Nurse want to change job...and looking for a job

gino_76ph

I want to develop my IT/computer skills for Mac OSX. I have a Mac computer and i really want to develop my knowledge & skills in that aspect...helping people with general software & network problems. I would like to do it via a desk job or via home. Like you said is "Network/Systems Support" the correct term for the course?

I'm not aiming for a big corporate kinda companies. i'd like to start with those medium-sized upstart/up-and-coming companies if that is my closest option. but, if its big then the better. :-)

As regards GP or community nursing what sort of training would i need? I have 10 years of NHS experience under my belt ranging from cannulation to Mentoring.

paddyrg

http://training.apple.com/certification/macosx
http://training.apple.com/certification/acmt

In that case, start with one of the above certifications maybe? These seem to be the most suitable ones Apple offer. Otherwise, look at the A+ certification http://www.computeach.co.uk/comptia-a .

With no experience you will need certification to be taken seriously. If you want to see what rates you can expect with certifications in your area, go to jobserve.com where you can see contract and permenant jobs advertised. Be aware they are HEAVILY contended, so you would aim at the lower end of the range you find in order to get experience which is incredibly valuable.

gino_76ph

It looks like this A+ certification deals with mostly hardware. I would like something about software. Mac OSX software.

But, would a Network/Systems Support course be also enough?

paddyrg

Well, how about those first two links? They're from Apple. I doubt there's as much Mac-based work in the real world as there is PC/Unix/Linux-based, but that's because they're not really 'for' offices where rational financial purchasing decisions affect IT choices. But places that *are* all Apple will pay well over the odds for someone to fix their stuff up, so it's swings and roundabouts. I seriously doubt there's a lot of full-time employers who use Apple stuff enough to have a staff engineer. If you want security etc., do the MS MCSE qualifications for software-based systems administration work. It'll cost you a few grand, but you'll come out employable as a junior.

Most courses/qualifications are good for getting a full-time job for a large employer who have large IT departments. You'll start as a junior and learn the realities on the job. Compare it to nursing - you don't learn how to run a ward from a few days classroom training and an exam, you learn it by doing it *based on* classroom training.

I have led you to water, given you links to the very courses you wanted, and told you how to find out what the going rate is for those qualifications - it really is up to you from here. There is no easy answer, nothing guarantees you a job, nobody knows if you'll be any good at it, nobody can tell if you will choose to take the financial hit to start afresh except yourself. Either do it or don't - you have all the information you need.

Just remember about the grass always seeming greener.

gino_76ph

I think you are right. Because of Apple's exclusivity rights and close-mindedness about on their OSX i guess very few people actually uses it for general IT/business/networking stuff.

I still want to work as a nurse but in a different setup & environment. I want to learn and further develop my skills in IT/Computers as well but courses are too technical and i don't know if they are the right ones.

The CompTIA A+ thing looks interesting but i was told that is mostly only for hardware stuff no0t software. Also i rung the Apple Training Centres in London. Courses appear to be expensive ranging from £900 upwards and even after passing the exam it would seem that you are still not guaranteed a job.

paddyrg

gino_76ph wrote: »

The CompTIA A+ thing looks interesting but i was told that is mostly only for hardware stuff no0t software. Also i rung the Apple Training Centres in London. Courses appear to be expensive ranging from £900 upwards and even after passing the exam it would seem that you are still not guaranteed a job.

Yep, professional training isn't cheap. Of course you are not guaranteed a job in any industry, the IT one is fairly decent. A+/hardware may be useful as it is much harder to offshore the work of physical installation. Also, as I mentioned, look at the Microsoft MCSE certification which is in decent demand in large corporations, especially if you sit the latest modules for Windows 7/8.

gino_76ph

Would i need to take this MSITP course as well? (as that is the software version of the A+) Or just take the one with the MCSE one?

I'm only what i consider "intermediate" in terms of computers. All i want is an IT/networking/software support kinda course.

Please advice. (sorry to ask many questions)