I need some advice.
Discussion
I need some help and advice to get me started towards a proper career rather than just the hum-drum job I have now. At the moment I work in a photo lab, developing and printing photos. I dont know how much longer I will have a job, with the way we are loosing business I can forsee being made redundent in 12-24 months time.
So, I was thinking I would have enough time to train, gain a qualification and find a better job. But what to do? I have no idea where to start and I dont know what I would like to do, I never have done. I did try to get into car sales but very few companies want to take on a young lad with no experiance.
So, I have my basic GCSE's and I'm interested in computers, cars (obviously), gaming and photography. Could anyone suggest some worth while courses that when finished would leave me in a good position to find a decent paying job and be the start of a career. It would have to be a course I could do in my own time and mainly from home as I cant just pack in the job.
If not a course then any suggestions for a job I could get into now with good potential for advancement, promotions and earnings are more than welcome.
So, I was thinking I would have enough time to train, gain a qualification and find a better job. But what to do? I have no idea where to start and I dont know what I would like to do, I never have done. I did try to get into car sales but very few companies want to take on a young lad with no experiance.
So, I have my basic GCSE's and I'm interested in computers, cars (obviously), gaming and photography. Could anyone suggest some worth while courses that when finished would leave me in a good position to find a decent paying job and be the start of a career. It would have to be a course I could do in my own time and mainly from home as I cant just pack in the job.
If not a course then any suggestions for a job I could get into now with good potential for advancement, promotions and earnings are more than welcome.
Get some flying lessons and keep on going until you have a commercial pilot's license and pilot in command rating and become an airline pilot. It will be expensive and you will probably have to downsize your car/house/household budget to pay for it but once you've got it you will probably earn upwards of £40-50k a year so it will be a worthwhile investment in the long run.
Unless photo lab work pays a lot better than I previously thought, or you're independently wealthy, it's more likely that you'd have to sell your house, car and the shirt off your back to fund yourself becoming an airline pilot.
I looked into it once and - if memory serves - just getting to the frozen ATPL is stage is well over 20K , before you do the 1500+ hours needed in one year (?) to be able to use this to fly for reward. There are apparently odd ways you can build hours cheaply or even get paid for it, but an optimistic estimate for getting your wings so to speak would be 50K
I looked into it once and - if memory serves - just getting to the frozen ATPL is stage is well over 20K , before you do the 1500+ hours needed in one year (?) to be able to use this to fly for reward. There are apparently odd ways you can build hours cheaply or even get paid for it, but an optimistic estimate for getting your wings so to speak would be 50K
Becoming a pilot is HARD and EXPENSIVE. Air Traffic Control is easier. Mimimum of 5 GCSE'sneeded and you're fast tracked at the moment due to a lack of candidates. Your starting salarie through mostcompaniesis 40K and can go up to 120k within 5 years. If you learn another language and go and do ATC abroad, (Spain, Germany, russia) your pay could go up to 200K.
The other option if you're in to computers is ethical hacking. The goverment and some other organisations need people who are good with computers and again, this pays good money.
What ever you decide though, stick with it.
The other option if you're in to computers is ethical hacking. The goverment and some other organisations need people who are good with computers and again, this pays good money.
What ever you decide though, stick with it.
Thanks for the suggestions so far, air traffic control sounds the best option although I worry that it would be a stressful job.
Becoming a pilot is not an option for me, I dont earn that kind of money, I only earn 18k a year. Also the military is not an option for me, it ssomething I have explored in the past and although the opertunities and experiances look great I would not do well in such an enviroment.
Becoming a pilot is not an option for me, I dont earn that kind of money, I only earn 18k a year. Also the military is not an option for me, it ssomething I have explored in the past and although the opertunities and experiances look great I would not do well in such an enviroment.
So you don't want a job with stress, you don't like being told what you want to do, you can't afford to re-train as it might eat up too much of your salary.
Sounds to me like your in the best job you're going to get.
You don't earn good money without responsibility, and with that often comes stress.
Sounds to me like your in the best job you're going to get.
You don't earn good money without responsibility, and with that often comes stress.
Edited by okgo on Thursday 5th August 16:55
okgo said:
So you don't want a job with stress, you don't like being told what you want to do, you can't afford to re-train as it might eat up too much of your salary.
Sounds to me like your in the best job you're going to get.
Bit harsh. Someone on 18k would have to swallow hard to then begin spending £100k to become a pilot. And Air Traffic Controller (from what I gather a very stressful job) and the Army are probably jobs most folk would rule out as not right for them. At least the guy is looking to better himself.Sounds to me like your in the best job you're going to get.
To the OP - how about something to do with photography? Alternatively why not try the car sales route again? If you really like the route and think you would be good at it I'm sure the rightly crafted letter and follow up phone calls / visits to your local dealerships would result in a door opening somewhere (if not in car sales then maybe in the maintenance/servicing side??)
Edited by NewNameNeeded on Thursday 5th August 17:00
FraserLFA said:
Becoming a pilot is HARD and EXPENSIVE. Air Traffic Control is easier. Mimimum of 5 GCSE'sneeded and you're fast tracked at the moment due to a lack of candidates. Your starting salarie through mostcompaniesis 40K and can go up to 120k within 5 years. If you learn another language and go and do ATC abroad, (Spain, Germany, russia) your pay could go up to 200K.
The other option if you're in to computers is ethical hacking. The goverment and some other organisations need people who are good with computers and again, this pays good money.
What ever you decide though, stick with it.
Regarding ethical hacking, is there a legal way to practice? :|The other option if you're in to computers is ethical hacking. The goverment and some other organisations need people who are good with computers and again, this pays good money.
What ever you decide though, stick with it.
Not being funny but it's very hard to give advice to a stranger on the internet who states that they have absolutely no idea what they want to do but are interested in cars, computers, gaming and photography (along with half the population)
What are your skills? What are you good at?
I'm talking are you good with people? Good on the phone? Good at selling? Can you speak to strangers and get on with them?
Or are you techie? The sort best suited in an office with his nose in a keyboard?
This will help you get some constructive responses that could point you in the right direction.
What are your skills? What are you good at?
I'm talking are you good with people? Good on the phone? Good at selling? Can you speak to strangers and get on with them?
Or are you techie? The sort best suited in an office with his nose in a keyboard?
This will help you get some constructive responses that could point you in the right direction.
ILOVELAMP said:
If not a course then any suggestions for a job I could get into now with good potential for advancement, promotions and earnings are more than welcome.
Ha! If anyone knows the answer to this, can they tell me too???!!!Muzzer said:
Not being funny but it's very hard to give advice to a stranger on the internet who states that they have absolutely no idea what they want to do but are interested in cars, computers, gaming and photography (along with half the population)
What are your skills? What are you good at?
I'm talking are you good with people? Good on the phone? Good at selling? Can you speak to strangers and get on with them?
Or are you techie? The sort best suited in an office with his nose in a keyboard?
This will help you get some constructive responses that could point you in the right direction.
I do like techie stuff but more hardware than software. I would carry on with what I'm doing now but I just cant see it lasting and theres no job satisfaction since we never intereact with customers.
Photography is something I've considered as a career many times and why I was looking at joing the raf at one stage but I'm not good enough to stand out and get noticed which would make life very difficult maybe.
ATC still sound like one of the better options, I'm not so fussed about about stress in the work place, I cope fine with the current levels I get. I've just heard some quite bad things about it and I already have a receading hairline
but if its not as bad as some make out then I shall look into it further.
Ha! If anyone knows the answer to this, can they tell me too???!!!
What are your skills? What are you good at?
I'm talking are you good with people? Good on the phone? Good at selling? Can you speak to strangers and get on with them?
Or are you techie? The sort best suited in an office with his nose in a keyboard?
This will help you get some constructive responses that could point you in the right direction.
ILOVELAMP said:
If not a course then any suggestions for a job I could get into now with good potential for advancement, promotions and earnings are more than welcome.
The problem being of course that I dont know what I'm good at, this is only the second job I've ever had. I am generaly good with people and usualy get along with most people I meet.I do like techie stuff but more hardware than software. I would carry on with what I'm doing now but I just cant see it lasting and theres no job satisfaction since we never intereact with customers.
Photography is something I've considered as a career many times and why I was looking at joing the raf at one stage but I'm not good enough to stand out and get noticed which would make life very difficult maybe.
ATC still sound like one of the better options, I'm not so fussed about about stress in the work place, I cope fine with the current levels I get. I've just heard some quite bad things about it and I already have a receading hairline
but if its not as bad as some make out then I shall look into it further.Ha! If anyone knows the answer to this, can they tell me too???!!!
FraserLFA said:
Becoming a pilot is HARD and EXPENSIVE. Air Traffic Control is easier. Mimimum of 5 GCSE'sneeded and you're fast tracked at the moment due to a lack of candidates. Your starting salarie through mostcompaniesis 40K and can go up to 120k within 5 years. If you learn another language and go and do ATC abroad, (Spain, Germany, russia) your pay could go up to 200K.
The other option if you're in to computers is ethical hacking. The goverment and some other organisations need people who are good with computers and again, this pays good money.
What ever you decide though, stick with it.
AFAIK, english is the language of the skies, so no foreign language skills required. The other option if you're in to computers is ethical hacking. The goverment and some other organisations need people who are good with computers and again, this pays good money.
What ever you decide though, stick with it.
euroboy has covered atc training/employment extensively on several threads.
t84 said:
Regarding ethical hacking, is there a legal way to practice? :
Yep! http://www.firebrandtraining.co.uk/shirt said:
AFAIK, english is the language of the skies, so no foreign language skills required.
euroboy has covered atc training/employment extensively on several threads.
It's more for communication within organisations. Although English is the language used, extra languages will always benefit an airline and therefore employers pay more for you, even though you do the same job.euroboy has covered atc training/employment extensively on several threads.
And to whoever it was suggested NATS, they are the best at it.
ETA
t84 said:
How stressful is ATC?
Fairly, you have to have a cool head, plan in advance and be able to make cool calm decisions quickly. However, working in a group gives you the security that there will always be someone, as well as a computer, that will spot a cock up.Edited by FraserLFA on Thursday 5th August 21:38
Join a big company, in a relatively low level position. Proctor & Gamble, Unilever, Tesco, Reckitt Benckiser, Rolls Royce etc
Have a look at the Sunday Times list of best companies to work for. Don't wait to be made redundant dust off your CV, go and see a couple of recruitment agents, interview with them first, get their feedback on your personality, get them to coach you on a presentation, interview technique and the like.
Then apply to the firms directly, they offer good training and a career path into new roles. Procurement, internal sales, HR, In house IT etc
If you are reasonable numerical - why not look at AAT or ACCA as a starter in Finance ?
Or do evening classes for a skilled trade - electrician, plumber etc and then go self employed in the future
Have you considered other laborotary companies, eg pharmaceutical firms?
Perhaps you should re visit our career options from scratch. do you like trav el, want to work outdoors, for yourself? as part of a team, in an undemanding role, in an office, in a technical capacity, creative,
Chef school ? Catering trades (crap hours) in a pub,down a mine
There is loads to do, sounds like you are looking for a cushy number and aren't prepared to get yourself out there
Have a look at the Sunday Times list of best companies to work for. Don't wait to be made redundant dust off your CV, go and see a couple of recruitment agents, interview with them first, get their feedback on your personality, get them to coach you on a presentation, interview technique and the like.
Then apply to the firms directly, they offer good training and a career path into new roles. Procurement, internal sales, HR, In house IT etc
If you are reasonable numerical - why not look at AAT or ACCA as a starter in Finance ?
Or do evening classes for a skilled trade - electrician, plumber etc and then go self employed in the future
Have you considered other laborotary companies, eg pharmaceutical firms?
Perhaps you should re visit our career options from scratch. do you like trav el, want to work outdoors, for yourself? as part of a team, in an undemanding role, in an office, in a technical capacity, creative,
Chef school ? Catering trades (crap hours) in a pub,down a mine
There is loads to do, sounds like you are looking for a cushy number and aren't prepared to get yourself out there
Gargamel said:
There is loads to do, sounds like you are looking for a cushy number and aren't prepared to get yourself out there
No not really, I just have no direction and dont know what I want to or can do. I'm quite prepared to start at the bottom of ladder and work my way up or train. I know what ever new role I have will require me to learn alot of new things but sometimes I guess I am alittle scared of failing.My careers advice at school was pants and at that point I had no interest in work, now I'm in a world of employment I dont know where to start or what alot of jobs involve. But thanks to everybody who has posted so far, some good advice given and I'm starting to release what options are available to a comoner like me.
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