Changing Careers

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  airzone on 08/12/2015 - 15:29

  I think you'll find it hard to get any form of entry IT job without a qualification of some form.. Tafe will get you an entry level job and then you can move into specialist fields with a vendor cert (but to move into management, you'll probably find it hard without a degree at least). Bear in mind that you'll be competing with people who have just gotten uni degrees. My level 1 guy did a trainee-ship through tafe and he's fine. Just be aware that there is a certain academic expectation in IT - you need to keep yourself up to date - even if you just want to build / fix PC's.

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  Looking4Bargians on 08/12/2015 - 15:36

  +2

  Not a good Idea mate. Stay in Banking/Finance. In IT and not a good money/job opportunities (personal experience)

  • 

    ClintonL on 08/12/2015 - 15:51

    Well I've been at the crossroads for like 2 years now. I really hate what i'm doing and really don't want to go to uni. Just been having the crappy feeling in the back of my head that i'm going nowhere. So i guess nows the time to try something else.

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  danield on 08/12/2015 - 17:38

  I would love to career change out of IT….

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 27/01/2016 - 04:52

    best move i ever made
    hated it so much
    the company I worked for probaly drove me out of liking it though

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  Keano on 08/12/2015 - 17:42

  where are u based at?

  • 

    ClintonL on 08/12/2015 - 21:31

    Based in Sydney

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  rgr on 08/12/2015 - 18:08

  "Anyway I'm considering moving to IT which i've had as a hobby since i was a kid."

  bad move - never EVER go into IT because of a hobby.

  You can only earn a decent living if you're in specific areas of IT like consulting, programming, management, architecture and business intelligence (on the up, apparently).

  Honestly, I don't understand how some people can't handle 3-4 years of uni. It's the best time of your life and you meet a lot of people and they become networks after you move into the 9-to-5 rat race working life. It pays off at some point. You're 22, which is not much older than the age most people start uni out of high school. Just take it on the chin and have a crack at it. You're either gonna stay where you are and moan, then wake up one day at 28 and shit just gets worse.

  • 

    ClintonL on 08/12/2015 - 21:33

    +2

    Well after 4 years of accounting i know that unless i have a CPA working as a normal accountant i'll probably make 60-65k max working horrible hours doing the most boring job.

    • 

      rgr on 08/12/2015 - 23:03

      well give yourself a better chance and do a course at uni that you'll enjoy. no one can help you here man, it's up to you to make it in life. the first thing you gotta do is take it on the chin and go to uni OR if you really have some self-belief then start your own business - read books, listen to podcasts, do some research etc. hard shit but it won't be boring.

      what you're doing now is extremely detrimental to your mental state and that is staring into the abyss without any direction.

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  GameChanger on 08/12/2015 - 22:08

  Don't leave your job in any circumstances.

  If you want a more challenging/less tedious career study through online 1-2 units max per semester, but stay from IT. The only IT with good prospects is computer science if you're any good with the various programming languages.

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  Keano on 09/12/2015 - 18:00

  im based at WA and it is so hard to find a relevant finance job. U shd stay one esp u are at the eastern state, where finance jobs highly sought after.

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  ClintonL on 27/01/2016 - 03:38

  Decided to take the plunge and have quit my job. Have a month to decide whether i want to do IT at uni or tafe. Realistically would i hit a glass ceiling with a tafe degree with pay. End goal is probably sys admin/network engineer etc. Also how long am i looking at being in helpdesk before moving up to a role around ~60k.

  Cheers

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 27/01/2016 - 04:57

    helpdesk entry level roles you're looking at 35-40k based on experience good luck getting 60k in helpdesk roles unless you've got some serious qualifications behind you, i did it for 4 years and hated it completely, its just a stressful boring repetitive role in my eyes with a high turnover of staff who do it for a few years and move on

    not sure whyd you quit your perfectly good current job but your call

    its a low paying role and you'll be put under really crappy conditions for the money angry customers doing a lot of admin helpdesk stuff thats not really it related etc

    sys admin is doable but you're going to need to cert up and spend a lot on keeping current and getting qualified so you can progress up the ladder

    microsoft courses are recommended
    cisco and hp courses are also recommended

    id say 2-4 years of hard work may see you in a system admin role but that all depends a lot of system admin jobs are gone due to cloud and managed services roles changing etc so bear that in mind too

    • 

      ClintonL on 27/01/2016 - 09:51

      Was pretty much stuck at my current role where i couldn't really progress till i got my degree then a CPA and after 4 years decided it's definitely not what i want to be doing.
      Would you recommend doing tafe then getting a job and doing certifications or going through uni? Also how is the industry? Do many people get stuck on 40k helpdesk for ages?

      Cheers

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 27/01/2016 - 13:57

        helpdesk has high turnover
        you can progress to level 2 and 3 depending on the company

        don't expect 60k for a long time though maybe 5 or 6 years down the track but youll need to pour 2 to 4k in courses and training

        tafe is a waste of time in my eyes unless you're doing at least cert 4 stuff
        youre better off doing your microsoft certs start entry level and work through desktop and server courses etc thats where people will hire you

        stats show 75% better chance over a tafe candidate with Microsoft experience and certs

        it was about 2 years i ended up on 45k and bonuses that was before i was certified btw

        certs add weight to pay rises my boss at the time was a jerk off so they paid less than they had to

        i quit he got fired it was a win win
        i now do it with photocopiers and earn nearly 20k more get a company car fuel card and parking card for the city

        much better role but it keeps my IT knowledge strong doing workflow solutions etc

      • 

        ClintonL on 27/01/2016 - 14:38

        @shawncro 222: Thanks for that reply. I was thinking of a diploma at tafe then do my ccna and other MS/itil certifications or a uni degree. What do you do with photocopiers btw?

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 27/01/2016 - 20:51

        @Clinton:

        install and service tech
        break / fix repair
        software solutions
        workflow solutions
        redmap integration
        sharepoint integration

        all the good stuff
        uniflow and papercut certified
        fiery verified
        equitrac certified
        CCNA
        MS 2008 2012 sql 2012 server certs
        Win7 Win8 Win10 certs

        so yeah google those software solutions if you are keen to look into my day to day roles

        copiers are no longer just copy machines we make them flow for your business

        if anyone is keen pm me and ill pass you onto a rep