/2nd line for the minimum time possible and I would do my very best to get promoted and do as many certificates as possible in my spare time. As others have mentioned it's about ambition so starting low is fine if you work hard and challenge yourself to get into better positions. It's really your own fault surely if you're still in 1st/2nd line 10 years on?
I would also stay well away from Virgin/BT etc support call centres as I could not work for the devil. My hatred for the customer services of these comapanies is to the extreme
to say the least. I know if i can't fix it the air headed simpleton on the other end of the phone certainly cannot! I think we should expect technical support to exceed our own knowledge in a given area, otherwise what's the point? This is not to say I know it all becasue i don't, I really don't (especially networks) but I can read a script thank you very much............Just email it to me Virgin and i'll set fire to it.
Rant over!
Edit - I hope I don't sound too cocky.
This concerns me a little. I would get very bored if these were the sorts of tasks I'd be doing. Presumably there are more challenging tasks to do? I'm way more knowledgeable than this. I was messing about in DOS when I was a child and I know a good ammount of stuff in most areas. Problem is I have nothing IT based to put on my CV except.........."I can do it guvner, honest!"
THIS LEADS ME ON TO MY OTHER COMMENT:
I'm interested in everyones opinions, even those that advise against it. However, I must stress that I would only stay in 1st/2nd line for the minimum time possible and I would do my very best to get promoted and do as many certificates as possible in my spare time. As others have mentioned it's about ambition so starting low is fine if you work hard and challenge yourself to get into better positions. It's really your own fault surely if you're still in 1st/2nd line 10 years on?
I would also stay well away from Virgin/BT etc support call centres as I could not work for the devil. My hatred for the customer services of these comapanies is to the extreme
to say the least. I know if i can't fix it the air headed simpleton on the other end of the phone certainly cannot! I think we should expect technical support to exceed our own knowledge in a given area, otherwise what's the point? This is not to say I know it all becasue i don't, I really don't (especially networks) but I can read a script thank you very much............Just email it to me Virgin and i'll set fire to it.
Rant over!
Edit - I hope I don't sound too cocky.
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It's the basics of working in any form of IT Support, certainly large corporations all use AD and domain environments.
I don't think you've mentioned the following:
a) what you actually KNOW about "IT" at the moment.
b) what you actually want to do.
Jobs "in IT" are very varied. It's like saying "I want to work in a hospital", what as? Porter? Nurse? Neuro-surgeon?
IT Support work can be tedious, it can be challenging, it depends what systems you are working on, how much responsibility you have.
IT Development work can also be tedious, for the same reasons.
I've found this to be the opposite as I have worked for both large and small companies and found the smaller ones to have less resourse and less time to show/teach you anything. Anyways found the larger companies to be better managed as well
So what are you supposed to do then? I'm told to get a job in 1st line support instead of doing a course and now i'm told that I can't do that without experience in AD/domain evironments.
CATCH 22!!!!!!
How do I get my foot in the door then?
Regarding what I know and what i'm interested in it's a little bit of everything for both. The whole point is to discover my strengths and main interests and direct myself accordingly.
I'm a fast learner and in other jobs (ie NHS) I have been recognised for improving the efficiency of the computer systems in the office and the way staff use them despite my job being nothing to do with IT. I know i'm capable and I do have enough basic knowledge. I'd hate to be prevented by recruitment bureaucracy but in a competitive climate I'm worried I may not get a job in 1st line even................................................
Youdo sound a bit cocky at times, but that isn't a bad thing.
However, you do have to realise that IT is such a competitive market to get into, meaning you will have to start at the bottom and work your way up, or get a huge slice of luck.
Your 1st line support in most places are usually a log and flog scenario. You'll take the call and if it's fixable at first time, you'll give it a go. If no, you'll flog it onto another team (2nd line support). It will be mundane and boring at times, however it will get you used to the office environment and look good on your CV. It's the only real way. 2nd Line is more of a tecnical type of role, you will be expected to do more investigation into the problem and try to fix it a lot more than 1st Line.
I started for my current IT Company doing 1st Line support, after a month I showed that I had the qualities to be better than 1st line and they moved me to second line. A year later I'm doing 4th line support for over 100,000 users, supporting programs they use on a day to day basis and looking after the directories (5 in total) which their details/roles/etc are kept.
Start at the botto mand work your way up, your only choice really in my eyes.
Good shout, I'm going to get my CV out there and hope for the best.
And yes, sorry if I seem too cocky. I'm in a slightly heightened state of needing to prove myself. I need to feel that i'm doing the right thing as i've made a big step leaving university. We shall see
And yes, sorry if I seem too cocky. I'm in a slightly heightened state of needing to prove myself. I need to feel that i'm doing the right thing as i've made a big step leaving university. We shall see