Starting In IT

!BigBadBarry

Hi all, currently doing factory work which is well paid but will come to an end at some stage not sure when so rather than get another dead end factory job for half the money i'm on now i'm strongly considering going to Blanch IT to study computers starting in Sept. Plan is to study the Higher Cert in Science in Computer Systems which will take 2 yrs, i'm assuming i might be out of work by the end of the course so i'll hopefully get some sorta job in IT with that course and keep studying part time for the degree while i work.

What i'm wondering is will i reasonably easily get a job with the Higher Cert and what sort of salary can i expect and are there any other courses i should look at to improve my job prospects. I'm currently doing free online courses on Alison.com which i'm enjoying. A few years ago i started Comptia A+ course but never finished it, would it be worth my while studying this course again and doing the exams along with the Higher Cert course ? Just the cost of doing the A+ exams will be over €400 i think and is it possible to pass the course studying at home ?

Panda_Turtle

Plenty of exam simulation software and books available for the likes of CompTIA and the many other certs you could do. If you do well in the course, do a few certs and some self learning you boost your job chances ,worst case scenario you might have to go and get the higher qualification afterwards.

To get a head start Check out tutorials for your potential modules on YouTube, coursera.org, and some books (for programming.. the dummies series and easy steps books are good).

!BigBadBarry

So say i got my A+ exams and then maybe done something like Comptia Network exams and maybe the Security exam, would i be able to get some sort of job and for what kind of money ?

I thought i would have been better getting the Higher Cert rather than the Comptia courses ?

Thanks for your help panda

Mr. Loverman

What do you want to work as? IT is a huge area.

the_syco

!BigBadBarry wrote: »

So say i got my A+ exams and then maybe done something like Comptia Network exams

These two may get you a 18-20k tech support job. As asked, what area are you looking to get into?

!BigBadBarry

Well i was thinking of starting in tech support type of thing and studying for a degree while i'm there. At the moment tech support seems to be the area i'd most enjoy, the degree in Digital Forensics in Blanch looks interesting so thinking eventually go into that area.

Not sure about programming or developing until i've actually done some, which is where the free online courses come in again, hence i'm looking for recommendations.

Am i right in thinking while it would be good to have A+ and say Network+ and i dunno maybe Security, would i still be better working towards the Higher Cert and eventually a degree ? I expect crappy pay until i get the experience/revelant and courses behind me.

Thanks for all your replies so far.

the_syco

If you're working, certs are often looked for, but I'd say companies still look upon degrees in a good manner if you've done them via a night-course, as it shows initiative to improve oneself.

Mr. Loverman

Your plan sounds OK.

Personally I think you should get a degree. Not because you're learn a lot, but because so many people have degrees these days and many HR drones expect them.

Mr. Loverman

Your plan sounds OK.

Personally I think you should get a degree. Not because you're learn a lot, but because so many people have degrees these days and many HR drones expect them.

!BigBadBarry

the_syco wrote: »

If you're working, certs are often looked for, but I'd say companies still look upon degrees in a good manner if you've done them via a night-course, as it shows initiative to improve oneself.

Thanks for that, plan is firstly to get the A+, not sure if i'll have time to do the Network+ too before Sept will see how things go.

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Your plan sounds OK.

Personally I think you should get a degree. Not because you're learn a lot, but because so many people have degrees these days and many HR drones expect them.

Thanks i plan on working towards a degree hopefully to get a decent paid job i like.

One final question will i have to wait till i have the degree before i start earning decent money or would the Higher Cert and say A+ and Network+ get me a decent salary as in 30k+ ?

Mr. Loverman

Being a valuable employee is what gets you decent money.

I know guys with no qualifications who are doing very well in IT. They are likeable, professional and good at their job.

Certificates are a bonus. They impress HR. But any monkey can get a certificate and it doesn't really prove anything except you are somewhat motivated and can memorise stuff.

If I were you I would also be working on getting experience and doing some side projects. I'm always much more likely to hire someone if they are actually interested in IT; I hate hiring people who obviously don't like IT or are just doing it because they money is good.

Panda_Turtle

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Certificates are a bonus. They impress HR. But any monkey can get a certificate and it doesn't really prove anything except you are somewhat motivated and can memorise stuff.

I wouldn`t say that about all certs in fairness, although I can only talk about two that I have done.

I did the CompTIA A+ cert before and just learned off the answers pretty much to all of the questions; even though that wasn`t the best way of learning (but was the quickest!), some of it is bound to stick!!

But on the other hand I did an Oracle Java Certification, and that was tough you had to know what was going on.

!BigBadBarry

Panda_Turtle wrote: »

I wouldn`t say that about all certs in fairness, although I can only talk about two that I have done.

I did the CompTIA A+ cert before and just learned off the answers pretty much to all of the questions; even though that wasn`t the best way of learning (but was the quickest!), some of it is bound to stick!!

But on the other hand I did an Oracle Java Certification, and that was tough you had to know what was going on.

Are you saying you've got a job with just the A+ and Oracle Java ?

Would you be a Java programmer or developer now or something ?

If that's the case maybe i'm wasting my time looking at degrees ?