GeorgeM
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 06:59 PM |
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Career change advice
As this is the font of all knowledge..........
My son is looking to get into IT. He has found a training company called "The National IT Learning Centre" who do a course he is
interested in.
Has anyone heard of them?, anyone used them?, anyone got a job after doing a course?
Any help appreciated
GeorgeM
My conscience is clear - I drive a GREEN car
MNR Racing
essexkitcarclub.com
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RichardK
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 07:03 PM |
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The only advice I would give him is specialise in an area and be very good at that specific field, there too many jack of all trades out there.
If I was to do it all again I would choose ethical hacking and security.
Cheers
Rich (have most of the MS badges  )
[Edited on 2/4/10 by RichardK]
Gallery updated 11/01/2011
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daviep
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 07:14 PM |
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Tell him to forget IT and get himself in to the oil industry
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GeorgeM
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 07:20 PM |
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He's looking at 'application programmer'
My conscience is clear - I drive a GREEN car
MNR Racing
essexkitcarclub.com
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Toltec
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 07:47 PM |
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There is an awful lot of competition for IT jobs at the moment. I thought specialisation was the way to go too, unfortunately so many of the jobs
coming up wanted high level skills in several areas.
When I looked though applications for junior technicians I generally placed more weighting on experience than lists of courses and high level
certifications. Having an A+ or Network+ is no bad thing, but an MCSE and CCNA with no real world experience may not be.
On a more positive note, colleges and schools tend to roll out new kit over holidays and may need extra hands. Sometimes this may only be unboxing
PCs and getting them onto the network, however it is still something for the CV. Your son could try getting in touch with the IT manager, explain
about the course and ask if there is any short term or part time work he could be considered for. The money would not be good, but again it is
experience to back up the course.
ETA - Programmer, Ok a bit different from my assumption then.
[Edited on 2/4/10 by Toltec]
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coozer
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 08:18 PM |
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I would go on a Microsoft certified engineers course. Takes a long time but once past the 2nd/3rd module a company will take him on and fund the
remaining modules.
10 units in all to become a Microsoft Certified Engineer... how cool does that sound?
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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Simon
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 08:23 PM |
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Perhaps suggest he becomes a sparky or a plumber?
ATB
Simon
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ashg
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 09:28 PM |
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IT is a very competitive and the number of people going into it is ever increasing forcing wages down. the reality these days is that it will make
him an average living but wont make him rich.
if it were my son i would be encouraging him to either do something medical or do electronics design/physics. just for comparison the computer guys
at my work earn 25-30k the electronics engineers and particle physicists earn in the 60-80k area.
the degree courses are the same length and all difficult subjects but the jobs at the end of them pay very differently.
the biggest problem with the IT market is all the plonkers that go on a 6week course and get a job in IT like it says on the telly.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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se7en
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 09:28 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by GeorgeM
As this is the font of all knowledge..........
My son is looking to get into IT. He has found a training company called "The National IT Learning Centre" who do a course he is
interested in.
Has anyone heard of them?, anyone used them?, anyone got a job after doing a course?
Any help appreciated
GeorgeM
IMHO as a person who left school at 18 and then went back to college at the age of 30 to learn about IT. I have been in IT for almost 30 years and I
have seen the ups and the downs of the IT industry.
If he is insisting about going into IT then don't stop him but do convince him to do his studying at a further education college and not a
company that is in it to make money.
quote:
Originally posted by coozer
I would go on a Microsoft certified engineers course. Takes a long time but once past the 2nd/3rd module a company will take him on and fund the
remaining modules.
10 units in all to become a Microsoft Certified Engineer... how cool does that sound?
My daughter qualified from university with a 2:2 Masters in computer science, MSc. Although she will not admit, she followed my lead. I did not
encourage her to do computer science, it was her idea as she was extremely good at it (A+ in CSE). She took long enough to get her first job even
thought she had a 'COOL' titles. With a MCE and qualifications in Law, she does not think that all the training did her much good.
Eventually she did get a job and was doing extremely well until she was made redundant (recessional). Since June of 2009 she has applied for numerous
jobs but even with a cool titles she still has been unable to get work. She has contemplated taking menial jobs in Asda or Tesco; just so that she can
work.
At the end of the day it is up to the individual - if that is what they want to do then C'est la vie. As my father said to me on many an
occasion, 'you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink'.
I wish your son all the very best for the future and may he find employment that he is happy in.
Tom
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 09:37 PM |
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I've been in IT for decades... developers seem to come in various categories: not good enough - they get dumped VERY quickly by most companies;
average - they form the bulk of a company's staff, get the boring run-of-the-mill jobs, get very average money; and the very, VERY good - get
the top jobs and the top money (potentially a LOT of money). The very very good aren't necessarily the ones with the top uni grades, but they
do have obvious talent, especially in getting jobs done properly (most companies appreciate that!).
We had a new lad join us last year - 21, straight out of uni. He's proved to be an ace developer who we all trust to do a good job -
he'll earn good money and go far, I'm sure.
So, the moral of this ramble is - if you want to make good money in IT, you have to have some talent, otherwise it's just another office job.
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GeorgeM
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 10:36 PM |
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thanks for the replies.
He's 29 and looking for a change. I'm just concerned that there will be the work there at the end. The course isn't cheap, they
reckon about 2 years to do it (MCTS)
GeorgeM
My conscience is clear - I drive a GREEN car
MNR Racing
essexkitcarclub.com
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goodguydrew
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| posted on 2/4/10 at 11:30 PM |
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David J's advice is spot on. I am in IT as a programmer. Does your son have an aptitude for it? If not, he won't enjoy it and may just
want to change career again in a year or two. My advice, if you can find a job you love, the you'll be more happy in the long run. Hope it works
out for him
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stevebubs
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| posted on 3/4/10 at 01:07 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by goodguydrew
David J's advice is spot on. I am in IT as a programmer. Does your son have an aptitude for it? If not, he won't enjoy it and may just
want to change career again in a year or two. My advice, if you can find a job you love, the you'll be more happy in the long run. Hope it works
out for him
Right. I'm early-30s and have been around the industry from a while (grew up playing with mainframes when I was a wee lad).
I earn a very good living and enjoy what I do.
However
1) the market is rough at the moment so if you've no experience, it will be difficult to beark in *and* earn a decent wage.
2) Most of my friends are also in IT. Most of them wish they could do something different. Only 1 has managed to escape IT so far, and that's
because he's a total car nut, is single and can (just about) afford the cut associated with the move.
IMHO, DON'T go to one of the "factories" as they're a waste of space and most companies either just ignore the
"graduates" from there, or offer them less than they'd earn in McDonalds...
Just my beer-addled 2p...
[Edited on 3/4/10 by stevebubs]
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Worzey
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| posted on 3/4/10 at 08:00 AM |
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I've also been in IT for years. I've got a Computer Science degree and worked for years as a software engineer (read application
programmer).
I saw the writing on the wall 10 years ago. Software Development is a commodity these days and the glory days are gone - it can be tough work.
These days, lots of work is shipped off-shore (India etc) and hence the high salaries are generally a thing of the past. The Indian developers
I've worked with are usually very good, highly educated and very, very cheap. It puts huge pressure on UK salaries and keeps them down.
I'd persue two routes:
1) Project Management - Look at doing PRINCE2 (used by the Public Sector and most major private comapnies). Knowledge of IT is good but not essential
- it's useful in many areas and attracts good salaries.
2) IT Consultancy - Specialise in a very specific area (mine was CMS) and establish yourself as an expert. This will be tough on a basic IT course
but the rewards can be very high.
Neither of these two jobs can be off-shored and if your good, the rewards are high especially if you go freelance.
My advice would be go the PRINCE2 route as a stepping stone to specialisation in a specific IT area.
That said, a mate of mine got out of IT and did a plumbing course.......he's never looked back.
[Edited on 3-4-2010 by Worzey]
Caterham R400
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tommyab
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| posted on 3/4/10 at 09:02 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by daviep
Tell him to forget IT and get himself in to the oil industry
Oil industry is picking up again, but better to work for the oil companies themselves, instead of us suckers who install their platforms for them 
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