Change of career advice please

JRM89

Hi, this is my first post so hopefully I do it right

I've been working in sales/customer service for the past 6 years since I left education. I've decided that I'd like to move into the World of I.T, except I have no work experience or formal qualifications in that sector.

I have absolutely no idea where to start really, I'd like to do something software/helpdesk/developer related but as I have no experience it's proving hard to find anywhere recruiting trainee positions.

Is there any advice anyone could give me on where to start?

Thanks

PlutoinCapricorn

I hope that you will get some positive replies, but wanted to warn you against paying a lot of money to training companies who lead you to believe that there will be a highly-paid job at the end of it.

Many experiences and skilled IT people are on the market at the moment, so these companies may be charging you a lot for worthless 'qualifications'.

92203

I've worked in IT for the past 9 years, and while my career and salary have progressed over this period, it is not a route or career choice. I would recommend to anyone.

I've started pretty much from the ground up - My first job was on an IT helpdesk earning £14k p.a - after 9 years I now work in a server support role earning £34k. Once you get your first break into IT, you have to work very hard to get noticed in order to progress to the next rung of the ladder (read closer to earning a half decent wage).

Although I find technology interesting, a big part of what makes me tick is actually dealing with and helping people. Sadly as I have progressed into better paid back office positions, I very rarely get to speak to people (outside of the area I work in). A lot of the time I find my job thankless and soul destroying.

Unless you are going to move into something highly specialised such as Oracle or Unix support, there is a great deal of competition for jobs. Also consider the fact that with advances in networking/remote management technology, it is now possible to offer IT services from anywhere in the world. Companies have and will off-shore IT services away from the UK.

Steer away from IT, try and find a traditional career which will give you a job for life, and not require you to spend time at home revising for exams etc each time a new Operating System is released.

36CrazyFists

Good luck, I've been trying to get another job/change career for a long time now. I think IT is a difficult sector to get into but the job market is very challenging overall.

jfh7gwa

JRM89 you're going to struggle to get companies to "recruit" you for trainee positions, because at least in the experience of friends and family that work in IT, you're up against folk that already have hands on IT experience in some (any) form and want to move into it... or e.g. newly graduated folks who are totally wet behind the ears but have studied a numerate/technical degree who companies can hire in the thought that they can mold them properly.

It's just like trying to get into accountancy or any other (eventually) high paying profession... to get your foot in the door, you're going to have to either find a way to gain experience in something relevant (volunteering if need be, but also looking for often badly paid support desk roles which are little more than call centre jobs, in the hope you can outshine others for more training etc, maybe undertake self-funded training - and by that I don't mean 3 month courses that promise to make you a programmer at the end of it.. I mean a relevant, respected HNC/HND/degree like a Comp Sci/Software Engineering/Information Systems course from an established education provider)

I suppose the crux of what I'm saying is that, at the moment, you have neither the educational background or experience to justify to an employer why they should hire you vs. that girl with the database systems degree or that guy who has no degree but has been working in the local computer repair shop for the last 2 years after his A-levels.

You need to distinguish yourself in some way. I'm not even sure whether any legit (respected) IT company advertises roles which require no experience and no education in the area they're recruiting for... so your point about "it's proving hard to find anywhere recruiting trainee positions".. it's a bit of an obvious one, because that's not really the way it works. If there are companies that fit the type of thing you're after where they have a "no experience/no education required" entry criteria, they are bound to be very high competition, as with any other type of job where the entry requirements to getting employed are bizarrely low. I'm thinking of BT's apprentice-type schemes maybe?

An IT career is no more special or unique than any other sector in this way.

Also.. you might want to pin down exactly what it is that interests you about a career in IT.

Software development isn't database maintenance, isn't systems architecture, isn't business analysis, isn't network design, isn't technical training or technical writing... the sector is so huge that even though I have 2 brothers, a father and a husband who "work in IT", none of them do similar jobs. My brother runs his own web development/SEO agency, my husband is a programmer with a finance company, my oldest brother is a technical writer in-house (not self employed) and my dad is self-employed as a repair technician (he's semi-retired though - fell into it about 10 years ago after retiring as an electronics engineer).,... so it varies a lot. If you can pinpoint where it is you want to go in IT... your battle is already half won

hcb42

your best place to start is look at what IT support your current employer needs - is there an opportunity - not sure from sales/customer service if you mean call centre, but that might be an alternative route in if you can do it..sorry if I am wide of the mark