New ICT Support Technician - Needs Advice - Please

[IanT]

unfortunately it is very much a catch 22 situation, you cant get a job because you dont have the experience so how do you get experience ?

 

Doing some unpaid work involving IT showing you are willing to work, whilst at the same time you are gaining experience. I can understand where some people say that qualifications are not that relevant, BUT having qualifications like A+/MCSE/MCSA etc does put you in a different league when you are looking to move up the ladder onto bigger things. I am working as a technician at the moment, but at the same time am working through the qualifications as well. So far I have graduated, currently working on the experience bit with evening study for my MCSE/MCSA classification, so am trying to build on my experience as well as my qualifications bit. So try and get the best of both worlds and get qualified as well!. Good luck

 

I would have to disagree that having A+/MCSE/MCSA puts you in a different league, its great if you ahve the qualifications but when it comes to crunch time of doing a task at the standard of a A+/MCSE/MCSA can this person do it?

 

I remember one guy I used to work with who had everything from Cisco, Citrix to Microsoft qualifications etc etc and another guy who had a good load of experience, when both guys were given a task the guy with the most experience got it done correctly, where as the qualification guy well tbo didnt have a clue where to start or anything.

 

Plus when Im interviewing people for a IT Technician role or Senior Role I dont even bother looking at the qualifications, experience experience experience or if its a young guy looking for work who trying to break in but has a basic understanding of it all then thats good enough for me, I tend to go very deep into conversation with them on what they've done, going into detail if they they under how it works etc etc.

 

Every single job I've gone for or seen people go for I know within the IT Inductry just dont care if you have A+/MCSE/MCSA/CCNA etc etc etc

 

Regards.

Edited January 20, 2009 by IanT

[Dos_Box]

Indeed. I get to sit on a lot of job panels and thorough questioning often weeds out the unsuitable candidate, qualified or not. With several questions you can always find out who is bluffing, even if they do all have interview nerves. Once you get a knowledgeable person who is nervous talking their experiance it begins to shine through. Someone who knows very little will still fail to shine and for some reason we often get some who are at the interview with completely the wrong set of quals. What Cisco quals have to do with managing a Windows network I don't know. Perhaps training companies should advise their clients a bit better!

[peterpan]

for all thoese looking for job look on reed.co.uk orjobsgopublic.com.

[bulletproofbaba]

I agree with you IanT, BUT if you read my post, I mention that HAVING or WORKING TOWARDS a qualification would be beneficial and NOT neccessary! If you look at any job website and see job requirements for strong upper management positions you will find that they DESIRE a certain level of qualifications, but this necessarily is not the only requirement. Simply reading up and then taking exams for cisco etc doesnt neccessary mean that you understand it, having experience is just as vital - this is the catch 22 situation. Why do you think that people with MCSE/CISCO etc etc earn more money than people with no qualifications ? this can be tested on any job website.

[laputa01]

Read up on the Becta Framework for ICT Technical Support (FITS) pocket book.

[laputa01]

Oh link is here:

 

Becta Schools - Resources - Technical support

[bulletproofbaba]

Thanks laputa01 for the link, the information is very good.

[Graduate]

How did you guys become Technicians. At one point in time you must have had no experience in schools like me so how did you break the Ice.

 

I am looking for Trainee role in Midlands and I have a good understanding of networks,hardware and software as I have undertaken a one year placement in the NHS.

 

So how can I make myself stand out and end up in a Tech job at school. Are you guys aware of any Tech jobs out there in midlands apart from those on local council sites. To me ICT tech market seems quite am I looking in the wrong places for jobs.

 

All advice will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

[peterpan]

i was lucky enougth to get a job in a school on my uni placement then when i graduated just kept lookingin local papers goverment webs site job go public. go into some of your local schools ask to speak with the network manager and see if they need some help.

[Graduate]

Thanks Peterpan,

 

I have tried this but the schools are saying they dont need help and have nothing going at the moment.

[mrforgetful]

I started here about 5 years ago with no previous IT work experience, just a hobby.

 

To be honest I wouldn't worry about anything right now, wait until you've at least been in the place fora week or month to find out what you're going to need to learn about, it really could be anything.

 

Maybe you can answer this for me though, what sort of thing did you do at interview? Questions/test etc, we're holding one soon and I need to sort it out!

[Domino]

I started with some freelance work- shops, pubs, etc

 

Get them to give you a paragrapgh or so of blurp about what you've done for them, looks good for the CV/references.

 

Really, just keep plugging away at interviews, and make sure you've got a broad range of skills - what a school is definitly looking for.

[Trojan]

I too started out as a uni placement student and have worked my way up from there to being an ICT Manager.

 

Having recently sat on interview panels for ICT Technician Roles, I can tell you that experience is equally as important as qualifications, but it does not outweigh them.

 

You can always tell the bluffers as well, so have a solid knowledge of your field before going into the interview / filling in the application form.

 

It's also a difficult time in schools at the momment with BSF, and many heads are even more reluctant to hire technical staff than they usually would be.

 

Just keep trying and you'll get there.

 

Hope this helps.

[Graduate]

I am not a quitter I will keep on trying but a point comes in life when you feel is this meant to be or not.

[somabc]

How did you guys become Technicians. At one point in time you must have had no experience in schools like me so how did you break the Ice.

 

I am looking for Trainee role in Midlands and I have a good understanding of networks,hardware and software as I have undertaken a one year placement in the NHS.

 

So how can I make myself stand out and end up in a Tech job at school. Are you guys aware of any Tech jobs out there in midlands apart from those on local council sites. To me ICT tech market seems quite am I looking in the wrong places for jobs.

 

All advice will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

It is honestly as simple as waiting until a vacancy comes up and then applying.

 

I know you don't want to hear this but the job market in general is very poor just now, companies are not hiring, many are cutting back on staff, people who may have been thinking about changing posts are putting it off, vacant posts are not being filled as everyone looks to cut costs.

 

If you are an ICT Tech in a school, then you are pretty unlikely to be made redundant. Even under BSF your job is fairly safe for now as you will be transferred to the new employer. So you can expect fewer jobs to become available as more people stay longer in one job and when vacancies do come up competition will be stronger.

 

The best thing you can do is gain more experience/qualifications in IT so that when an opening does come up you will have a stronger chance of getting the post. Gain experience wherever you can, do not limit yourself to Educational IT. I would say look at NHS / Local Government along with Small Businesses in your area.

 

You could also do some training to gain an MCSE or CCNA.

Edited January 21, 2009 by somabc

[Dos_Box]

Left the army 9 years ago, did my NT 4.0 MSCE for resettlement. Within 2 weeks of leaving a job agency phoned and I walked straight into a network managers job at a school 10 mins walk away from where I was living at the time.

I was rather lucky though. This was just before the market was to be flooded with 'paper pass' MCSEs and schools were recruiting IT staff to support their brand new NGFL networks.

[Polski]

A tech here in Suffolk asked me to give him a reference for the headteacher at the school he was applying to. "There are three types of tech, those that think they know everything, those that DO know everything and those that know something and can find out the rest! He is the last type."

 

The tech got the job and a grade pay rise. Has since gone on to teach us stuff.

 

As long as you are honest with everyone about what you do and do NOT know, you will get along and people will fall over themselves to help.

 

Good luck.

[Graduate]

I am a quick learner; I pick up new skills very quickly and I can assimilate new products and service information very quickly. I have the aptitude to interpret user requirements and provide a viable solution. Through my academic life I have studied IT and have picked up some very important skills and I am constantly learning new things in relation to IT.

 

I would be able to learning on the job and building on the experiences and skills I already posses.

 

Thanks for the reply

[IanT]

I got my first IT job at a school as a technician and met the Network Manager via a forum like this, meet up at the school, had a chat got the job!

[bulletproofbaba]

Hey Graduate, sometimes you really have to be in the right place at the right time(!), no doubt easier said than done. I spent many years in trying to secure a IT position, and finally after a long wait and plenty of paitence....it finally paid off. in the meantime I done work with a local charity for free and learned a great deal there, enrolled on a MCSE couse, which I highlighted on my cv. To further support you cv and give you a bit of leverage I would suggest (time permitting and cost as well) that you get on a course like A+ or MCSE etc and this also helps. I know a few companies that offer job support after completing your training if that helps. If you need some names PM me. Some guys dont share the same view, but sometimes you need to create a strong foundation for yourself and dont just rely on you luck. Trust me, if my luck was that good I would have won the lottery by now !

[Jiser]

I looked on the job list on the council website. There was a job so I applied. That was working for two schools back in 2007. Then I saw another job on the council website. So I applied for that been @ current one since start of Dec 08.

 

I have just graduated to well finished 4 year course last may/june - keep looking. Check into grad schemes to.

 

Easy. If you have a year of experiance + degree you should be ok soon enough. Hope your not just looking @ educational jobs. Plenty of other industrys with a requirement for I.T. staff

Edited January 22, 2009 by Jiser

[Marci]

How did you guys become Technicians. At one point in time you must have had no experience in schools like me so how did you break the Ice.

 

I wandered into it on a detour from what I'd been doing...

 

*wobbly timelapse to 1994*

11 GCSEs at C and above, no other qualifications, 16, living in Leeds on my own, on the dole, but had been playing with PCs thruout school age...

 

...1995

Started working life at JMR Electronics on the assembly lines on NMW. Technical Manager discovered that I knew how to set up Windows 95, and the company was just starting to consider shifting over from Win3.11. They didn't have an IT Support dept or anything, just the Tech Manager covering it.

 

They bought in a Win3.1 computer that came with a Win95 license, presented it to me and watched me do it, then took me off assembly line and plonked me in as a Trainee IT Tech / RMA Technician. Did that for a year, and in the process learnt everything I needed to on the basics of networking - the company also happened to be ripping out a load of old DEC Alpha / RS6000 boxes and an old co-ax network, upgrading to CAT5. I knew coax networking from "Computer Club" - predecessor of LAN Gaming parties, usually held in dodgy Working Mens Clubs etc... Stuck that out for a year, bought meself 2 old PCs from work, upgraded them, set up my own Lan at home... and then applied for (and got) a job at the Press Association as IT Support Technician.

 

...1997

I cocked that job up rapidly - twas high paid, and I was a teenager living alone in a big city, and discovering women who wanted me, and a social life. Suffice to say I ended up homeless, broke, and a bad reference from the Press Association.

 

...1998

Scraped life together, got a job on NMW at a dodgy highstreet independant computer shop. Got shafted by the ArthurDaley-esque management. Unemployed again.

 

...1999 > 2007

Got another job at another highstreet independant. In my phases of unemployed-dom, I'd been playing around with webdesign and getting into PCs more and more... with one of the guys at work, setup an online performance computer company (Over-Clock UK - still going without me)...set up the website meself, learned unix (freebsd) etc. Got into performance cooling & overclocking to the point I knew hardware inside and out. Got into phasechange cooling systems etc. Eventually spanned into designing and selfbuild of phasechange systems. Eventually I set to working on a set of high performance watercooling radiators (in conjunction with a thermodynamics engineer from Aus), all developed via forums and emails, for PCs (Thermochill Radiators - Home Page/Latest News), which we got into production, became the best performing worldwide (and to many still are). Got myself a mini-international reputation as the UK's watercooling & phasechange guru in performance computer circles. Sadly economics meant that profits in all this were low... wage wasn't brilliant. I now had a steady partner, child etc. Stuck that out, effectively doing my hobby for my job... got stuck in a rut. Relationship broke down, we separated.

 

October 2007...

New partner enthused me into change of direction, so I headed back down the "proper job" route, and applied for a job at Horbury School as an ICT Technician... got it based on experience only, no qualifications other than my GCSEs... been there ever since. Pay much better... job, whilst not as much fun, keeps me more occupied and certainly has more career prospects. Now not a complete pc-nuts geek, and have become a petrolhead instead with a passion for motorbikes and racing sidecars... and inline for a payrise as I introduced proper selfhosting of the website, and completely redesigned it and the intranet from the ground up... and also built them a recording studio, and became the schools multimedia tech, and numerous other roles that really aren't in my job description, but will be making an appearance soon alongside the aforementioned payrise.

[Graduate]

Well I guess your the lucky one. With no qualification and proper experience you have made it.

 

Well done mate.