Hi All

I'm looking for a career change from chef to something in i.t, i know my way round hardware a fair bit but have no qualifications to say so, and pick things up quite quickly, problem is i have no idea how to get my foot in the door, anybody got any suggestions or thoughts.

Cheers
Si

Si, it probably wont be easy as there are lots of IT people these days. The usual way to get your foot in the door is to get a support job at somewhere which is a reasonable size (too little and you will be stuck doing the same job for ever, too big and you run the risk of becoming too specialised. Once you have got in there if you prove yourself adept in the technical side your name will be in there should an opening arrive.

Robertio

Cheers for that i've started doing a bit of agency chef work now, i'll ask around a bit and see what stuff places like ericsons etc have got whilst i'm there, might work right time right place an all that lol :D

Si

Oh, and avoid call centre work if you can - the "call centre" tag can be hard to shake off and you may get pigeon-holed.

Cheers Miles :)

Anyone got any views on the pc world, time etc lets see if this works :rolleyes: technicians :)

Si

I thought you wanted to get into IT :rolleyes:

Cheers Fig :D

Okay so that was a bad idea ;)

Si

I can just see you turning up for your first day with a pocket pc in hand, and the days menu on screen :D

someone told me the bods in the faeces world tech/repair department are only on a fiver an hour - now I realise PC world technicians are at the lower end of the IT heirarchy,but 5 squids is a bit low.

hmm i've just been made redundant, i was an 'IT Technician' which was basically support for a large manufacturer but i became more and more involved in development with vb6, oracle and access.

I love programming even though i havent done a load of it....thought i might stand a chance of getting in as a 'junior developer'...:eek:, most employers are asking for 2 yrs commercial experience for 'juniors'!!! How the hell can u get in a place to get the experience if thats what they want from juniors!!

I'm contemplating getting in touch with nearby software houses/developers and asking them to take me on for peanuts just to let me bug test some code, so that i get some experience. In fact if anyone is reading this who works at such a place :D, are you interested in a graduate of comp. science with loads of IT Tech experience, bit of programming skills lol (worth a try innit?).

I'd still go for it in IT but it's a very competitive market out there with lots of skilled people looking for work.

Cheers Guys :)

Well i think i'll just spread myself around :) anyone need a tea boy :D

Si

Wouldn't bother mate. I currently work in IT, pay is crap (mind u I do work for a tosser) :D

Problem I am finding when trying to look about for another job now is as mentioned above company's want some one who is qualified in lots of different areas now all for the same job and not necessarily paying a great deal of money for it either i.e. MCSE, MCP, C, C++, Linux, etc etc and this could just be for one support job!!!! :eek:

Don't see why some jobs are listed as "juniors" either as some want 2-3 years experience etc!!!! How the hell do you get experience if no one will give you a go?

Only jobs that seem to be paying over 20K seem to be software engineers/testers.

Wouldn't bother with a support job as I have been doing that for good few years now and stuck in same hole on crap wages.

good luck anyway :)

The experience thing has always been a problem, when I got my degree about 6 years ago it was the same. I ended up starting on 10k just to get a job in IT, my sister got her degree in physics a couple of years later and started on almost double that (and more than I was earning at the time).

If you have a reasonable tehcnical knowledge and a fast mind maybe sales is the way to go. The money is nothing compared to what it was a few years ago at the margins are pathetic, you'll get excited to make 5% on anything these days.

But with the right attitude, an open mind, a curiosity and some good basic phone skills you could do pretty well. I run a team of 10 account managers and by far the best have some natutal ability but the one thing that makes them stand out if the attitude and willingness to learn. Those who think they know it all and reckon they are great will be mediocre at best.


AlalnB

Here's a thought:

Try asking around some of your local schools. They are always cash strapped and often need assistance with their IT equipment. Some have proper support contracts but others do not and try and make the best of the equipment they have and might be willing to do a deal.