Microsoft IT courses

wydsiwyrg

Finding out what he really wants to do in IT would be the first step.

I handle recruitment for an IT company in the West Midlands, and I would NOT recommend MCSE or MCP; they are very insular qualifications, and will give you no headway with at least 50% of the market.

Does he want to go into:

- Development / Development Management
- DBA (Database Administration)
- System/Network Administration

By and large those are your three choices in IT.

For any of these no qualifications are necessary; but some do help (Prince2, CCNA etc.); the best idea is to get some practical experience in your spare time (I find that working on an Open Source project is great for the top two, or volunteering with a charity good for the 3rd). With this experience apply for as many jobs as you can, and get your foot in.

Entry level Development job salaries will be, depending on the company, and your geographical location, between £16k and £22k. At mid level (3-4 years experience), you could expect a salary between £25k and £35k. Moving to senior positions, and project management you can expect anywhere from £30k to £90k.

Entry level DBA jobs have a similar salary range, although senior jobs with financial institutions (on contract) can net you in the region of £500 - £1000 per day.

System/network administration by and large has a slower progression, and a less defined ceiling. However, again, on contract, you can net a lot of money with these positions.

Hope this helps,
Tim

phildamb

Heres the problem with such courses no company will hire someone with MCSEs unless they have actual job experience. Hes far better doing the cheaper A+ and ECL first to get on the lower ladder and work his way up. All these adverts stating how much you can earn as soon as you finish the course is rubbish. The IT industry is so saturated that employers are very picky now so wouldnt touch someone without experience and qualifications. I finished my degree in 2001 and then completed my A+ last year and Im now sitting my Network+ then my CCNA but I know unless I can get experience in the fields I want I stand little chance of beating the experienced people to good paid jobs. Their is no such thing as a quick route to a new career but the last thing I would do is get into debt to get there otherwise your essentially working at a loss until you pay off the debt.

lindens

Thanks everyone for the advice, you are all more or less saying the same thing. He is not going to do this course.
He thinks he may self study or home study the CompTIA course A+ and then get a bottom of the rung job.

phildamb

lindens wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the advice, you are all more or less saying the same thing. He is not going to do this course.
He thinks he may self study or home study the CompTIA course A+ and then get a bottom of the rung job.

the Comptia A+ course is a good start and not as low on the salary wagon as you may think. If you are good at it and interview well you could start at 20k with a good company. But the big thing they want to hear is that he is still learning and developing himself.

Weggy

For computer training books/manuals, try these people... Have bought my last two full sets of MCSE books from them. Cheap and very reliable

http://www.compman.co.uk/

going2die_rich

Why not take a plumbing or electrician course instead? Then he could become his own boss and the money would be really good.

DKLS

Avoid the courses, I hire coders on a regular basis, the worst are the recent graduates, the best is an ex bin man who is entirely self taught, with no IT background, but produces amazing code.

flateric_2

A Computer Operator is a good place to start your IT career. It pays a decent wage aswell.

Try https://www.jobserve.co.uk and search for Computer Operator

SteveTHE

I know this is a bit of an old thread - but I found a site where they re-sell big company's training at reduced prices. Could be a real money saver - I got a course for aobut 2/3 the price I'd been quoted with the actual supplier

Anyway, it's www.lastminutemicrosofttraining.co.uk

Hope this helps!