Im 25, can i even do an apprenticeship anymore ? (IT related, please help)

BoozerDawg

BoozerDawg

BoozerDawg

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So basically, i hated school and put no effort into college, and ive been doing crappy jobs since then. Im 25 and well..... i want to earn some proper money, but i simply dont have anything behind me to help me get a job, preferably in IT somewhere, which interests me a fair bit (hell, i like building computers and fixing problems and such, might aswell go for it).

Im looking at some apprenticeships nearest to me, and basically id like to hear from others, either currently doing one or already working in IT if these are what i should be going for, or wastes of time ? And also if being 25 still allows me to do these things. Here are the 3 im looking at -

https://apprenticeshipvacancymatchi...+eCjj49/9HCvkw8Y1XsDdlYnS99iTx7FbcocHiPfjhv8=

https://apprenticeshipvacancymatchi...36XP7wvZmmUCHxIn3xR8A7u9Vox2IDQVBh0AI+VEDhSs=

https://apprenticeshipvacancymatchi...TBgAjjCs2+u1k8z1pTRGTK6l2vY+1SVQp+xzKlm9S3VA=

All sound fairly interesting to me, but theres some many qualifications being thrown around, i would like to know which ones actually count :) Thanks.
 
Need a login for those links :)

I'm not really sure if there is much apprenticeship wise for IT, tends to be more for trades as such.

Look for trainee desktop support or first line jobs if you like that kind of thing.
 
Turambar said:
Generally employers running apprenticeships prefer to employ younger people because they can pay them less.
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This is the sad truth. Many years back i looked into doing one but was over 25 and it becomes a complete uphill struggle. Unless you negotiate very hard with the company and accept a ridiculously lower pay rate, im talking £100 quid a week (or less) you wont get very far.

Its total illegal age discrimination by most of these companies as if you look on the government websites there are no age limits except basic rates of bay must increase after age 25.

Most IT apprenticeships are slave labour anyway from what i hear, unless its a reputable larger company.
 
I personally would suggest doing some sort of self study at home for something like A+ or some MCP's. You can do this while applying for first line jobs in computer support.

If you do well with the study you can take the exams MCP's are about £90 for the exam and comptia I think are around £120 which is a two parter for the A+. I would say remember this wont automatic mean your get first line jobs but will put you in good stead when interviewing because it shows you did it off your own back in your own time. Lots of company will like to see people who are willing to study in their own time.

Most first line jobs are answering phone calls,logging calls and doing basic troubleshooting so they are'nt looking for someone with loads of exams and knowledge. The only thing is at the moment its a tuffer market place with the more exeriance people around looking for work.

Apprenticeship are great when your young but I personally think at 25 would be a waste of time. Thats just my view by the way you might want to wait and see if there is someone here of that age that can tell you the wage they are on.
 
So if you cant do apprenticeships at age 25 how do you get experience, training required to do a job ?
 
tron said:
So if you cant do apprenticeships at age 25 how do you get experience, training required to do a job ?
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You do a training course from your own pocket?

Not exactly unreasonable for a 25 year old to have the money to send themselves on training.

As for the experience part, well, do as much as you can for free, offer your services around local small businesses, and get all that on your CV.
 
I've been discussing this at work recently, I can't remember the last time a came across an IT apprentice, trainee programmer etc.. I think it's a great shame that the government doesn't encourage companies to take on more apprenticeships. High levels of qualification is fine but nothing beats experience which is priceless, even if it means a low wage for a number of years..
 
I started an apprenticeship with a UK telecomms company when I was 18 (the futures bright).

Was an IT based apprenticeship, we started on about £175 a week if that is anything to go by, only GCSE's were necessary but I joined with 3 A-levels anyhow, once 'qualified' and a permanent role had been secured, was given a (to me) huge pay rise. In hindsight, the 2 years of 'slave labour' has been worth it, just think of the long term investment dude.

Although, the age was limited to 18-24. And the scheme no longer exists.

If I was to do it all again, I can honestly say I'd do a trade, plumbing/sparky/mechanic most likely, a lot of my friends are earning fantastic money for their age (23-25 yo).

Hope this helps in some way.
 
Duggan said:
I personally would suggest doing some sort of self study at home for something like A+ or some MCP's. You can do this while applying for first line jobs in computer support.

If you do well with the study you can take the exams MCP's are about £90 for the exam and comptia I think are around £120 which is a two parter for the A+. I would say remember this wont automatic mean your get first line jobs but will put you in good stead when interviewing because it shows you did it off your own back in your own time. Lots of company will like to see people who are willing to study in their own time.

Most first line jobs are answering phone calls,logging calls and doing basic troubleshooting so they are'nt looking for someone with loads of exams and knowledge. The only thing is at the moment its a tuffer market place with the more exeriance people around looking for work.

Apprenticeship are great when your young but I personally think at 25 would be a waste of time. Thats just my view by the way you might want to wait and see if there is someone here of that age that can tell you the wage they are on.
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This was the other thing i was looking into, which would allow me to keep my current job (which i enjoy, but the pays pretty crap). If anyone has any experience of this i would like to hear about it too :) Although the benefit of an apprenticeship is that obviously i can see hands on whats required etc.
 
BoozerDawg said:
This was the other thing i was looking into, which would allow me to keep my current job (which i enjoy, but the pays pretty crap). If anyone has any experience of this i would like to hear about it too :) Although the benefit of an apprenticeship is that obviously i can see hands on whats required etc.
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Get on ebay or amazon (price depedant) and get the most update A+ and MCP books. I would suggest doings your MCP in XP as this is still the most used OS for desktop clients available and to be honest its a easy exam that most people after reading the book will ace the exam.

MCP books and a vitual pc setup are really handy. This more so for the later exams but its alway good to run through what your being taught in the book.

Once you feel you have a good understanding book a test through prometric and take the exam at your local testing centre. Dependant on your ability and will power the XP mcp wont take you more then a month to read the book learn the bits you dont know and pass the exam. That will put you in good enough position to at least have something to your name while applying for jobs. And to be honest if you get the exam bug like a few people do at first you might find that you can get your mcse or mctip in under 6 months.

Any questions just ask.
 
Duggan said:
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Thanks for the reply, this idea sounds good. Looking at the books available, the CompTIA A+ book that stands out is the All-in-One Exam guide written by Mike Meyers, on the Microsoft side im a little confused, as there appears to be different levels of certification (MPA, MCTS etc) with multiple books for each individual exam. Could you possibly make some recommendations ?

The MTA certification appears to only need 1 exam successfully passed in order to obtain it, with Networking Fundamentals being the 1 that stands out to me.

Thanks for the help everyone you are helping me form an idea of what to do :)
 
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