What are my options after achieving Triple Grade Distinction in my BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT many years ago?

[BuZ]

Hello all who use OCUK Forums. I haven't posted here properly in a while because I've been busy with life in general.

As the title reads and states, I'm just looking at my options once again because I achieved Triple Grade Distinction in my BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT many years ago. However I live in an area of the country where lack of investment is a thing (North West England for you haha!). Firstly, I've considered the possibility of university, although it's not really something I want to be doing because I've heard some mixed stories and opinions about university as a whole. These stories include: poor quality teaching, lack of help and support, preferential treatment of A Level students over BTEC students, unorganised timetables and mental health problems (which I already suffer from and I will touch up on more later in my post). Also, I will be paying £15k+ per year for 4 years (total cost including both tution fees and living costs for food, equipment, etc.). Whether it be via a loan (which will have added interest inflating the cost even more in the long run) or paying some of the costs upfront) to look at textbooks and presentations in order study a computer science or computing degree of some sort, without no actual guarantee of a decent paying job at the end of it is questionable (as it is with anything tbh).

I achieved my BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in IT many years ago (the end of 2015 or so according to my certificates), although since then I've done bits and pieces of minor jobs in customer service, retail and I've had a little bit of experience in call centres, too. However since 2019 I've been kinda out of action due to mental health problems, since my local doctors thought it is best that I stay away from work until I feel slightly better (slowly getting there which is why I'm looking for work, but I'm overwhelmed by what I am seeing). My mental health were quite bad prior to 2019 and I've had it since I were in high school (left high school a decade ago) and my mental health has been exacerbated by the whole pandemic, which also worries me because if I were to go to university, being stuck in my room will just make me feel worse and I'll fall behind even more and because of that I'm reluctant to want to go to university. Also, I've taken a look at Apprenticeships, but where I live there is almost none in the area of IT I want to work in and living away from home on an Apprenticeship wage would be such a struggle that it would be like trying to get water out of a rock (because I'd have to move back in with family because of the wages being so low on Apprenticeships) and I don't necessarily want to do that. I've been looking at IT Technician jobs on the internet in nearby big towns and cities and a lot of them ask for years (2 or 3 on average) worth of experience (I really don't know how someone is supposed to get that experience without actually having it in the first place - do people lie about experience or something?). I'm finding it really odd and the reality doesn't match up with what you're told about getting jobs (even normal jobs such as retail and customer service in shops and stuff ask for abysmal years of experience, which I had to tell small lies about to be able to get my foot in the door even though I have an education of some sort and I volunteered for a while many years ago).

As I mentioned before I have mental health problems and those include depression, anxiety (including mild social anxiety) and a mild form of PTSD and these can fluctuate from time to time and get worse from time to time, too. The whole pandemic has made me feel even worse because being in lockdown for 5 or 6 months twice prevented me from wanting to do something about my situation and delayed my process of getting back on track (I want some sort of plan before I fully shift myself back into working full time). I'm considering getting a part time job to begin with and doing that for a while (whether it be 6 months, 1 year or several years). However, I genuinely don't want to be working jobs like that for the rest of my life and because of that my end goal for the future is to hopefully find a suitable job in IT, which will be full time work of course, although at the moment I'm not fully prepared to do that due to mental health problems, thus that is why I will find something temporary and make the goal of getting an IT job a futuristic goal of mine. I'm just looking for advice and guidance from people who completed their BTEC Level 3 recently or years ago, so please post objective comments and don't troll me because I genuinely need advice and also what would be helpful is if someone who has had similar experiences to me could post in my thread. I want to add more details to this post (or thread), although I can't remember the rules for editing your posts on OCUK Forums because I haven't posted on here that much in years, so I may have to add multiple posts to this thread to convey my concerns and situation.

Thanks, BuZ.

 

[NoobCannon]

Whenever i drive past mcdonalds they always seem to be looking for staff?

 

[dowie]

Firstly, I've considered the possibility of university, although it's not really something I want to be doing because I've heard some mixed stories and opinions about university as a whole. These stories include: poor quality teaching, lack of help and support, preferential treatment of A Level students over BTEC students, unorganised timetables and mental health problems (which I already suffer from and I will touch up on more later in my post). Also, I will be paying £15k+ per year for 4 years (total cost including both tution fees and living costs for food, equipment, etc.).

Most undergrad degrees are for 3 years, not 4 (unless you take an undergrad masters - MEng, MComp, MSci etc..).

You could look at distance learning instead, study part-time while working - established options for this are the open university and the University of London international program but there are plenty more regular universities offering distance learning options, also providers like coursera can give you access to some international ones too.

Lastly, check out degree apprenticeships if you're worried about work and fees, you study for a degree over 4 years while working for and being sponsored by an employer so no dbet and no worries about employment - they're usually more vocational courses so probs quite suitable for a BTEC candidate.

but my end goal for the future is to hopefully find a suitable job in IT which will be full time work, which I'm not fully prepared to do at the moment due to mental health problems.

What sort of role in IT - technically most jobs don't require a degree but they're often useful to get in the door (if you want to be a developer, BA, PM etc.. then most will have degrees), other areas seem to place more emphasis on certificates.

I mean if you've already spent two years studying some IT stuff - what can you actually do with what you've studied already? What valuable skills do you currently have to offer employers?

 

[BuZ]

Whenever i drive past mcdonalds they always seem to be looking for staff?

I know what you mean, but I'm talking about my future job prospects. Also, I've been there and done that before, while on a job trial for a part time job at McDonald's during my time at college for a few days and didn't really enjoy it that much because it's a fast food restaurant. After college I tried McDonald's once again, alongside Warehouses and got declined several times on the basis that I'm overqualified (that's what they literally said to me). I mean, I wouldn't completely rule out working in McDonald's tbh lol, but it's something I could consider if nothing else better comes along, although for a part time job or temporary job I would much prefer working in a supermarket, phone shop, computer and technology shop, entertainment store (CeX for example), or just general shops in general (clothing shops, etc.) whether or not they are related to computers or not.

 

[BuZ]

Most undergrad degrees are for 3 years, not 4 (unless you take an undergrad masters - MEng, MComp, MSci etc..).

You could look at distance learning instead, study part-time while working - established options for this are the open university and the University of London international program but there are plenty more regular universities offering distance learning options, also providers like coursera can give you access to some international ones too.

Lastly, check out degree apprenticeships if you're worried about work and fees, you study for a degree over 4 years while working for and being sponsored by an employer so no dbet and no worries about employment - they're usually more vocational courses so probs quite suitable for a BTEC candidate.



What sort of role in IT - technically most jobs don't require a degree but they're often useful to get in the door (if you want to be a developer, BA, PM etc.. then most will have degrees), other areas seem to place more emphasis on certificates.

I mean if you've already spent two years studying some IT stuff - what can you actually do with what you've studied already? What valuable skills do you currently have to offer employers?

IT Technician and IT Support (or something along those lines), some job posts have different names, but they are more or less the same jobs (some even say IT Engineer but have the job requirements of IT Support).

Also, I'm 100% positive that a GCSE Grade C standard or equivalent qualification (BTEC Level 2 Diploma or NVQ Level 2) combined with Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Maths is the bare minimum you need for some IT Technician and IT Support based jobs.

However when I go job searching on Indeed and all other job websites, it seems that an A Level standard or equivalent qualification (BTEC Level 3 Diploma or NVQ Level 3) is preferred by most companies, so I guess I'm kinda okay when it comes to working in IT Support or as an IT Technician (I'm also basing what I say here in accordance to what I see on the UK government's careers website here: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/it-support-technician).

 

[malachi]

When it comes to applying for IT jobs, ignore the JD about requirements. If I match half of what they are asking for then I apply. If even you think its out of your league, there is no harm in applying anyway.

I used to say move to where the jobs are but thanks to the pandemic plenty of companies offer remote work or hybrid work. You can try looking at those kind of jobs, easily do 1st line support from your own home to build up experience and not deal with mental issues from going into a office full of people.

 

[dowie]

IT Technician and IT Support (or something along those lines), some job posts have different names, but they are more or less the same jobs (some even say IT Engineer but have the job requirements of IT Support).

Also, I'm 100% positive that a GCSE Grade C standard or equivalent qualification (BTEC Level 2 Diploma or NVQ Level 2) combined with Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Maths is the bare minimum you need for some IT Technician and IT Support based jobs.

Yeah, I think you're on the money there, if it is the support route you're looking for then should be fine without a degree. The standard advice on here is to try the 1st line helpdesk route etc. but that isn't necessarily a fun job in many places.

I guess other things you might look at are entry-level IT support/tech type roles in schools or in the NHS. I'd wager that the NHS has some turnover and it's a big employer so getting in somewhere there could be useful and I'd assume a decent chance for progression. Also, I guess it doesn't really matter what area of the country you're in for those sorts of roles!

Lastly, if you're ambitious, why not look at some of the newer stuff - cloud computing etc.. get yourself familiar with say AWS or Azure or Google's cloud platform.

 

[malachi]

Cloud and security is the future @BuZ best jump on it now while you can. Plenty of self-study materials you can use, take the exam and get the cert to prop up your CV.

 

[radderfire]

OK, my thoughts ...

Don't go to University, it's not right for you, and it won't particularly help you get a job in IT. It will just cost you money.

If you have some mental health issues, then you have to work at these as well. You need to learn about how to improve your mental health. This means getting as healthy as possible in general. So, do the basics, e.g. good sleep schedule, eat healthily, take some exercise etc. There is good advice on the internet but it takes a bit of finding ... but my point is work at it.

Re the job, I'm not familiar with the BTEC syllabus, but I'm not sure this alone would qualify you for many IT jobs. It is other factors that can qualify you for jobs, e.g. personal discipline, good attitude, being prepared to teach yourself stuff, punctuality, good personal presentation ... so work at all of those too.

Personally I would find a job in "IT", e.g. IT support or IT admin, a bit difficult, because they aren't creative enough ... make sure the sector is for you, it can be a bit tedious and unrewarding! (If I'm being frank).

Re getting a job, I think it just depends on your natural ability for comprehending IT topics, and then being able to execute them well. There is a certain personality type that is good for this, and they are cool thinking, logical and frankly quite naturally clever people. Hopefully you have the natural ability, otherwise it might be difficult. A BTEC alone will probably not cut it (to be frank).

Try and start personal projects that would demonstrate IT ability, e.g. set up a home server, learn PHP coding, learn to fix printers ... something. Once you know what interests you, build a speciality ... check job adverts to look for potential specialities, that actually have demand (important).

Job agencies may be able to help you find a job, and give you advice on the local jobs market.

Your local college may have an apprenticeship scheme available that will help you get into IT. I know there are IT apprenticeships available, e.g. in the area of networking.

As others have mentioned, remote jobs are a thing these days. There are entry level jobs e.g. paid moderation of forums, that can be done remotely.

Hope that helps and good luck.

 

[uber soldat]

Don't bother with university these days, the qualifications are not worth the paper they're written on.

Everybody nowadays has a degree in "Media Studies" or "Starwars"

You'd be better off with home studying or Cisco courses.

 

[dowie]

Don't bother with university these days, the qualifications are not worth the paper they're written on.

Everybody nowadays has a degree in "Media Studies" or "Starwars"

You'd be better off with home studying or Cisco courses.

Really bad take, university might not add much for the OP (depending on his future goals) but as a general point the idea that it’s not worth it because some people have a “media studies” degree is pretty obviously flawed.

 

[dlockers]

Also entirely the wrong degree to make fun of. Quite simple - media studies -> runner -> any job in media.

 

[Fubsy]

Better off spending money on some cloud/security certs if you're going to spend it.

1st/2nd line support jobs. Tailor your CV to job specs, big up the transferrable skills, describe a project you've done at home, get some years experience and then look around.

Be prepared to get a lot of knock backs though. With any luck you'll get a shot, especially when there's a shortage of staff, now's a good a time as any to try and get a foot in.