I've been offered a job in retail, but I'm kind of fed up with retail work.

System

When i was coming off ESA and looking for work retail wasnt exactly top of my list, BUT when i got offered my job i took it. And you know what? It actually isn't that bad. I've now been there nearly 2 years, which means i've built up experience (which after 3 years on ESA can only be a good thing) and i'm in a batter position to apply for other jobs if i choose too. As it happens a job in another shop has just opened up and i think i'm going to apply for it as i like the shop and think its pretty well my dream (retail) job. Taking the job i have now will have hopefully put me in a better position for applying for this other job.

DCFC79

Kingslayer if your lucky you might find theres a vacancy within the HR department of where your working, the experience they might ask for could be minimal eg no qualifications.

pinpin

szam_ wrote: »

I agree with people asking why this is even a question.

If only we could not work until the dream job comes along... unfortunately life isn't like that.

I'm 27, my progression was:

Volunteering with small local gaming company > Retail > Factory Work > College (couldn't finish due to personal circumstances) > Admin Assistant (FJF scheme) > Software Testing/Client Liasion/Documentation > 1st and 2nd line IT support later also including on site consultancy and configuration of software and hardware > Software configuration consultant
.

How did you manage to get into software testing having only done retail/factory/admin before?
Maybe this is something I could do?
cheers

Polarbeary

pinpin wrote: »

What do you do exactly?
thx

I'm a PA. Not my dream job but pays the bills and I personally prefer it to retail work but everyone is different.

szam_

pinpin wrote: »

How did you manage to get into software testing having only done retail/factory/admin before?
Maybe this is something I could do?
cheers

I did, and still do I.T. as a hobby and in my volunteering (first role) undertaking networking and hardware. I'd also done some VB6 at College and did pretty well at it (my first attempt before I decided College wasn't for me at the age of 16/17).

It wasn't full on software testing as I know it now in my current place of work, I was 22, not graduated from college anywhere and had never touched SQL in my life but was expected to know it all, job only lasted 6 months which I suspect is because they took me on to train me in to a developer and then realised that they had no resource to actually train me without the software development schedules taking a battering. So testing involved playing about as perhaps a customer would, seeing if something didn't seem right and trying to figure out from the code at which point the fault occurred, which was difficult with my lack of SQL knowledge and zero access to stored procedures. Put it this way, if I ever walked in to a software house like that again, I would instantly turn it down unless I had no work, in which case I would immediately look for a place with structure.

I was also on just above minimum wage, and the developers there were only on 20k a year from what they told me, they were quite disgruntled as the owners had their own boats and were frequently going abroad on lavish holidays yet kept on at everyone about how poorly the company was doing.

I would only ever go in to a role in a very small company like that again on the promise that I would get professional training in order to undertake my role properly. I definitely wouldn't accept an offer for a place like that again under the premise "you could become a developer one day", only to be neglected the entire time to the point where you can spend all day being baffled, and asking for help results in getting taken upstairs and told not to bother other people as they are very busy.

pinpin

szam_ wrote: »

you can spend all day being baffled, and asking for help results in getting taken upstairs and told not to bother other people as they are very busy.

lol, that sounds like every office based role i've ever had!
I just tend to go for warehouse type jobs now where i'm packing items into boxes etc.

szam_

pinpin wrote: »

lol, that sounds like every office based role i've ever had!
I just tend to go for warehouse type jobs now where i'm packing items into boxes etc.

The opposite in my experience. My first and second line role, a developer mentored me when I got stuck learning SQL, I was learning it on the job, but would need explanation sometimes. In fact, my manager was very straight with me and often mentioned they'd earmarked me for a development job in the future (a few years down the line) so they were encouraged to aid me in understanding and developing my skills. In my current job, we do need help from time to time, we're not developers and advances in the software are being made all the time, it's impossible to know everything, spreading the knowledge is actively encouraged.

pinpin

szam_ wrote: »

The opposite in my experience

I guess maybe it's down to the fact that my office based experience has been through agencies and is 'unskilled'/general admin.

At every job i've felt completely unrequired and 'in the way'. I always felt as though the company were spending money to have me there, but the office managers seemed angry at having to 'find' me something to do, lol. Like they blamed me for their bosses wanting more staff.
It happened a number of times, so I go with unskilled manual work now.

Problem is, I got some very bad health news recently, so not sure if I'll be suitable to manual work for too much longer! (between chemotharapy and operations it'll be tough, and i'm only in my 20's)

kingslayer

Polarbeary wrote: »

Why not do a free NVQ2 in Business & Admin? I did it free via vision2learn. You could look at local colleges and see if they offer IT courses?

I used to work in retail whilst a student and didn't like it, found it boring and so many tricky customers. I work in an office now. It can be boring but it's well paid and so much better than retail in general.

You could also do some voluntary admin work such as in a hospital or for a charity to get experience.

Yeah the voluntary work is a good idea. I think that's my only option to find office work.

How much use are those free courses for finding employment, though?

kingslayer

I've accepted the job, but I still feel a bit unfulfilled. I hope i don't sound ungrateful, but even though it's a job, i want better for myself. And it's not laziness on my part for not studying, it's not knowing what to study and not being that academically inclined, so i do struggle with it.

I have no problem with the idea of studying, though. I know the only way, in this day and age, to get a better paying job seems to be either A) have years of work experience, or having a top education and the best qualifications.

I think it's more likely that employers want degrees nowadays. The amount of people who are applying for jobs who are likely more qualified than me, usually to degree level, is sure to be high.