Not sure what to do... (work/job/education)

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So, i am getting old now(34). I went to college in my 20's and did a few IT qualifications BTEC level 3, GNVQ level 2 and a few others.

I left college and got a job at a small company. I have been here ever since 12-13 years+

I enjoy the job, but it has zero prospects and a low wage(pretty much minimum wage)

I am wanting to hopefully find a better paid job in IT, and not sure where to turn.

I am wondering, if its worth to try and get any online IT qualifications and if so which ones are worth getting.

ZERO idea which field i want to get into in the IT industry, basically right now i am doing normal office computer support, sorting all the computers and any issues that might arrise and general office duties.

Would be nice to get a job that pays £25k ish a year.

Going back to college is out of the question as i have a mortgage to pay for(and not a huge amount of disposable income).
 
Soldato
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Can't speak on the IT side of things in terms of qualifications because it's not my field, but surely someone in their mid-thirties with 13 years of IT experience and college qualifications can expect to be on more than minimum wage?

I'd recommend moving to a company that values your work to get an immediate pay-rise, but also a company that would like you to develop into the role, so you can organically grow your craft in the business (perhaps a larger corporation?)
 
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Can't speak on the IT side of things in terms of qualifications because it's not my field, but surely someone in their mid-thirties with 13 years of IT experience and college qualifications can expect to be on more than minimum wage?

I'd recommend moving to a company that values your work to get an immediate pay-rise, but also a company that would like you to develop into the role, so you can organically grow your craft in the business (perhaps a larger corporation?)

My thoughts exactly. Its my own fault i should have been working for this company for a maximum of 1-2 years to get some experience and then moved on. Its not the companies fault as such, i really dont think that they can afford to pay any more, at least that is what i am lead to believe.

I am just wondering if theirs any qualifications that will improve my prospects to get a better job.
 
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TBH IT is pretty broad really so you've got 2 options

- You find a job doing tier 1/2 service desk support in a large corporation as while you may have 12-12 years experience in the field, branching into something bigger at this stage would often require learning the corporate ropes and is the easiest foot in the door. I have interviewed candidates for these kind of positions, and they've all got the same qualifications you have already mentioned and largely mean nothing. What counts here is your ability to prioritise and positive attitude with helpful/friendly approach, and general customer service demeanor. These count more than anything at these stage. As technical skills can be taught to anyone willing to learn.

- Or alternatively, you decide to specialize in something and seek education in that. For example, cloud support, azure is the largest market. Plenty of courses to get you started via linkedin etc, like Azure Fundamentals (might even be free), follow that and then try for an entry level support role in that specialization. The job market for those kind of roles is rich right now.

I think the latter is better as it gives you more direction, service desk support is pretty broad and would be like a complete do-over, the latter, not as much.

HTH :)
 
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TBH IT is pretty broad really so you've got 2 options


- Or alternatively, you decide to specialize in something and seek education in that. For example, cloud support, azure is the largest market. Plenty of courses to get you started via linkedin etc, like Azure Fundamentals (might even be free), follow that and then try for an entry level support role in that specialization. The job market for those kind of roles is rich right now.

HTH :)

I think that's exactly what i am looking to do, move into something specific. But not sure what is in demand/worth learning.

I will for sure have a look into azure and see if that is something i want to do/can learn.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
Soldato
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Do you have any valid IT qualifications under your belt? I'd be aiming to pick up some stuff like VMware, CCNA/P, MCSE and AWS/Azure stuff (take your pick of what interests you). Also IP telephony stuff is worth doing as it's now the norm and I believe ISDN installs will be phased out soon enough.
 
Caporegime
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I think that's exactly what i am looking to do, move into something specific. But not sure what is in demand/worth learning.

I will for sure have a look into azure and see if that is something i want to do/can learn.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cloud computing is THE market drive and where its going right now. AWS in terms of market share is dropping so if I were you I would focus on Azure. Within Azure you've got many options

- Networking is a big part of it, in general you need decent networking knowledge to understand the way Azure functions
- Storage, IOPS, big data etc
- Virtual Machines
- Azure Active Directory
- "PaaS" - Platforms as a service
- Intune - runs all off Microsoft cloud services. Thats growing at a rapid rate. Lots and lots of interest and demand around that.

Hope that gives you a few ideas :)
 
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Do you have any valid IT qualifications under your belt? I'd be aiming to pick up some stuff like VMware, CCNA/P, MCSE and AWS/Azure stuff (take your pick of what interests you). Also IP telephony stuff is worth doing as it's now the norm and I believe ISDN installs will be phased out soon enough.

Only stuff i did at college, as stated in my OP, few others like A+ in computer maintenance but nothing resent in the last 12years or so. Will check out the ones you mentioned. Thanks!
 
Soldato
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If you want a bit of motivation I entered IT when I was 27/28 after having done an Open Uni degree (after doing Geography at a brick and mortar uni) and have since followed a mainly Cisco path. Also get yourself ITIL foundation to get onto service desks easier. I did field work then a NOC where I am now and love it mainly. Still feel like I've no idea what I'm doing at 32 sometimes and always learning.
 
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am i right in thinking that the online courses such as udemy and pluralsight are for the training and information only? you then have to go and book the certificate tests elsewhere?

Also thanks for everyone that has commented, i really am wanting to improve and get some useful qualifications under my belt. I really have wasted too long already and should have done something like this years ago.
 
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So, i am getting old now(34). I went to college in my 20's and did a few IT qualifications BTEC level 3, GNVQ level 2 and a few others.

I left college and got a job at a small company. I have been here ever since 12-13 years+

I enjoy the job, but it has zero prospects and a low wage(pretty much minimum wage)

I am wanting to hopefully find a better paid job in IT, and not sure where to turn.

I am wondering, if its worth to try and get any online IT qualifications and if so which ones are worth getting.

ZERO idea which field i want to get into in the IT industry, basically right now i am doing normal office computer support, sorting all the computers and any issues that might arrise and general office duties.

Would be nice to get a job that pays £25k ish a year.

Going back to college is out of the question as i have a mortgage to pay for(and not a huge amount of disposable income).

If it was me I would look for a job in a small to medium firm of around 150 employees with an IT department that is pretty small around 4 or 5 people. 25k salary with your current experience should be easy to command. Make sure that where you go are serious and invest in the technology, and in you, you should know this by having a nose around the office or from the systems that they have in place for remote access, you can also ask the questions about what they have at the back end, team size etc in the interview and if the guy sitting at the other end starts waffling on about the tech they use and it's good then you know you are onto a winner. Remember interviews are two way, and you need to make sure that what they are putting on the table sounds good to you.

The amount of experience you will gain in a small amount of time will be massive and will help you climb that ladder. This is my opinion as I run an IT department for a SME and have interviewed plenty of guys like yourself. :) I've also started guys on 20 to 25k that are earning double or more than that now. My guys do get thrown in at the deep end so really start looking at everything, from esxi right up the stack and have access to everything in the network. They are actively encouraged to seek out solutions even if that means breaking a product or in fact any other thing to gain that valuable experience. Believe me we have seen some comical disasters but if it's contained properly most things can be rectified in no time at all.

Edit: Also you are not getting on, I am 36 and we are still young dude :D
 
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If it was me I would look for a job in a small to medium firm of around 150 employees with an IT department that is pretty small around 4 or 5 people. 25k salary with your current experience should be easy to command. Make sure that where you go are serious and invest in the technology, and in you, you should know this by having a nose around the office or from the systems that they have in place for remote access, you can also ask the questions about what they have at the back end, team size etc in the interview and if the guy sitting at the other end starts waffling on about the tech they use and it's good then you know you are onto a winner. Remember interviews are two way, and you need to make sure that what they are putting on the table sounds good to you.

The amount of experience you will gain in a small amount of time will be massive and will help you climb that ladder. This is my opinion as I run an IT department for a SME and have interviewed plenty of guys like yourself. :) I've also started guys on 20 to 25k that are earning double or more than that now.

Edit: Also you are not getting on, I am 36 and we are still young dude :D

Thank you for your comment, that's reassuring to hear. I am the only I.T guy at my current place, and anything computer related falls to me, whether i have experience in it or not, i have to go googling and learn and fix the problem.

Being the only I.T guy in a company of around 10 people is not the best. You cannot learn from someone else, so for sure i need other team members around me to show me the ropes and to learn from.

Well i am not saying 34 is "old" but what i mean is at 34 i should really be more advanced in a career and have just become complacent.

I really cannot say what i have achieved in the last 10 years. It's quite depressing lol not sure where the time has gone.

Hopefully i can motivate myself to make some big changes and this time next year i will be able to come back to this thread and update it with something positive!
 
Man of Honour
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am i right in thinking that the online courses such as udemy and pluralsight are for the training and information only? you then have to go and book the certificate tests elsewhere?

Also thanks for everyone that has commented, i really am wanting to improve and get some useful qualifications under my belt. I really have wasted too long already and should have done something like this years ago.

For the ones you mentioned yes, I think some of the more premium subscription courses offer stuff like past papers and practice exams/labs, but yes to do the actual exam you'd have to book it with an exam provider.

With over a decade in IT you should be able to walk into a £25k job relatively easily, as long as you have the interview and customer service skills down, working in 1st/2nd line should be a breeze for you. As Vince says, look out for companies that actually invest in their employees, my current employer has a subscription to pluralsight and if you can prove you've put the studying in they will happily consider paying for any certifications or exams I want to take.

Cloud/Azure, is a good route to go down, but make sure you also consider what you enjoy and what actually interests you. It works for some, but I couldn't study something simply for the earning potential, I guess I lucked out in that I'm interested in an expanding sector of IT, but even if I wasn't I'd still go with what I enjoy learning and then find a way to make a decent amount from it.
 
Soldato
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I was a bit like this but with a degree and i was working in a few uni admin jobs for 9 years since i graduated. In November i saw an advert for an MIS admin job and applied pretty much straight away and got the job.

I had to take a small pay cut from 27 to 26k but i’ve been at this place for 6 months and now and they are letting me in to the back end(oo err). During lockdown i did an online sql course to refresh my knowledge of it from uni. It feels good to finally be doing something i studied for.
 
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Just a little update, i have been studying the microsoft azure fundamentals course material on the microsoft website, have just finnished it all and learned a bunch of stuff. I am going to go through a little bit more stuff via a 5 hour youtube video i have found and then hopefully get the exam booked within the week :)

Next i plan on studying for the comptia N+ and start doing a little bit more studying on the administration side of azure, but i think theirs lots of stuff behind the scenes i need to learn before i can think about going for the exam for admin side of azure, but would be nice to make this some sort of end goal.
 
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Based on your experience, you should be able to get into a job for at least £25k. I'm not sure exactly where you are based, but if you are close enough to commute to Nottingham or Chesterfield then that opens up quite a few options. Take a look at what jobs are available in your area to get an idea of what's in demand - www.cwjobs.co.uk is a pretty good IT specific job site (but a little development biased).

E.g. here's a job in Chesterfield which look to be right up your street paying £28k- https://www.cwjobs.co.uk/job/it-sup...hnology-group-limited-job90345716?r=1-Results
 
Caporegime
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I think that's exactly what i am looking to do, move into something specific. But not sure what is in demand/worth learning.

I will for sure have a look into azure and see if that is something i want to do/can learn.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It’s worth learning something you’re interested in rather than whatever is trendy. You can of course make sure you’re marketable but you really ought to find something you enjoy as a priority here.

The plus side is there are a bunch of resources online to learn most tech related subjects for free or at very low cost.

Plenty of options for formal academic qualifications too, you could look at pursuing a degree while you work for example.

There are also degree apprenticeship schemes, they seem to take 4 years and start off paying an amount circa your goal + exceed your goal by the time you finish - I mean fresh grad salary in IT ought to be at least well into 30-something k. It does seem to have stagnated for well over a decade... I remember being involved in grad recruitment back in like 2008 and we were giving offers of like 35-40k to new grads back then (tech firm not bank). Big tech firms and banks pay much more than that but you likely wouldn’t be the right type of grad (at least not initially) if pursuing a vocational degree.

On the plus side though it can be fairly meritocratic, if you get the skills and can demonstrate them then people will pay you money... in some cases lots of money.

Whatever you do, don’t waste the next 12 years... you could have aquired loads of skills, experience etc.. in that time. That gives you plenty of flexibility in the types of jobs you can pursue etc..
 
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Soldato
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Just a little update, i have been studying the microsoft azure fundamentals course material on the microsoft website, have just finnished it all and learned a bunch of stuff. I am going to go through a little bit more stuff via a 5 hour youtube video i have found and then hopefully get the exam booked within the week :)

Next i plan on studying for the comptia N+ and start doing a little bit more studying on the administration side of azure, but i think theirs lots of stuff behind the scenes i need to learn before i can think about going for the exam for admin side of azure, but would be nice to make this some sort of end goal.

That's a good idea.

Also Cyber Security has a future within the IT world, if you found Cloud isn't your thing.

I'm currently studying Security+ and will be looking at Azure next year. I already have an MCSE in Cloud and Infrastructure from 2018 but I like to keep my skils update as the IT world is forever changing.

Apparently DevOps is a thing too but I haven't looked into doing that.
 
Associate
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34 is not old when you consider that you could still have 30+ years of working life ahead of you. Better to find a job you like to do for the majority of that (with inflationary beating pay rises) else it will be a tough road ahead
 
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