Advice on getting into IT after redundincy

peter999

cybershot wrote:

Hi i have just been made redundent after 11 years of working on a factory,

the careers office now entitles me to £2500 for new training on anything i want.

want somthing totaly diff from factory work as want to use this to better myself at last

How old are you ??

Getting jobs in IT industry can be a problem if you're older (40+).
They like young/cheaper/keen whippersnappers.

Also problem with IT industry is it makes itself redundant !!

You can't always get experience in other IT areas to keep skills up to date no matter how much you want to, if company doesn't want it.

peter999

Alan50

My son is in IT has a degree in computer science his starting pay was 12K, he now earns 15K after 2 years.
Try plumbing/gas fitting for a long term solution.

Good luck

Alan

merlinormartin

i think alot comes down to "luck" and how well you can fill out application forms .. my 2 friends finished uni with exactly the same IT degree ..and same grade... one walked into a job starting on 21K and the other is still claiming JSA.

magyar

Like all things, it's a combination of luck, skill, dedication, perseverance etc.

And of course it's an over-subscribed industry (mainly, though, because it's good fun)

Emmzi

Cyber,

as part of your redundancy were you offered any sort of career guidance counselling? These days it isn't just for school leavers :-)

It sounds like you could use a hand from a professional who knows your local job market, to help you work out your options. Redundancy is a hell of a shock to the system and its easy to pick a job that looks good out of panic...

What help have you got available to you?

cybershot_2

just come of working alternitive shifts so diff hours dont bother me.

Im 32.

looked at plumbing ect and no chance of that,

peter999

cybershot wrote:

looked at plumbing ect and no chance of that,

Why do you say no chance of plumbing ??
There are some places that do intensive training courses.

http://www.btsc.co.uk/

Think will cost quite a lot of money & not sure how accepted they are by industry.
They avoid discussing "contribution to costs" over phone.

peter999

Squirt_3

IFA wrote:

Read on BBC that there is a skills crisis in IT? I think this is a "not wanting to work for peanuts crisis" If this skills crisis is genuine get in now as pay would surely go up (just like for plumbers?) I can but hope.... Just watch out for the Indians/ Polish competing for your job...

As someone said above, IT is such a wide field that saying "Skills Crisis in IT" is a bit like saying "Skills Crisis in Retail" - it could mean store managers or saturday warehouse workers.

My company is looking to expand it's development team, and is having trouble recruiting despite offering pretty good salaries - there just seems to be a shortage in this particular field. Jobs are often so specific, especially at the higher pay levels, that you need to have the right set of skills or you have no chance.

As regards the OP, I'd recommend trying some stuff out on your PC first. You can get all sorts of widely used programming languages and databases from the web for free, along with tutorials, and it'll give you some exposure to some different areas. Try setting up your own web page from scratch, or setup a database to store your accounts, or something. Most of the IT guys I know taught themselves the majority of what they know hacking about on their computers in their bedrooms.

cybershot_2

Emmzi wrote:

Cyber,

as part of your redundancy were you offered any sort of career guidance counselling? These days it isn't just for school leavers :-)

It sounds like you could use a hand from a professional who knows your local job market, to help you work out your options. Redundancy is a hell of a shock to the system and its easy to pick a job that looks good out of panic...

What help have you got available to you?

hi em,
yes we have a career adviser who i am meeting in a few weeks, its them advised us about the re-training grant

Emmzi

That's good to know

Usually they'll spend a bit of time just talking through what you would like to do.. make the most of it!