Can't wait for what? Getting a job? have you started looking for jobs in the field your interested in?
IT Qualifications
- Thread starter Harvey616
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Can't wait for what? Getting a job? have you started looking for jobs in the field your interested in?
In starting my final year. And no, not really. I want to concentrate on getting the highest grade possible. I have a part time job which I could make full time as a temporary job until I find one that i'm interested in.
Soldato
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I have a computing BSc and have worked in IT now for about six years
its a mixed bag imho, its got me jobs purley because its a repected qualificaiton, it didnt really teach me anything specifically useful however its definatley made me a faster learner and given a very good base to work from
In terms of walking out of uni and into a job, graduates expectations seem to range from deluded to aspirational, it really depends on knowledge and skill, the clever ones always seem to get the £40k plus jobs and the rest start on basic wages just like everyone else
After uni I took a very easy job just to get going and only earnt £12k
Six years later and im on £27.5k and if I apply myself more maybe I earn more pounds
getting into first line support etc seems very easy, (with poor wages to match) getting out of it to something higher requires some hard work
getting out of support and into something high paying then either professional qualifications or some real knowledge seems to be needed
not too keen on the way people cram for exams just to get an extra cash bonus on their salary but know f all about the actual subject ! oh well
maybe thats just my natural lack of ambition stopping me doing it to!
id say do a degree for the base learning, (and the good times!) then get on a first line support team and work your way up, learning some programming languages or some professional qualifications (cisco or MS etc) in the process
its a mixed bag imho, its got me jobs purley because its a repected qualificaiton, it didnt really teach me anything specifically useful however its definatley made me a faster learner and given a very good base to work from
In terms of walking out of uni and into a job, graduates expectations seem to range from deluded to aspirational, it really depends on knowledge and skill, the clever ones always seem to get the £40k plus jobs and the rest start on basic wages just like everyone else
After uni I took a very easy job just to get going and only earnt £12k
Six years later and im on £27.5k and if I apply myself more maybe I earn more pounds
getting into first line support etc seems very easy, (with poor wages to match) getting out of it to something higher requires some hard work
getting out of support and into something high paying then either professional qualifications or some real knowledge seems to be needed
not too keen on the way people cram for exams just to get an extra cash bonus on their salary but know f all about the actual subject ! oh well
maybe thats just my natural lack of ambition stopping me doing it to!id say do a degree for the base learning, (and the good times!) then get on a first line support team and work your way up, learning some programming languages or some professional qualifications (cisco or MS etc) in the process
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I've been an IT professional for at least 10 years and give you my opinion in a short manner:
Support (eg. tech support, systems admin, etc) = Any cert like MSCE, Cisco, etc is worthwhile but having a degree is not necessary.
Development (eg. games programming, games design, etc) = Degree is essential imho .... besides teaching you languages there are lots of theory such as distributed computing, artificial intelligence, programming algorithm analysis, high level computational maths, etc.
Some people are lucky to have the experience to get into high level programming without degrees these days as it is very competitive industry. If you plan on working for a company like Codemasters producing games then getting a degree is beneficial. Otherwise if you're happy installing/configuring computers then the certs themselves are fine.
In the end there is no black/white answer that guarantees success, but if plan on going into any form of high level development/programming then getting degree wouldn't hurt.
Support (eg. tech support, systems admin, etc) = Any cert like MSCE, Cisco, etc is worthwhile but having a degree is not necessary.
Development (eg. games programming, games design, etc) = Degree is essential imho .... besides teaching you languages there are lots of theory such as distributed computing, artificial intelligence, programming algorithm analysis, high level computational maths, etc.
Some people are lucky to have the experience to get into high level programming without degrees these days as it is very competitive industry. If you plan on working for a company like Codemasters producing games then getting a degree is beneficial. Otherwise if you're happy installing/configuring computers then the certs themselves are fine.
In the end there is no black/white answer that guarantees success, but if plan on going into any form of high level development/programming then getting degree wouldn't hurt.
Associate
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1st = helpdesk goons
2nd = slightly more knowledgable helpdesk goons
3rd = the people that know what they're doing
2nd = slightly more knowledgable helpdesk goons
3rd = the people that know what they're doing
I'll put my 2 cents in on the matter, I'm just about to start my second year at college doing btec national in ICT specialized into networking.
I went to sixth form after i finished school for about a month, considering i really wanted a job in ICT, i did ICT, maths and science. But honestly sixth form ICT wasn't teaching me anything remotely interesting, word, excel are NOT fun.
So i left and luckily got straight into college, had to catch up, and to my dismay its all word and excel crap again! But then second half of the year it got interesting, i got to go to "the practical room" this was what i wanted to do, and this is where my course got really fun. It was really fun, and you get PLENTY of help if needed with coursework (It's like impossible to fail, i got 9 distinctions first year without trying)
And from what i can see this year is going to be more fun, personally I've specialized into networking/fault finding, i could have went many roots as my college offers loads (web, business, programming, networking, etc) but i enjoy networking the most, and even if in the future i need to do a bit of web or programming, in the first year you get taught how to use c# fairly well and construct a website using HTML,java and css (i.e. not tables)
But remember this is only my college, many colleges do different units for their btecs (there is something silly like 50 units they can pick, and they can only tech 18 over two years so do check)
After this year i plan to go uni and do computer science, but as long as you get high BTEC scores, your really open to a wide array of choices. (As long as you got the basic english/maths at GCSE and if at A-level even better)
I went to sixth form after i finished school for about a month, considering i really wanted a job in ICT, i did ICT, maths and science. But honestly sixth form ICT wasn't teaching me anything remotely interesting, word, excel are NOT fun.
So i left and luckily got straight into college, had to catch up, and to my dismay its all word and excel crap again! But then second half of the year it got interesting, i got to go to "the practical room" this was what i wanted to do, and this is where my course got really fun. It was really fun, and you get PLENTY of help if needed with coursework (It's like impossible to fail, i got 9 distinctions first year without trying)
And from what i can see this year is going to be more fun, personally I've specialized into networking/fault finding, i could have went many roots as my college offers loads (web, business, programming, networking, etc) but i enjoy networking the most, and even if in the future i need to do a bit of web or programming, in the first year you get taught how to use c# fairly well and construct a website using HTML,java and css (i.e. not tables)
But remember this is only my college, many colleges do different units for their btecs (there is something silly like 50 units they can pick, and they can only tech 18 over two years so do check)
After this year i plan to go uni and do computer science, but as long as you get high BTEC scores, your really open to a wide array of choices. (As long as you got the basic english/maths at GCSE and if at A-level even better)
Thanks for all your replies guys, they have been really helpful
Just wondering, what are 1st, 2nd and 3rd lines of IT support?
It's kind of a blury definition but:
1st line are people you ring up first. They will come down and install your printer or reset your password when you forget. Do all the monkey work really. The job is more about customer service than IT knowledge.
2nd is getting a bit more advanced, they might be incharge of imaging desktops or rolling out software.
3rd line is where the proper IT geeks reside, those who look after the servers and over see the environment. Third line people will very rarely deal with customers (eg employees outside the IT department)
Like I say, this is a rough explination and it varies from company to company.
To answer the OP too. I think what I liked most about my degree (BSc Computer and Network Tech) was it was so varied and gave me an idea of what all the different areas of IT are like. Plus other experiances which are worth it.
Thank you very much for all of your responses.
I completely agree Murdin999, all we have been ding at school is Excel and Word then coursework about them.
I think it will be great to learn about the more interesting areas of IT.
And when I did my work experience I was put with a 3rd line guy, he was in charge of all the 250+ servers on the premises.
I completely agree Murdin999, all we have been ding at school is Excel and Word then coursework about them.
I think it will be great to learn about the more interesting areas of IT.
And when I did my work experience I was put with a 3rd line guy, he was in charge of all the 250+ servers on the premises.