Trying to get into IT
Discussion
Hello, I'm currently 19 years of age studying a HND in Computing at a local college. The content of the course is a bit dry and I often wonder how most of it will help me find that important first job. I'm only in college for three day's of the week and in my spare time I'm working in retail (not very productive at all i know) The problem being is that I'm not exactly sure what I want to do which I think is a big problem.
I do have an interest in technology outside of college, I have setup email servers, and a VPN server as well as playing around with Linux (installing arch),bash scripting, and messing around with various programming languages, so something along the lines of development would be great but any sort of IT related job would be a plus point. The only real "experience" if you can call it that was when I volunteered to teach basic computer skills to the elderly and also help run an internet cafe in a local community center during the summer.
Sorry for all of that but to get to the point, what would you suggest I could do? I'm in college 3 day's a week but have been unable to find any part time IT related work and kind of feel lucky for having this part time job in retail. Is it wise to carry on with this course even if I find the content a bit lackluster?
Thank you for your time and sorry about my grammar and the length of the post.
I do have an interest in technology outside of college, I have setup email servers, and a VPN server as well as playing around with Linux (installing arch),bash scripting, and messing around with various programming languages, so something along the lines of development would be great but any sort of IT related job would be a plus point. The only real "experience" if you can call it that was when I volunteered to teach basic computer skills to the elderly and also help run an internet cafe in a local community center during the summer.
Sorry for all of that but to get to the point, what would you suggest I could do? I'm in college 3 day's a week but have been unable to find any part time IT related work and kind of feel lucky for having this part time job in retail. Is it wise to carry on with this course even if I find the content a bit lackluster?
Thank you for your time and sorry about my grammar and the length of the post.
Hi
Sounds like a good balance, college IT will give you the kudos / qualifications on your CV that you need at your age to get interviews, plus you don't actually at the moment know what information / knowledge you will need for a job. The content may be a bit lack lustre, but it will be giving you a good grounding which you will find helps you progress and understand new things as they come about in the future (most things in IT revolve around re-invented wheels based on basic principles)
The stuff you do in your own time shows that you are actually interested in IT and will probably keep on learning / updating yourself and will go down very well with any potential employer
If you drop out of college now, this will look pretty bad on your CV, lots of people will assume you are not a "sticker" and will walk away from a job at the first hint of difficulty.
I would keep looking for a part time job more involved in computing, but not give up the retail job until you find one (money in the pocket is always worth having)
Are there any retail based computer jobs locally, even selling stuff in PC World would help.
How much longer do you have to go on the course?
Sounds like a good balance, college IT will give you the kudos / qualifications on your CV that you need at your age to get interviews, plus you don't actually at the moment know what information / knowledge you will need for a job. The content may be a bit lack lustre, but it will be giving you a good grounding which you will find helps you progress and understand new things as they come about in the future (most things in IT revolve around re-invented wheels based on basic principles)
The stuff you do in your own time shows that you are actually interested in IT and will probably keep on learning / updating yourself and will go down very well with any potential employer
If you drop out of college now, this will look pretty bad on your CV, lots of people will assume you are not a "sticker" and will walk away from a job at the first hint of difficulty.
I would keep looking for a part time job more involved in computing, but not give up the retail job until you find one (money in the pocket is always worth having)
Are there any retail based computer jobs locally, even selling stuff in PC World would help.
How much longer do you have to go on the course?
Edited by Burrow01 on Monday 26th November 18:08
Burrow01 said:
Hi
Sounds like a good balance, college IT will give you the kudos / qualifications on your CV that you need at your age to get interviews, plus you don't actually at the moment know what information / knowledge you will need for a job. The content may be a bit lack lustre, but it will be giving you a good grounding which you will find helps you progress and understand new things as they come about in the future (most things in IT revolve around re-invented wheels based on basic principles)
The stuff you do in your own time shows that you are actually interested in IT and will probably keep on learning / updating yourself and will go down very well with any potential employer
If you drop out of college now, this will look pretty bad on your CV, lots of people will assume you are not a "sticker" and will walk away from a job at the first hint of difficulty.
I would keep looking for a part time job more involved in computing, but not give up the retail job until you find one (money in the pocket is always worth having)
Are there any retail based computer jobs locally, even selling stuff in PC World would help.
How much longer do you have to go on the course?
Thanks for the reply and advice, I have two years left on this course, I'll have to have a look but with the likes of curry's closing down there probably won't be as many but never the less will have a look and ask around. I haven't bothered with any vendor qualifications and would like to ask are they these worth having? The contents of the course is as follows, (Database design concepts, System development, Computer Technology and visual web development) I do have the possibility of going into getting a full degree after the course but that would be another two years and I haven't really thought that far ahead. Sounds like a good balance, college IT will give you the kudos / qualifications on your CV that you need at your age to get interviews, plus you don't actually at the moment know what information / knowledge you will need for a job. The content may be a bit lack lustre, but it will be giving you a good grounding which you will find helps you progress and understand new things as they come about in the future (most things in IT revolve around re-invented wheels based on basic principles)
The stuff you do in your own time shows that you are actually interested in IT and will probably keep on learning / updating yourself and will go down very well with any potential employer
If you drop out of college now, this will look pretty bad on your CV, lots of people will assume you are not a "sticker" and will walk away from a job at the first hint of difficulty.
I would keep looking for a part time job more involved in computing, but not give up the retail job until you find one (money in the pocket is always worth having)
Are there any retail based computer jobs locally, even selling stuff in PC World would help.
How much longer do you have to go on the course?
Edited by Burrow01 on Monday 26th November 18:08
Thanks again
I did two summers working at a college doing I.T support then did charity work on a voluntary basis so you are on the right track.
I applied for internships but the competition was too fierce so i stuck with the voluntary work. Eventually I got onto a help-desk working for IBM doing 1st line support.
My friends created online projects and demos to showcase their skills, even if you are not intending to go into programming it is worthwhile doing some demos imo.
I applied for internships but the competition was too fierce so i stuck with the voluntary work. Eventually I got onto a help-desk working for IBM doing 1st line support.
My friends created online projects and demos to showcase their skills, even if you are not intending to go into programming it is worthwhile doing some demos imo.
Edited by Carl_Docklands on Monday 26th November 18:58
PimpmyHotwheels said:
Thanks for the reply and advice, I have two years left on this course, I'll have to have a look but with the likes of curry's closing down there probably won't be as many but never the less will have a look and ask around. I haven't bothered with any vendor qualifications and would like to ask are they these worth having? The contents of the course is as follows, (Database design concepts, System development, Computer Technology and visual web development) I do have the possibility of going into getting a full degree after the course but that would be another two years and I haven't really thought that far ahead.
Thanks again
The course contents look pretty solid, probably quite boring in a dry academic environment, but its better learning them there before trying them out live ;-)Thanks again
IT is pretty much an experience based career but having the background theory will always be worthwhile
Regarding vendor qualifications, MS courses as above are good to do and will give you more insight into how things hang together. Basic Cisco courses would be worthwhile if you are interested in that, as networking is going to be around for a while
I'm not into development, but Open Source projects are always something to look at to see if you can help out there - as Carl says if you have something solid you can show a prospective employer that will always look good
You could also see if any local computer companies want any free / cheap help on the days you are not at college / working (do you do the retail work in the week or at weekends?)
Edited by Burrow01 on Monday 26th November 19:48
You've had some good advice above, it's all about making yourself stand out in that pile of CV's that all us IT employers get when we advertise an entry level job.
BTW don't view your retail experience as a negative - ok it's not hands on IT but it should let you demostrate that you can deal with customers and communicate - which isn't something that can be said for everyone in IT.
BTW don't view your retail experience as a negative - ok it's not hands on IT but it should let you demostrate that you can deal with customers and communicate - which isn't something that can be said for everyone in IT.
Slurms said:
You've had some good advice above, it's all about making yourself stand out in that pile of CV's that all us IT employers get when we advertise an entry level job.
BTW don't view your retail experience as a negative - ok it's not hands on IT but it should let you demostrate that you can deal with customers and communicate - which isn't something that can be said for everyone in IT.
Yeah I thought that too, reading that many employers like the fact that you have previously worked with people. Do you have any advice on how i can make myself stand out in particular? would participating in open source projects be the right sort of thing? I have other interests outside of technology but aren't really relevant at all BTW don't view your retail experience as a negative - ok it's not hands on IT but it should let you demostrate that you can deal with customers and communicate - which isn't something that can be said for everyone in IT.
Thanks
PimpmyHotwheels said:
Slurms said:
I have other interests outside of technology but aren't really relevant at all
Thanks
One of the standard interview questions that I used to ask a while back was "what is your greatest achievement outside of IT"Thanks
We used this as part of the judgement for "fit" with the team, so don't discount the influence of outside interests.
For me participation in an Open Source project, if there was one that interests you, would definitely stand out on a CV, also gives you something solid to talk about in an interview - basically if you can demonstrate some real world experience alongside the college work that will stand you in very good stead
PimpmyHotwheels said:
Slurms said:
You've had some good advice above, it's all about making yourself stand out in that pile of CV's that all us IT employers get when we advertise an entry level job.
BTW don't view your retail experience as a negative - ok it's not hands on IT but it should let you demostrate that you can deal with customers and communicate - which isn't something that can be said for everyone in IT.
Yeah I thought that too, reading that many employers like the fact that you have previously worked with people. Do you have any advice on how i can make myself stand out in particular? would participating in open source projects be the right sort of thing? I have other interests outside of technology but aren't really relevant at all BTW don't view your retail experience as a negative - ok it's not hands on IT but it should let you demostrate that you can deal with customers and communicate - which isn't something that can be said for everyone in IT.
Thanks
Involvement in an open source project is good especially if it gives you the ability to talk about the aspects of that project you were involved in and you can show examples - a link on your CV is a good idea.
In the last few months i've taken on two entry level IT guys in both cases it was their passion and interest in IT that marked them out from the masses.
I see a lot of CV's when we recruit for entry grade jobs especially as we're an IT company, rather than a company with an IT department, and to even get an interview I want to know that someone isn't just applying for the role because they think IT as a career pays well.
If you want to be a developer, do some development and lear a few languages.
Get a cheap Android tablet, the Adroid SDK and Eclipse and learn how to create mobile apps. Visual Studio express and learn a number of languages! Both free with all the technical support you'll ever need on the internet. If I was interviewing a programmer without any previous work experience, if they could show me apps, websites etc that they'd done themselves alongside their education I'd be impressed.
As for the engineer/administrator side of things, it's a bit more difficult do do something like this without being in an organisation, however as with most things, knowledge is the key and if you can show you know your stuff then lack of experience isn't so much of an issue.
Good luck whatever you choose!
Get a cheap Android tablet, the Adroid SDK and Eclipse and learn how to create mobile apps. Visual Studio express and learn a number of languages! Both free with all the technical support you'll ever need on the internet. If I was interviewing a programmer without any previous work experience, if they could show me apps, websites etc that they'd done themselves alongside their education I'd be impressed.
As for the engineer/administrator side of things, it's a bit more difficult do do something like this without being in an organisation, however as with most things, knowledge is the key and if you can show you know your stuff then lack of experience isn't so much of an issue.
Good luck whatever you choose!
Slurms said:
At your level you can't point to an extensive technical CV so you've got to be able to show that you have a genuine interest in IT and an ability to learn.
Involvement in an open source project is good especially if it gives you the ability to talk about the aspects of that project you were involved in and you can show examples - a link on your CV is a good idea.
In the last few months i've taken on two entry level IT guys in both cases it was their passion and interest in IT that marked them out from the masses.
I see a lot of CV's when we recruit for entry grade jobs especially as we're an IT company, rather than a company with an IT department, and to even get an interview I want to know that someone isn't just applying for the role because they think IT as a career pays well.
May i ask what your company is called? That is the sort of job I would be looking for as I like technology and would like to work for a company that is technology based. Could you suggest any particular skills that you would find useful for an employee to have?Involvement in an open source project is good especially if it gives you the ability to talk about the aspects of that project you were involved in and you can show examples - a link on your CV is a good idea.
In the last few months i've taken on two entry level IT guys in both cases it was their passion and interest in IT that marked them out from the masses.
I see a lot of CV's when we recruit for entry grade jobs especially as we're an IT company, rather than a company with an IT department, and to even get an interview I want to know that someone isn't just applying for the role because they think IT as a career pays well.
Thanks again and sorry if it sound's like I'm hassling you
PimpmyHotwheels said:
Slurms said:
At your level you can't point to an extensive technical CV so you've got to be able to show that you have a genuine interest in IT and an ability to learn.
Involvement in an open source project is good especially if it gives you the ability to talk about the aspects of that project you were involved in and you can show examples - a link on your CV is a good idea.
In the last few months i've taken on two entry level IT guys in both cases it was their passion and interest in IT that marked them out from the masses.
I see a lot of CV's when we recruit for entry grade jobs especially as we're an IT company, rather than a company with an IT department, and to even get an interview I want to know that someone isn't just applying for the role because they think IT as a career pays well.
May i ask what your company is called? That is the sort of job I would be looking for as I like technology and would like to work for a company that is technology based. Could you suggest any particular skills that you would find useful for an employee to have?Involvement in an open source project is good especially if it gives you the ability to talk about the aspects of that project you were involved in and you can show examples - a link on your CV is a good idea.
In the last few months i've taken on two entry level IT guys in both cases it was their passion and interest in IT that marked them out from the masses.
I see a lot of CV's when we recruit for entry grade jobs especially as we're an IT company, rather than a company with an IT department, and to even get an interview I want to know that someone isn't just applying for the role because they think IT as a career pays well.
Thanks again and sorry if it sound's like I'm hassling you
Take the advice you've been given above, don't write crap on your CV that isn't true - the number of people with no industry experience who seem to think they are experts in several major operating systems, yet can't answer simple questions would astound you.
By all means talk your knowledge up but be realistic and honest.
The advice everyone has given above will help - other than that it's persistance and luck.
Good advice so far, another IT employer here, a few tips from me, some new, some repeating others
1) Do good honest work to get experience, dont get too upset or hung up about the lack of or poor pay, its the experience that you'll be gaining.
2) Avoid at all costs 'bigging yourself up' on your CV. Keep it sensible and honest. The worst CV's I get to read are those littered with 'Exceptional this', 'Outstanding that', 'Professional this', 'Amazing that' etc etc.
3) Connect and try to engage with local IT/software companies/agencies, so they know who you are, offer to help, get your foot in the door. Most IT companies I know, even when not recruiting, can be incredibly stretched for resource. Perhaps connect to the lead/chief developer, who may relate to your situation much closer then any HR department would.
4) Get experience of as many different languages/platforms as possible, and make sure you're competent enough to actually demonstrate it, before putting on a CV. Obviously some shadowing/hand-holding may be needed at this level, but the more you can stand on your own feet the better. You don't want to be seen as a burden.
5) Accept that 'proper money' comes later. You may be doing the same work as others getting paid a lot more.
Good luck, sounds like you have the right attitude from the start, that in itself helps a lot.
Hope this helps.
Sean.
1) Do good honest work to get experience, dont get too upset or hung up about the lack of or poor pay, its the experience that you'll be gaining.
2) Avoid at all costs 'bigging yourself up' on your CV. Keep it sensible and honest. The worst CV's I get to read are those littered with 'Exceptional this', 'Outstanding that', 'Professional this', 'Amazing that' etc etc.
3) Connect and try to engage with local IT/software companies/agencies, so they know who you are, offer to help, get your foot in the door. Most IT companies I know, even when not recruiting, can be incredibly stretched for resource. Perhaps connect to the lead/chief developer, who may relate to your situation much closer then any HR department would.
4) Get experience of as many different languages/platforms as possible, and make sure you're competent enough to actually demonstrate it, before putting on a CV. Obviously some shadowing/hand-holding may be needed at this level, but the more you can stand on your own feet the better. You don't want to be seen as a burden.
5) Accept that 'proper money' comes later. You may be doing the same work as others getting paid a lot more.
Good luck, sounds like you have the right attitude from the start, that in itself helps a lot.
Hope this helps.
Sean.
I did a HND too and nearly quit part way through to get a support job.
I'm REALLY glad I didn't - Having a HND certainly helped get me interviews when I first started my career with limited experience. Most of the blue-chips would not even consider my CV without a qualification.
15 years on and it doesn't seem to matter that much.
So stick with it. It will be worth it in the end.
I'm REALLY glad I didn't - Having a HND certainly helped get me interviews when I first started my career with limited experience. Most of the blue-chips would not even consider my CV without a qualification.
15 years on and it doesn't seem to matter that much.
So stick with it. It will be worth it in the end.
russ_a said:
I did a HND too and nearly quit part way through to get a support job.
I'm REALLY glad I didn't - Having a HND certainly helped get me interviews when I first started my career with limited experience. Most of the blue-chips would not even consider my CV without a qualification.
15 years on and it doesn't seem to matter that much.
So stick with it. It will be worth it in the end.
Thanks, Think I will and try to get the best mark possible after reading this thread, did you happen to do it in Nottingham? I'm REALLY glad I didn't - Having a HND certainly helped get me interviews when I first started my career with limited experience. Most of the blue-chips would not even consider my CV without a qualification.
15 years on and it doesn't seem to matter that much.
So stick with it. It will be worth it in the end.
Started in Nottinghamshire at West Notts college doing a Nottingham Trent course but transferred to Derby Uni as the standard of the course was poor. West Notts was great but the Notts Trent course was dreadful, this was 16 years ago though.
When I finished the HND at Derby I transferred onto the placement year of the Degree course and got a placement at EDS (Rolls-Royce Account) After the placement EDS offered me a full-time job and I took it rather than finishing the degree.
I do regret the decision now but really couldn't afford to go back and finish my degree.
I always give recruitment agents stick now-days for being lying toads but when I was considering quitting the HND I rang a recruit agent to apply for a support role. He told in no uncertain terms that to quit would be foolish and that graduate placements would of course be out of my reach.
Really was good advice.
It has changed a little now days as I guess you could get experience by contributing to an Open Source project if development is your chosen area. Or just start writing Apps and see where you get.
Always nice to have the qualification to fall back on though.
Good Luck!
When I finished the HND at Derby I transferred onto the placement year of the Degree course and got a placement at EDS (Rolls-Royce Account) After the placement EDS offered me a full-time job and I took it rather than finishing the degree.
I do regret the decision now but really couldn't afford to go back and finish my degree.
I always give recruitment agents stick now-days for being lying toads but when I was considering quitting the HND I rang a recruit agent to apply for a support role. He told in no uncertain terms that to quit would be foolish and that graduate placements would of course be out of my reach.
Really was good advice.
It has changed a little now days as I guess you could get experience by contributing to an Open Source project if development is your chosen area. Or just start writing Apps and see where you get.
Always nice to have the qualification to fall back on though.
Good Luck!
Forgot to say that whilst I was studying I Faxed my CV to every local IT company in the area. Sent about 30 faxes and got one reply. No such thing as email back then!
Went for an interview and was offered a part-time job as a break-fix engineer aka dogs-body. Got paid £4 an hour and 28p a mile - quit my bar job that afternoon!
When I transferred to Derby Uni I saw an advert for the Uni Help-desk. Went and spoke to the manager and got a part-time job that fitted in around my lectures. Probably the easiest job ever! I used to get all the rubbish jobs but was good fun trying to fix stuff I had never seen before.
Have to say support \ networks aren't my thing. Got into full-time development due to crashing my Elise at Donnington and having to catch the train. Got ASP for dummies book and read it on the train and blagged it from there!
Went for an interview and was offered a part-time job as a break-fix engineer aka dogs-body. Got paid £4 an hour and 28p a mile - quit my bar job that afternoon!
When I transferred to Derby Uni I saw an advert for the Uni Help-desk. Went and spoke to the manager and got a part-time job that fitted in around my lectures. Probably the easiest job ever! I used to get all the rubbish jobs but was good fun trying to fix stuff I had never seen before.
Have to say support \ networks aren't my thing. Got into full-time development due to crashing my Elise at Donnington and having to catch the train. Got ASP for dummies book and read it on the train and blagged it from there!
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