Who said finding a job in I.T is hard work

triggerthat · 7 Jun 2006 at 15:22

Don't get me wrong - if you want a higher paid job they are out there. But obviously they'll bring stress and a lot of responsibilities. As for leaving University and securing a £30K job, it is certainly possible however only people who go to a red-brick university, gets excellent grades and clearly is capable in the real world get them. Some of my friends have secured placements within the investment sector (Doing Computer Science) some of them are on £26K and a few are on £32K :eek:

- just for placement. By all means, its going to be long hours and very stressful but am sure they'll cut it.

Bes · 7 Jun 2006 at 15:25

Cueball said:
It doesn't matter what you start on, no one will leave uni/college and walk into a 30k+ a year job - most people who study IT have that misconception and think they'll be made as soon as they get the qualifications. :/

Keep your feet grounded, get the experience, then aim high. That's the name of the game.

o rly? I know at least one person who walked out of uni on 30K, and I finished uni last year, and started a job on a salary not far off 30K.... It is perfectly possible if you have a good placement year on your CV and apply yourself. You don't even need to be at a top uni- I went to Sheffield Hallam!

And as for whoever said 12-14K being the going rate for graduates- only if you are either

A) going to get a third
B) Not looking hard enough for a decent job.

Syph · 7 Jun 2006 at 15:27

Bes said:
o rly? I know at least one person who walked out of uni on 30K, and I finished uni last year, and started a job on a salary not far off 30K.... It is perfectly possible if you have a good placement year on your CV and apply yourself.

And as for whoever said 12-14K being the going rate for graduates- only if you are either

A) going to get a third
B) Not looking hard enough for a decent job.

Is this studying IT or another subject, such as a business related degree?

Bes · 7 Jun 2006 at 15:28

Syph said:
Is this studying IT or another subject, such as a business related degree?

Edit: Sorry misread the text you were quoting...

All sorts really. I know people who did a whole range of subjects who are on more than 14K less than a year after graduating.

Edit2: Sorry you changed the text you quoted

I did IT, and so did the other person I know.

Syph · 7 Jun 2006 at 15:30

Bes said:
Edit: Sorry misread the text you were quoting...

All sorts really. I know people who did a whole range of subjects who are on more than 14K less than a year after graduating.

Edit2: Sorry you changed the text you quoted

I did IT, and so did the other person I know.

Ok.

(And I didn't change anything, seriously!)

Bes · 7 Jun 2006 at 15:32

Syph said:
Ok.

(And I didn't change anything, seriously!)

I saw you mate

you quoted the second paragraph only at first

lokkers · 7 Jun 2006 at 15:40

I left uni in 2005 (2:1 BA History) and spent 4 months looking for an IT job, but lacked the qualifications to get one.

Finally secured a 1st line support job in Basingstoke for about the salary of the OP. A year later, my wage has gone up by 5k, I am pretty much my own boss (as no-one else supports the product I do) and I am now coding small projects too.

Moral of the story? Work hard, grab your oportunities and work for a company that will allow you to grow into what you want to do. I am tremendously grateful to the company for that.

Skiddley · 7 Jun 2006 at 16:25

Don't agree with the comment on Red-Brick institutes.

I went to an Ex-Poly (Nottingham Trent) and was asked to come for an interview before I even graduated. 26K start, now circa 50 with investment incomes after <5 years.

afraser2k · 7 Jun 2006 at 16:27

The OP doesn't have a degree, he has a HND. The starting wage is reasonable to me for someone with no real experience and those qualifications.

triggerthat · 7 Jun 2006 at 16:36

Skiddley said:
Don't agree with the comment on Red-Brick institutes.

I went to an Ex-Poly (Nottingham Trent) and was asked to come for an interview before I even graduated. 26K start, now circa 50 with investment incomes after <5 years.

It will also apply to some students from Ex-Polys. I personally believe that if your are motivated, have good grades, able to stand out from the rest then you can secure a decent well paid job. I find it annoying that people say don't expect to walk into a 20-30K job after uni. If you apply yourself, then I don't see any problem. Yes your bound to get a low paid job if you don't shift your weight.

Messiah Khan · 7 Jun 2006 at 17:09

Bes said:
o rly? I know at least one person who walked out of uni on 30K, and I finished uni last year, and started a job on a salary not far off 30K.... It is perfectly possible if you have a good placement year on your CV and apply yourself. You don't even need to be at a top uni- I went to Sheffield Hallam!

And as for whoever said 12-14K being the going rate for graduates- only if you are either

A) going to get a third
B) Not looking hard enough for a decent job.

Not necessarily. Ive got a 2.1 for my degree, and it took me 9months or so after graduating to find the job im doing now. I must have sent off 200-300 job applications to my chosen industry(Computer Games/Animation) and hardly got anywhere. Ive now landed a part time (6k ish) IT support job, going to full time in August(13K ish), and its certianly not for a lack of trying. A few people are lucky and land themselves 30k a years jobs straight out of uni, and good on them. But not everyone who start at the bottom are there out of lazyness. It seems that people bitch at graduates for expecting to land good jobs straight out of uni, and then also bitch when they start at the bottom rung of the ladder. I say well done to the OP, and good luck with wherever the path of life leads you.

Indy500 · 7 Jun 2006 at 17:28

Phantom said:
apart from my publications how would a recruiter know i existed if i didnt "advertise" myself? theyre recruiters contacting me (not the other way round). gives you that warm fuzzy feeling knowing that youre wanted so badly

Thanks for the tip on that site, I got 2 calls today already

d3adm0nk3y · 7 Jun 2006 at 17:30

Congrats [Sniper][Wolf].
I've never been to uni and I don't work in I.T.
I think it's great you've got yourself a job in an area that you're interested in.
So, just enjoy

Bes · 7 Jun 2006 at 18:01

messiah khan said:
Not necessarily. Ive got a 2.1 for my degree, and it took me 9months or so after graduating to find the job im doing now. I must have sent off 200-300 job applications to my chosen industry(Computer Games/Animation) and hardly got anywhere. Ive now landed a part time (6k ish) IT support job, going to full time in August(13K ish), and its certianly not for a lack of trying. A few people are lucky and land themselves 30k a years jobs straight out of uni, and good on them. But not everyone who start at the bottom are there out of lazyness. It seems that people bitch at graduates for expecting to land good jobs straight out of uni, and then also bitch when they start at the bottom rung of the ladder. I say well done to the OP, and good luck with wherever the path of life leads you.

Ok sorry I understand you want to go into quite a specialised area so that's a bit different... I wasn't having a go at the OP, just basically responding to an untrue comment. I agree- well done to the OP for getting a job

Mercutio · 7 Jun 2006 at 18:22

Well.... thats not bad at all - I started even lower, just begining to get to "good" money now.

Left uni, did 3 months with a telecoms company (11.5k

), 1.5 years with a blue chip doing ATM (cash machine) support for a high street bank on 14.5 now nearly 2 years with same blue chip doing full IT support (19k). Next step is in house CCNA job and see from there.

Basically hit the floor running and keep hoping up the ladder as soon as u get chance, keep an eye out for internal vacancies as progression in a company looks v good on a CV and dont get lazy (problem i'm just overcoming)

Hellsmk2 · 7 Jun 2006 at 18:43

Well done mate. I've got a degree (2:1) and several professional computing qualifications under my belt. I took quite a major paycut to get back into IT. I used to be a warehouse manager on around 20k, but I left to join an IT firm on 14.5k pa.

It's harder to live and pay the bills, but I'd had enough of looking at four metal walls and thousands of cardboard boxes. I'm sure I could have gotten a 2nd line position on considerably more pay (I was in 2nd line support first time round), but I opted for the lower paid job on purpose: So I could have an easier ride at work and spend more time revising for more professional/ up to date computer qualifications again.

Ignore the folk who are saying they wouldn't take the job: Pompous a"""s. You have to start somewhere, and 1st line support is a good place to start. It isn't very interesting though so make good use of the time there and revise your head off to get you out of there after a year or so.

Messiah Khan · 7 Jun 2006 at 19:21

Hellsmk2 said:
It's harder to live and pay the bills, but I'd had enough of looking at four metal walls and thousands of cardboard boxes. I'm sure I could have gotten a 2nd line position on considerably more pay (I was in 2nd line support first time round), but I opted for the lower paid job on purpose: So I could have an easier ride at work and spend more time revising for more professional/ up to date computer qualifications again.

Slightly OT, but what is the difference/Description of First/Second/Third Line support?

Psypher5 · 7 Jun 2006 at 19:38

Well done to the OP

Agree with the post on front page about "why are people moaning at this?" etc, gee its a first job. I'd be over the moon with that sort of money to be quite honest.

Hope you have a great time and ride up the ranks

richieboy · 7 Jun 2006 at 20:10

Roduga said:
I would say 'grats', but I hate IT more then I care let on and feel that you are wandering into something really really really dull.

Congratulations to the op.

There are many different roles in IT, i beleive support analysts are usually service/helpdesk staff and is where quite a few people start out as its normally quite low pay and you ask questions like "have you rebooted..." etc.

I have worked in the industry for a few years now, each job has had the same rough title of support officer or engineer and they have always been interesting jobs - but i could easily work "in IT" and be a project manager who sits at his desk all day pushing paper...don't tar all IT related job types/positions with the same brush.

Syph · 7 Jun 2006 at 20:39

Bes said:
I saw you mate you quoted the second paragraph only at first

Seriously, I didn't! You're seeing things.