It training deals

[lootmaker]

im a graduate, didnt get a good mark, been doing telesales for 3 years hate it and hate sales, thinking about doing those IT training courses cost arund 4k, get you into a support role, what are my future career prospects in such a role, are they worth it, help help help im desperate,

[Elfin]

From what I've read, the kind of deal you mention (do 4k course and they get you into a job) is DODGY and many people have been left out of pocket and jobless.  There's no magic way to pay your way in.  You'd be better off going back to full-time study (HND or a post grad qual in an IT discipline) and trying to get some experience somewhere on the back of that.  Experience is essential unless you start as a junior/trainee.

Alternatively, get a telesales/customer care job in an IT-based company, do a part-time IT course and then apply for a suitable internal vacancy (I have seen this happen where I work - from customer care to training, testing, first line support etc).  Once you are part of a company, you have the advantage of being able to apply for such vacancies before they go public.

Worth a try perhaps?

[slimfandango]

Yeah, I agree. A friend of mine who has a PhD went a bit mental when I started even comparing professional uni qualifications with 'Certification' handed out by lots of dodgy companies. He did give a reason though. He said that if you do a formal course, say in programming, you may never use that language again, but you will have been taught the framework around which an employer can train you again in the future. With a 'certification' you get instant info but with no structure, and thus in the long term employers just can't use it.

Personally, and I did work in IT a bit myself, I would get someone else to pay for your formal training. The way to do this is to probably start in IT in a very basic or support to support role, then 'ask' a company to pay for your training. The money needed is often relatively little to companies, they stand to get some governmental reimbursement, and they have a good chance of having a well-qualified IT employee on their books. Good IT support pays for itself several times over.

I agree that your overall strategy of diverging into IT in your situation sounds good. Get the hell out of telesales. It'll start to damage your CV after a while. And it will kill your soul. Apologies to anyone reading this who is in telesales.

[j2buttonsw]

May I ask if this is related to MCSE certification? I know a couple of people who had no background in computing that paid thousands to do a MCSE boot camp. The MCSE is 7 exams and these "colleges" are relying on you to fail within the first 4 (the so-called core 4). With windows 2000 the stumbling block used to be the 70-216 course "administering a windows 2000 network" which got nicknamed "the beast". Since you need the core 4 to do the electives (the remaining 3) most people (around 90%) never finished the course so the colleges were paid for courses they never taught. However, with the two or three exams (MCPs) they did get they did get a foot in the company I work for. What was impressive is that they invested alot of cash into furthering their career. You didn't doubt whether they were serious or not. If you stick with it then �4000 is a bargain since each taught course is >�1000 and each exam is �100 so do the maths: a 50% saving. I was lucky as the company I work for allowed me to learn on the job and pay for my MCSE qualification. There is much to be said for a "proper" qualification but I am not of the opinion (like others from an academic background) to look down my nose at the vocational qualifications: I have done both and they both weren't easy. There is also loads of snobbery in the industry about whether you got your MCSE via boot camp or the "proper" way. If you can do your job, most bosses will not care.

[lootmaker]

Joskos is the company, yeah its an mcse then, ccna, then either mcdst or mcdba, all for 3149, local colleges or online courses are much cheaper, what im worried about is im gonna pay all this money, be  out of work for 3 - 4 months, includes a placement in a nhs trust for a few weeks, then i'll get a 18k helpdesk role, is there much progression in this field? if i do a self taugh course i have th eproblem of a paper qualification and no real experience 18months that most people require.

[j2buttonsw]

Well they have thrown you a bit of a curved ball there. This illustrates the diversity of the IT industry. The MCSE is the premier certification for professionals who analyze the business requirements and design and implement the infrastructure for business solutions based on the Microsoft Windows 2000/XP platform and Microsoft Windows Server System (7 exams). The Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST) credential proves that you have the skills to successfully support end users and to successfully troubleshoot desktop environments running on the Microsoft Windows operating system (2 exams). Microsoft Certified Database Administrator (MCDBA) candidates need to pass three core exams and one elective exam that provide a valid and reliable measure of technical proficiency and expertise in the implementation and administration of SQL Server databases. Whereas, the CCNA certification (Cisco Certified Network Associate) indicates a foundation in and apprentice knowledge of networking. CCNA certified professionals can install, configure, and operate LAN, WAN, and dial access services for small networks (100 nodes or fewer. The CCNA is based around the Cisco routers. In increasing degrees of difficulty it goes: CCNA, MCDST, MCDBA then MCSE. For a MCDST you will be a desktop support technician on 18 per year, a MCSE should be on 35+. If you want to earn the top money be a CCIE (Cisco Certified Internet Expert) and charge what you like.