Becoming a full time school technician

[crc-ict]

I was just wondering how people have got into working full time as IT techs in education?

I am currently studying the final year of a degree in Primary Education and ICT (started out going to be a teacher, then decided it wasn't for me and swapped round the finish the course without teaching). At the moment I do half a day a week of IT tech at the local primary school which I really enjoy and would like to get a job doing it full time when I finish my course next July.

Was wondering really if anyone has got any tips on the best way to get in?? I'm hoping my experience from doing half-days might count for something. I'm guessing I'm not likely to find much in the primary sector?

Also, is there a great emphasis on loads of varied high-level experience and certifications?

TIA,

Chris.

[Ric_]

Around here, there is more of a weighting on experience than qualifications. It doesn't matter how good you are at passing exams if you can't actually do the job.

Your best bet is to keep checking the job ads (particularly those of your local authority/council) and get a low-paid job (e.g. jnr technician) in a high school and then work up as quick as you gain in experience and confidence.

[beeswax]

Hi Chris from another newbie.

Your experience helping out in a primary will look good on your cv, it's the sort of thing employers look for, though not the be all and end all of it. I was a primary school governor for 12 years so I have an idea of what I'm talking about.

Full time jobs in the primary sector are scarce because of a general lack of funding in that area, and from what I've seen, most full time positions don't pay very well. Could anyone put me right on this? Having said this, I have a friend working in a primary who has made himself indispensible by getting the network working, pointing out that the IT company the LEA uses overcharges, and have "loose" practices, such as not having the regional settings to UK. Like me, he has a City & Guilds in Practical Networking from the governments' Ambition IT strategy (I know, 'government' and 'strategy' in the same sentence is a bit of an oxymoron).

Which brings me to your last point about cetification. There's a thread running in the forums dealing with exactly this point which may clarify it for you, and stupid me doesn't know how to put a link to it (can someone help us both here?) For my part, I feel that the further up the ladder you go, for example, Systems Manger, the more certification you need, unless, of course, you can show that you've been doing it sucessfully for the past 5 years or so. Certification is still uncharted territory, but as the roles of IT staff in schools become more formalized, so will the qualifications. So do your best to get in now.

Good luck

beeswax

[beeswax]

So Ric says in 50 words what it takes me 500 to say. He beat me to it.

beeswax

[Ric_]

@beeswax: To link to a topic just copy and paste the address.

I would agree with beeswax that you will obviously need some form of qualification for jobs further up the ladder - but steer clear of certification with expiry dates (e.g. MCSE) since these are generally a very expensive route to travel down.