feeling so useless.. cant order pick :'(

jobneeded

Thanks

this has cheered me up no end now just found this at my local college

http://www.wakefield.ac.uk/CourseInformation/index.asp?page=leaflet&ID=58610

ive done them initial assesments before and get key level 3-bordering level 4 this is cheering me up now

thanks again everyone

rob

wigglebeena

Lots of 'teach-yourself' resources online too, for IT and other stuff. Check out Google Code University for programming lessons, lifehack.org for tech stuff, DIY and software, iTunes University, tons of free lecture materials and podcasts from top colleges like MIT. Really incredible resources for free. Probably good step-by-step tutorials on Youtube too. How impressed will an employer be if you can say 'yeah, I'm self-taught, I can program in eight languages and build a puter and server running free secure open-source software from scratch.'

One thing I've thought of myself is teaching myself to build a website (I can put together a self-hosted Wordpress blog but I mean a proper website) for a friend starting up in self-employment, then using that as a 'clip' to convince others going the self-employed route to pay me to make their website. Ain't really got the time though - maybe you could do it! Seems like half the young lads around are starting up as tilers, plumbers, odd-job men etc - and doing their own site at the same time would be time-consuming...

http://lifehacker.com/5188342/top-10-tools-for-a-free-online-education

jobneeded

I have looked at free source realted materials before but would sooner go to college and do it that way.
I know how to build websites up,buying or selling domain address's and scripting pages and so on.. and how to setup VPN connections and dedicated private servers for online communities such as discussion forums (like this) and stuff,i know how to build up computers here's my latest setup




and how i first bought it with standard intel issue heatsink and other standard motherboard components




from the standard 1.2inch heatsink -to an 8.3 inch fanless heatsink is one thing i was messing about with (how heatsinks work,what thermal compound is and what it does ,what a cpu is etc at the age of 6-8 and grew from their really..
i would like to have qualifications in I.T to be able to either start up my own - home based computer building business,eg sell on ebay like many do or to work for a computer related company,aran tech,Xcase or place's like that

(im not wanting for this to sound like a bragging session, theirs plenty i could most likely do with learning but ive realised typing this.. - yes.. computers is deffinatley something id like to do.. i love rebuilding them,building them from motherboard upwards,and even repairing them,hardware or software wise)

Thanks... im sure this has possibly opened many new windows for me

Rob

elisebutt65

Holy Poo - That's some set up - This is what you MUST focus on!!!

I'm dyspraxic and you should have seen me when I did 1 day temping at a St Ivels factory - Trifle everywhere - Now that WAS just like Chucklevision. :rotfl::rotfl:
However - time flies and I manage to get a degree in Tourism Buisiness Management after having the kids and then my PGCE and now I'm a teacher

I've been doing it 2 years now and I still can't believe it! I think it gives me an extra helping of empathy with my students, especially the ones with a learning disability - My boss thinks I'm so good at it that I have 2 tutor groups next year instead of the usual one!!!:eek:

The main thing to do is stop thinking about what you CAN'T do and think only about the great things that you CAN do! Like that amazing PC:D I couldn't do that if you gave me a gazillion quid in cash and all the time in the world - I'd still be there a month later with a pile of bits and a screwdriver going D'uh!

Good luck and I hope you get on the course - you could always work part time for a small independent PC business doing repairs - or even put an advert in the local paper for a few quid a week and set up on your own?

paulwf

I tend to hang about on the small business and employment forums on here and there are a million and one people starting up as independent computer repairers...almost as many as there are new driving instructors or alternative therapists

Essentially these days most home tech is fairly user friendly, the ease of setting up a website and troubleshooting windows 7 means anyone who likes tinkering with computers can have a reasonable stab at it. I think the home repair market is saturated and even outdated:

- do people still buy modded base units in significant numbers? That is a genuine question but I expect not, these days laptops far outsell base units for home use. Plus 10 years ago PCs were £1000 and still slow, so tweaking them to get more power and customising them to show off your investment made sense. These days a £250 Dell box will suit most needs. So really research the market before going down that route, my feeling is in 5 years big base units outside of business will be very rare.

- related to above, PC's used to be very expensive and Win98 was a pain to work with so expert repairers had a market. Now computers are semi-disposable (not really worth repairing if over 3 years old) and a lot of trouble shooting can be done without need of a technician. Plus most home computers are now laptops, not as easy to work on as base units

I haven't said that to put you off. Rather my point is not to look at trends from 10 years ago but rather look to the future. If you want to do software the money is in apps and cloud computing. If you want to do hardware I bet the people who can strip down iPods and netbooks are making the money and in 2 years time it'll be those that can repair and iPad cheaper than Apple. Use your building skills to cope with future tech, I just doubt neon base units are the future...sorry.

annie123

jobneeded wrote: »

Thanks

this has cheered me up no end now just found this at my local college

http://www.wakefield.ac.uk/CourseInformation/index.asp?page=leaflet&ID=58610

ive done them initial assesments before and get key level 3-bordering level 4 this is cheering me up now

thanks again everyone

rob

Knew there would be something for you;)

And that computer you've built is amazing, now that makes me feel useless, I can put ram in though

Get your application in quickly before you become good at picking stock or you might not ever leave there:eek:

GEEGEE8

Rob,

I went to Wakefield College this year to do Civil Engineering, a bit different, but I found everyone really nice, there are some great people to meet and it's a friendly place I'm now off to Leeds Uni to start my degree.. how quickly things move on when you get started.

That computer set up is awesome! Well Done.

Right, get yourself registered for that course ! Open evenings will be anytime now, so you must apply for it and find out when the open evening is.

I really hesitated over starting my course as I thought I either wouldn't be capable, I'd not enjoy it and drop out (add to my list of drop out things) or some other reason.. I ended up top of the class at the end of the year.

Why not go college and keep looking out for a job at PC World or something to keep you getting some money coming in.

You could do really well from this, and the main things is you obviously are passionate about it.. so what are you waiting for?!

chocsessential

Ooh, I hate it when supervisors give you cursory training and then moan when you don't do your job properly!

jobneeded

Hi
I agree -desktop computers at home or even in the work place will soon be just a cube shape'd box " like this here" - http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.caultex.co.uk/images/Shuttle.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.caultex.co.uk/index.cfm%3Ffuseaction%3Dcubes&usg=__JVphwKjNJGOjC5ia1N18wLhFf5w=&h=235&w=313&sz=15&hl=en&start=6&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=fNHqaS1ERqj8VM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dshuttle%2Bcube%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26tbs%3Disch:1

but big desktop computers are still needed eg - like certain types of servers,home based servers and so on... big desktop machines at home or work will be fazed out in a few years time and most will have laptops,people who need bigger computing power as file sizes become bigger as internet speeds go into GB/s (which for those who have access to a personal dedicated server with an un-metered line will know 1gbps download speed is a possibility. -people who have big file sizes of data will most likely still need a desktop machine (but it will no doubt be like that cube above) :rotfl:

reason for me having the computer i have is that i administer 4-5 different websites and forums, and have 3 dedicated servers in germany,canada and another in germany which i use for data storage, and running my computer now since i built it from scratch about 2 year ago and cost me around 1500 quid at the time and hasnt been turned off since its first switch on. aswell it also acts as a home server, as i have a few 2.0 and 2.5TB hard drives connected to my computer with everything the family needs as backup eg,music,dvds,pictures and so on.. as we were getting sick of" oh il just watch this, argh what?! where's the disc" - so just backup on hard drives, plus it acting as a home server protects anything or anyone else who connects to the router at home, as it scans for viruses and other harmfull stuff while its connecting to the router(which is all controlled by my machine)

I see what you mean about computer and laptop repairs - im always having to show my family members through different things, repairing their laptops - uncle's laptop had 162 million transistors on its motherboard, 4 of which had burnt out and needed replacing and re-soldering - which i did

and as for changing ram.. it dosent matter, so long as a computer does what you need it to do - is all that matters - i like tinkering,upgrading,and keeping everyone's computers running and running to the best speeds and making them reliable if they are begining to play up:rotfl:

im going to contact wakefield college later today (have my theory test at 1.30pm) when i get back im going to phone them about it.

Thanks for the support everyone
wish everyone a nice day

Rob

GEEGEE8

Rob - I think you should offer to run the course lol !

Sounds like you know a good deal already, this could be a good start for you!

Do you need to earn money? or is it just to keep your car and for spending money, I presume you live at home still?

I would suggest getting college and possibly Uni done whilst you are young and living at home

Good luck with the theory test!