JamieP Posted May 24, 2006 Share Posted May 24, 2006 Blimey, i wish we only paid £400 on our mortgage. im not saying i have a £400 a month mortgage, i have 3 properties with a combined mortgage of £1250ish a month, but i rent 2 out which cover that amount so i basicaly live in my house for nothing;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I've finished paying our mortgage off. Now the only thing keeping me in my (IT) job is the Supra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I would advise against doing a degree, everyone has one now (over 50% of people able to get degrees have them!!!), and unless you are willing and able to go on to a masters or better it won't really help in the upper levels of jobs. I've been doing an OU BEng for 4 years, got 2 years left but now I'm stopping it (at least for a while) to do a cisco course - look into courses like CCNA and possibly (as mentioned before) an MCSE course (althought cisco is growing faster IMO). You'll probably need to do an entry course before a CCNA if you don't have any training yet, but CCNA will net you up to 25k, then you can do CCNP which gets you jobs up to 35k!! It's all networking mainly which involves some programming no doubt but also a lot of hardware if that's the way you want to do it. Problem is: courses can be expensive, I've taken out a finance deal to pay for mine!!! Hopefully I'll finish the CCNA, get a better job, then complete my BEng (not really for job reasons any more though), then maybe go on to a higher level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 PS: my mortgage on a small 2 bed place in a high crime area is £830 a month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew7 Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Martin, Perhaps you don't need a change of job exactly, just a change of thinking. For example: you could earn 17K a year cleaning windows mate......guy that does mine charges £4.00 just to do the fronts (6-7 mins max).. 4 houses per hour = £20 6 hours per day = £120 4 days per week = £480 48 weeks per year = £23,000 And you'd have a bit more time off and a saleable business....and you could start it part time for bugger-all outlay.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 48 weeks a year, when the weather is good enough to be out cleaning windows for 6 hours a day? Where the fcuk does he live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I guess there is a big difference between just earning money and earning money but also having a career path that has long term prospects to do very well in. Start off as a window cleaner now, and right now you may earn similar money to the IT job. In 5 years time however, one way you may still be a window cleaner, the other way may see you having progressed to bigger and better things, you will have learnt a lot, got a lot for the CV, and be earning more - in this position you will be able to walk into a variety of jobs, you will be in charge. Same with brick laying. Ok so it pays quite well, but it's not like you go from junior brick layer to brick layer to senior brick layer to site manager to architect to chief architect as a natural progression. my point being there are loads of ways to earn money, and everyone is different. If you get a chance to do something that isn't a career dead end path and actually gives something back (other than just money) then in many ways it's actually worth even earning a little less to start with. After all, earn 5k less for a couple of years and then 10-20-30k more for the rest of your life, when you add that up, the longer term view is massively better in many ways. Remember you can't buy experience, 5 years down the line you won't be able to buy or blag 5 years of proper IT experience, you can always choose to go the other way at any stage if that is really what you want. Just my two penith, not having a dig at anyone, like I say we are all different and anyone who pays there way (or would if they could) is alright in my book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Two routes - either get yourself trained up with some certifications behind you. MCSE or MCP for Microsoft products. They are tough going if you are coming from nothing though and can be expensive depending where you go or how you do it. It depends what area of IT you mean - it's vast. Networking configuration or cabling. Cisco courses? Hardware - building or repairing PCs and systems to spec (boring after a while but good to get up to speed) Support - telephone, onsite, supporting hardware or software (or all). MS courses Consultancy - advising businesses on their IT environment and setup Internet - web design, programming, hosting, sys admin, connectivity etc. etc. I look for a degree with programmers simply because of the classic design education and methodologies that are taught are invaluable. If you know this, you can program any language. Hardware or IT support I'm not worried about qualifications and only really interested if you're enthusiastic, keen to learn, communicate well and have a solid understanding of common hardware failures and diagnostics. Like the others say - it's unlikely you'll jump into a 20k job unless you've done an MCSE or CCNA course or similar. Cisco are actually pushing people through the Cisco Academy into jobs very well at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I have a BEng Hons in Electronic Engineering and an Msc in Computing for commerce and industry. Overall this has worked out well for me, but it's a lot of studying effort and if you can't do it full time, it will take ages and consume a large chunk of your life. As Pete says, there are two routes. If you can show some initiative and basic skills get yourself in with a company that will pay and train you up - pay might be low to start with but I'm sure you can make 15k. This is what I mean by a career with prospects, a job that gives something back. The training they give you will be invaluable and by far make up for the low wages to start with, soon enough you will have certificates and be demanding more £ but you do need to work out what bit of IT you want to do... Support, networking, hardware, IT admin etc are all the easiest things to get into without degree level qualifications... from there you can look to move around to where you really want to be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew7 Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 48 weeks a year, when the weather is good enough to be out cleaning windows for 6 hours a day? Where the fcuk does he live They come round 12 month a year here..rain or shine.. And they previous guy sold his business to a larger company who now come round 12 month per year........... It was only an example of different thinking anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted May 25, 2006 Author Share Posted May 25, 2006 Is there any age preference in IT? I'm 35 now and buy the time I've done a course (even a short one) and gained some experience I'm going to be pushing 40. Would that count against me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Is there any age preference in IT? I'm 35 now and buy the time I've done a course (even a short one) and gained some experience I'm going to be pushing 40. Would that count against me? Yeah you do need to 'buy' some time. No, not really. Everyone in IT is pushing 40 with a 20 yr old's haircut and a dodgy character tie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted May 25, 2006 Author Share Posted May 25, 2006 Yeah, but is it one thing to be in IT at 40 with plenty of experience and another to be trying to get into IT at that age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I personally don't think age is an issue in many jobs unless you're at the top end of 50s. My dad didn't get into telecoms until about 15yrs ago (when he was 40) and now he earns very good money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Everyone in IT is pushing 40 with a 20 yr old's haircut and a dodgy character tie. I don't wear ties and I don't have enough hair to qualify for a "style" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 I don't wear ties and I don't have enough hair to qualify for a "style" Bet you've got a southpark mug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Bet you've got a southpark mug. One of the guys have. I've got a Cisco Systems mug and another with Tea Belly on it. It is worth noting that your IT expertese is acknowledged by the stupidity of your mug. Choose with care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 don't worry excessively about age, they will consider it but it is what you can do and offer that really matters (i.e. your attitude, aptidude and knowledge) - age (up to a point) is a secondary thing so glad I don't have to wear a tie anymore or have a silly cup, once you get past a certain level you go back to being normal again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 once you get past a certain level you go back to being normal again You mean you move into management and loose you sense of humour? (It's happening to me!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 lol no if you move into management you lose your soul don't do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soop Dogg Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 At 35 I was self employed as a a motorcycle courier. I went to college and did a 2 year IT course. After my first year on the course (i.e. before I was even qualified) I landed my current job in an insurance company. Started on about 16k, but I now earn plenty more than that. (I'm 40 now by the way) You probably don't want to concentrate on the programming side of things too much as alot of companies are off-shoring the build work on many projects. (But it is still useful to know the basics) Having aome sort of systems analysis skills will probably get you further these days. To be honest, the IT bubble did burst a few years ago, but it's currently not as bad as it was in the late 90s. There has been a few years now where the numbers of school leavers taking IT has fallen dramatically because they saw so many graduates were unable to find employment. Nowadays, the vacancies are coming back to the jobs market. As for trades such as plumbing/bricklaying etc. They can pay great, but think back to the early 90's. If the housing market collapses, new building stops and you'll see alot of tradesmen fighting for work. Like everything, there are ups and downs that you have to be ready for. Decide what you want to go for and push yourself hard. You can make it before you're 40 easily! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Actually good point about certain trades. I hear on the grape vine that there is a shortage of surveyors that are qualified to a certain standard once john prescott's home information packs come into play next year. May be worth looking into if you want something purely on a monetary basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 http://www.certmag.com/articles/templates/CM_gen_Article_template.asp?articleid=2018&zoneid=223 Only Skim read it but was just posted on Digg about IT certifications, might be of interest. It might be worthwhile doing a short course like an A+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xksupra Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 Just thought I would add some of my thoughts that might help. No way to old at 35 , in a lot of ways with the way IT has evolved and impacts virtually every part of the business it is good to have a broad range of people within any organisation . In todays IT market common sense and understanding of the business are just as important as technical knowledge. As you are starting out now its probably worthwhile considering how the market is moving, its very popular for companies to get systems built by third party companies, and the 3rd parties in turn use cheap labour to enable them to make the most profit. Therefore programming or anything that can be outsourced to India (or the like), such as help desk , first line support are going to have less jobs available for UK workers. If it was me just starting into IT at this stage I would be looking to enter into roles where it is harder to outsource (or if it is outsourced the company will soon realise that it wasnt such a great idea). As you have admin experience which I would imagine means you have experience of using the systems as an end user then you already have skills that can be transferred, the more business knowledge you have the better. So the types of jobs I would be looking at are, business analyst , testing, co-ordinating between business and software suppplier ( various jobs of this variety exist at all different levels) I dont know what company you currently work for but it might be worthwhile seeing if you can get involved in some user acceptance testing of the systems you use, or see if its possible to review design documents or test cases on behalf of your department. Your asset is your experience within your current company if at all possible use that to develop the skills you need to move into IT. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted May 25, 2006 Share Posted May 25, 2006 In all honesty I wouldn't. THe market seems to be saturated at the mo. All jobs are badly paid unless you are a super programming guru.SO if you're going to do it then specialise in something insanely difficult then people will PAY properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now