Im sure some of you on here must be in I.T in some way, I would like some advice on taking my career towards this type of sector.

Im a 25 yr old male, currently a fully qualified electrical installer.

If it means I've got to start as a tea boy then thats how its got to be, I've just completed a CLAIT course and thats all so far.

I would be very grateful if someone could tell me how to get started in a company. All I need is a start.

Thank-you

What do you want to do in IT? What is it about computers that excites you (other than the wage ;) ).
KF.

My advice would be to head into the City. I see youre in Chelmsford so its an easy journey. Go to a good agency and go for a Helpdesk position then once your in the door your can see what floats your boat !!!

thats what I did !!

Find software houses in your area and mailshot them. Tell them just what you've told us.

Keep an eye out for anyone taking on trainees as well. Might not get this in the City though. Most companies also seem to be wanting graduates to fill these positions. If you're starting at the bottom in IT, don't expect mega bucks straight away (I know it seems like we're all earning a fortune, but that only comes after a few years experience).

Good luck!

IT isn't gonna be such a specialist job soon.
When I started if you had IT skills you were considered a Guru, but that was about 10 years ago, nowadays most school leavers have good IT skills and nearly everyone seems to have home computers, this wasn't the case back then.
It was the fact that having this hard-to-find skills = high wages, but no more, wages have already started coming into line with 'normal' jobs and will do more over time.

I initially went into IT as I did computers as a Hobby, I now hate the bl**dy things and if I could do anything else as a job I would, but it is all I know.

I think thats true for general "IT" jobs. I started in PC support because I knew where the power switch was and was therfore well ahead of most :D.

However as Computers and the internet continue to expand there are just as many specialist jobs out there that require real skills which are in demand. Its still the only area I can see growing. over the next 10 years. I'd hate to be starting out as Manufacturing Engineer or something where the market for your skills is slowly declining.

Deano

Thankyou very much for all your feed back.

Much appreciated.

Scoby

Taking another angle... Your back ground is in electrical installations. This would be a good way in via cabling contractors. Mate of mine Errol, started out like you as a qualified electrician and now runs a successful data cabling company. While this may not be what you ultimately want to do, it does give you a foot in the door and gets your face known. Although I worked for a bank when I got into IT, my first jobs were cabling related - it does teach you the basics of how a network hangs together. From there I did network management for voice and data networks and I now do Technical Pre Sales for wide area networks also specialising in security (firewalls etc) and network performance analysis.

If you can afford it consider doing some of the exams offered by either say Cisco or Microsoft - there is a fundamental choice here. Go down the Microsoft route if you are looking at desktops and servers and Cisco for LAN/WAN based hardware.

Ultimately perserverence is a good quality. As BobaFett rightly says, there isn't the aura of 'god like' status over IT people anymore, but demand is still outstripping supply, so if you have the determination and the skills, you'll get there.

Good luck

Chris

I would say cabling and networking is probably a much better area to go into at the moment. I was in desktop support for several years and the money in general MS work is getting worse. Specialist skills still pay well, but they take time to get, electrical cabling is a good way to start, and look at Cisco exams. IMHO (and speaking from the point of view of some who has been hiring IT staff this week!) the MS exams aren't worth much without the practical experience. Another thing worth noting is a lot of companies are rolling out software which moves work away from staff who visit the computer in person to usually much more cost effective call centres... (ie lower pay!) I'm not saying this is right, but it is happening.

Go down the Cisco (and Networks in general) route for better job security and future prospects.

Another thing worth noting, now isn't a good time for jobs, we have had people offering to take much lower money than they quoted to their agencies in their interviews, ie they are desperate for work! If your current job is ok and you can live with it I would hold out for 6 months or so before trying to move into IT, at least then you will have a good idea of which areas of the economy aren't doing well, it isn't much fun working for a broke company (I have just spent 20 months at a large mismananged Telecoms co, and am very happy to have moved to a cash rich financial now).

Good luck

Jon
(Currently an IT Project Manager!)