Not sure what to do... (work/job/education)

[brightside229]

So, i am getting old now(34). I went to college in my 20's and did a few IT qualifications BTEC level 3, GNVQ level 2 and a few others.

I left college and got a job at a small company. I have been here ever since 12-13 years+

I enjoy the job, but it has zero prospects and a low wage(pretty much minimum wage)

I am wanting to hopefully find a better paid job in IT, and not sure where to turn.

I am wondering, if its worth to try and get any online IT qualifications and if so which ones are worth getting.

ZERO idea which field i want to get into in the IT industry, basically right now i am doing normal office computer support, sorting all the computers and any issues that might arrise and general office duties.

Would be nice to get a job that pays £25k ish a year.

Going back to college is out of the question as i have a mortgage to pay for(and not a huge amount of disposable income).

 

[brightside229]

Can't speak on the IT side of things in terms of qualifications because it's not my field, but surely someone in their mid-thirties with 13 years of IT experience and college qualifications can expect to be on more than minimum wage?

I'd recommend moving to a company that values your work to get an immediate pay-rise, but also a company that would like you to develop into the role, so you can organically grow your craft in the business (perhaps a larger corporation?)

My thoughts exactly. Its my own fault i should have been working for this company for a maximum of 1-2 years to get some experience and then moved on. Its not the companies fault as such, i really dont think that they can afford to pay any more, at least that is what i am lead to believe.

I am just wondering if theirs any qualifications that will improve my prospects to get a better job.

 

[brightside229]

TBH IT is pretty broad really so you've got 2 options


- Or alternatively, you decide to specialize in something and seek education in that. For example, cloud support, azure is the largest market. Plenty of courses to get you started via linkedin etc, like Azure Fundamentals (might even be free), follow that and then try for an entry level support role in that specialization. The job market for those kind of roles is rich right now.

HTH

I think that's exactly what i am looking to do, move into something specific. But not sure what is in demand/worth learning.

I will for sure have a look into azure and see if that is something i want to do/can learn.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[brightside229]

Do you have any valid IT qualifications under your belt? I'd be aiming to pick up some stuff like VMware, CCNA/P, MCSE and AWS/Azure stuff (take your pick of what interests you). Also IP telephony stuff is worth doing as it's now the norm and I believe ISDN installs will be phased out soon enough.

Only stuff i did at college, as stated in my OP, few others like A+ in computer maintenance but nothing resent in the last 12years or so. Will check out the ones you mentioned. Thanks!

 

[brightside229]

am i right in thinking that the online courses such as udemy and pluralsight are for the training and information only? you then have to go and book the certificate tests elsewhere?

Also thanks for everyone that has commented, i really am wanting to improve and get some useful qualifications under my belt. I really have wasted too long already and should have done something like this years ago.

 

[brightside229]

If it was me I would look for a job in a small to medium firm of around 150 employees with an IT department that is pretty small around 4 or 5 people. 25k salary with your current experience should be easy to command. Make sure that where you go are serious and invest in the technology, and in you, you should know this by having a nose around the office or from the systems that they have in place for remote access, you can also ask the questions about what they have at the back end, team size etc in the interview and if the guy sitting at the other end starts waffling on about the tech they use and it's good then you know you are onto a winner. Remember interviews are two way, and you need to make sure that what they are putting on the table sounds good to you.

The amount of experience you will gain in a small amount of time will be massive and will help you climb that ladder. This is my opinion as I run an IT department for a SME and have interviewed plenty of guys like yourself. I've also started guys on 20 to 25k that are earning double or more than that now.

Edit: Also you are not getting on, I am 36 and we are still young dude

Thank you for your comment, that's reassuring to hear. I am the only I.T guy at my current place, and anything computer related falls to me, whether i have experience in it or not, i have to go googling and learn and fix the problem.

Being the only I.T guy in a company of around 10 people is not the best. You cannot learn from someone else, so for sure i need other team members around me to show me the ropes and to learn from.

Well i am not saying 34 is "old" but what i mean is at 34 i should really be more advanced in a career and have just become complacent.

I really cannot say what i have achieved in the last 10 years. It's quite depressing lol not sure where the time has gone.

Hopefully i can motivate myself to make some big changes and this time next year i will be able to come back to this thread and update it with something positive!

 

[brightside229]

Just a little update, i have been studying the microsoft azure fundamentals course material on the microsoft website, have just finnished it all and learned a bunch of stuff. I am going to go through a little bit more stuff via a 5 hour youtube video i have found and then hopefully get the exam booked within the week

Next i plan on studying for the comptia N+ and start doing a little bit more studying on the administration side of azure, but i think theirs lots of stuff behind the scenes i need to learn before i can think about going for the exam for admin side of azure, but would be nice to make this some sort of end goal.