no formal qualifications needed

getmore4less

For careers it is often better to look at those that have jobs at all levels.

Retail and Hospitality are the two classic ones.

Entry level to company owner/director/manager all possible

Degree/Higher quals will fast track you into management, from entry level you just need to be smart but it takes longer.

Another is the building trade, entry level and quite a lot of skills based jobs to get in. learn enough skills and you can do more work upto owing your own business or higher jobs like site managers. Degrees get you into the big contracting firms at higher levels.

Health care, a bit harder to progress in some specialities but on the job at lower levels will get the entry criteria for higher level training.

In most cases it is being on the inside that opens up the opportunities where the jobs are fewer, lower risk for the compnay investing in people.

I would also look at one key criteria,

can they export the jobs, IT got hit by this, retail, hospitality, building, car stuff, transport... the jobs stay here look for jobs that canot be taken from under your feet.

I think a good long term sector will remain the building trades it has it's ups and downs but there will alway be places needing doing up and the housing shortage is not going to be solved for years if ever. BUild up a good skill set and you won'r be short of work, get the tickets for the 2 regulated areas(electric and gas) and you open up opportunities.

szam_

pinpin wrote: »

A friend of mine is training to become a 'railway signaller'.
Not even a job I'd ever heard of.
He only has (rather bad) GCSE's results, but he passed some assessments and is now being paid to train and is set to land a rather well paid job.

Considering i'd never heard of that job, I thought there must be other 'careers' out there where you don't need a degree/A levels, but can get the job through passing some sort of assessment or training instead?

I can't think of any though. Can you add any you know of in this thread?

thanks

I'm an IT Configuration Consultant, soon to be more IT Business Solutions and Software Consultant - All I have are 7 GCSE's at grade C, the other four are below C, one is an F.

I think grades are a pretty poor way of judging someones ability as while I was very bright until I was about 14, I just couldn't seem to learn much until my early twenties when I really started to develop mentally.

I'm surrounded by Uni Graduates - I'm quite proud of the fact I got here on merit and hard work rather than on qualifications.

t0rt0ise

Lioness_Twinkletoes wrote: »

Nope. I - and others - have been trying for years. You really make it sound like a person can just stroll into this sort of job when the fact is they infrequently advertised and highly sought after.

Nobody can stroll into any job nowadays. I've just started the CSA job on stations so I know that part is very possible. And once I'm through probation period I can apply for other jobs including train op if I wanted to and would have a really good chance of getting it. Just my experience which is all any of us can give.

makeyourdaddyproud

t0rt0ise wrote: »

Nobody can stroll into any job nowadays. I've just started the CSA job on stations so I know that part is very possible. And once I'm through probation period I can apply for other jobs including train op if I wanted to and would have a really good chance of getting it. Just my experience which is all any of us can give.

It is still possible to stroll into a job. If that happens, you will quickly find out why, be it looooooong hours, low pay or unsocial hours. That's the rule of thumb.

Domicillary care springs to mind as you more than likely only paid on the premises of a client.

As usual people who have a problem are wanting a cushy 9-5 desk job with high pay.

I will be looking at manual labour jobs where I live as the rates are quite good, and this is coming from someone with 7 GCE O levels, 3 A levels (2'A's and 1'B'), and a HND with distinction and two decades of IT experience. If I can do it, so can everyone else. Only your attitude is the barrier to work.

pinpin

makeyourdaddyproud wrote: »

I will be looking at manual labour jobs where I live as the rates are quite good, and this is coming from someone with 7 GCE O levels, 3 A levels (2'A's and 1'B'), and a HND with distinction and two decades of IT experience. If I can do it, so can everyone else. Only your attitude is the barrier to work.

What sort of manual labour jobs? Why have you left I.T?
cheers

makeyourdaddyproud

pinpin wrote: »

What sort of manual labour jobs? Why have you left I.T?
cheers

Paving, digging, lifting and site work etc. You need your own protective gear (steel cap boots, hard hat) but the rates can be about £13 - £15 per hour. With just three nine-hour days, I can cover my living costs.

I left IT because it became dull with nearly every commerce job calling for .net skills (even if you're a database guru). I refuse to have to keep learning complex frameworks every 2 years or so, or having to embrace every eureka moment from Silicon Valley playboys. Add to that the fact there are very few part time IT jobs of the type I have sought where I can only perhaps work three days out of five (as an example).