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]
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
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]
Tell him to forget IT and get himself in to the oil industry
He's looking at 'application programmer'
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]
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?
Perhaps suggest he becomes a sparky or a plumber?
ATB
Simon
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.
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
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?
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.
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
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
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
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]
quote:
Originally posted by daviep
Tell him to forget IT and get himself in to the oil industry
