What qualifications are required

[Ascendancy]

i obviously cant go up to them and say "hey i self taught myself to build and intel i7 overclocked to 4ghz, can i hav job plz?"

can someone tell me where I should start? thanks

I'm a system builder myself and I pretty much did just that. I mean, I have a degree, but it's not in Overclocking

 

[Castiel]

Anecdotal, but I know a guy who got his A+, got a job working in our local computer repair shop and used the cash to fund an online C++ course and now five years later earns £60k as a developer for a cloud software company.

Go for it, do what you want to do just be aware that OCing isn't going to be your main occupation, repairing and installing software for the noobies and oldies out there is.

 

[Jez]

WOW there! Calm down buddy lol.

It's the same as A-Levels but targeted only on IT, a stepping stone towards degree's, work etc etc etc.

What did you do when you left school Jez?


If he's not a school leaver then sure, the ND isnt really right for him but if he's under 18 then its a good grounding.

I did A-Levels, which is what the OP should do if he doesnt already have them.

Should i take that as a "no" to my question then?

 

[DooMeR]

When i left school i got a nvq the collage i was at built sold and repaied pcs on site so i got good experance from doing that.

But this was 10 years ago and the job was much more in demand back then. These days theres so many people who are computer literate can build pcs and overclock them i think its more of a hobby then a realistc job prospect.

Unless your lucky enough to work for ocuk ofc or another big company, and i would guess there would be a lot of people going for a small number of jobs.

One thing you could do work for you self, advertise in the local paper, saying you build pcs to spec, repair them ect but again it would be a hard way to make a living with so much compertion out there.

A example i live in a small sea side town called hornsea and even the local barber shop is selling pc components, building them and repairing them. The kid that works for him seems pretty clueless as well. They also sell and install dodgy software too, tsk tsk.

 

[dk345]

I did A-Levels, which is what the OP should do if he doesnt already have them.

Should i take that as a "no" to my question then?

I have just finished doing the National Certificate in IT, which is only two years long compared to the four years for the other. It wasn't the best way to spend my college life, only the basic grounding in programming languages was helpful in my eyes. The course was full of things that I, personally, thought were useless, like the hardware section where we were taught to blow out a PC and install a service pack.

I did, however, take this as well as A Level Maths and AS Further Maths. This probably isn't an option for the OP, but having predictions for 4 As got the Uni's interested and hopefully doing Computer Science will take me further.

I also work in a job that the OP seems to be after. I work for a local PC Repair shop and have done since I turned 15. We build 'bespoke' systems, upgrade RAM and get rid of viruses. It is not something you want a career in, but it was helpful having that on my CV in my college and university interviews.

Some people have been harsh in this thread, sometimes overly harsh. But I can't help but agree with what has been said. Especially Jez's comment about the National Diploma. Given the opportunity, I wouldn't have gone that route. My two pence is ask around the local repair shops, get a part time job, get some more qualifications.

 

[Messiah Khan]

Wow this thread is full of people quick to criticize the OP's ideas. Fair enough, a system builder is very unlikely to make a lot of money, and the idea of overclocking for a 'large' company may be a pipedream, but there are overclocking and system builder jobs out there, and not everything in life is about making as much money as possible.

RBCustoms from these forums used to work building custom computers (Although he does have 1337 airbrush skills), and I have spoken to several other people who's day job involves building custom computers and overclocking them etc. So the jobs do exist, although they are few and far between and may require some other skills (airbrushing, sales etc).

Having said that though, the OP can always aim towards that sort of job if that is what he wants and is aware that it is likely to be low paid. You never know, it may end up being a doorway into something he likes better and pays more. If IT really is the area that the OP wants to go into then looking into the Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and even Apple qualifications may be a way of getting his foot in the door.

 

[MasterPlan1]

Basically, the OP wants rjkoneill's job - which is I'm not sure there are many of them about.