I want to become an IT engineer

Hi guys,

i am 23, work a Change Administrator at a big Technology company and i have been wanting an IT Engineer job for a while now, i applied for an internal role with our side company, they provided me with the details and then practically offered me the job before i could say a word, i told them i would think about it knowing full well i was going to decline the offer. Here's why:

I have a 2 year old son, a mortgage, a wife and bills that i am responsible for.
The contract they were going to have me signed was an annualised hours contract for 2080 hours (40 hrs a week) and the base salary was £14,260... they told me that this would rise to around 18k-19k with bonuses but it wasn't guaranteed that i would have a bonus every month. Also, i couldn't pick and choose when i put the hours in. I was told that sometimes i had to work 70 hours a week including weekends and then i would not be working the next week at all, the bonus is a paper based system, so if i do a job, i write up what i did and it works it out with that (didn't quite understand) so if i wasn't working for a week, that's a week without bonuses. The pay drop was too much as i struggle to get by now so the 3k drop in base salary was too much to lose.

My ideal job is to be a field service engineer, driving around in a van with my tools, getting calls to go fix stuff. I know its not a glamorous job i have an interest in computers and fixing stuff, it seems to tick everything

I need help with getting a job, even an interview. Any hints, tips from employers, advice from engineers, anything

Also, my CV sucks, i will post in this thread if anyone will be able to help me with that

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Comments

Blackout

There is a ton of different paths in IT, if your looking to be a field Tech, you could look at local ISP's, or you could look at companies like Cisco who have field service technicians who go onsite to resolve issues. Either way in most cases you will need to get some certifications. Do you have certs?

Dan271091

I have no certs or qualifications that will help me, i would love to get the training and certs but they cost around 2-3k each

scaredoftests

See if your work will pay for training

bpenn

I assume these would be training/boot camps? Try getting the certs through self study, if you can. You can save quite a bit of money that way if money is an issue.

Dan271091

they ONLY JUST gave me approval for a Effective comms course that i need for progression within this company that cost £75.

I doubt they would approve a 2.5k course for something, that if i take it, will allow me to leave this company.

Dan271091

bpenn wrote: »

I assume these would be training/boot camps? Try getting the certs through self study, if you can. You can save quite a bit of money that way if money is an issue.

there is a 8 day CCNA course for the above mentioned 2.5k

have you got any websites or recommended books for self studying?

pinkydapimp

Dan271091 wrote: »

they ONLY JUST gave me approval for a Effective comms course that i need for progression within this company that cost £75.

I doubt they would approve a 2.5k course for something, that if i take it, will allow me to leave this company.

many boot camps will reimburse the company if you leave quickly after finishing the course.

SoCalGuy858

If you're just starting out with certs, and the CompTIA "trio" (A+, Net+, Sec+) aren't below your current level of knowledge, these videos helped me a ton (and are free!):

Professor Messer IT Certification Training Courses

Good luck!

Danielm7

If you are looking at the CCNA specifically there are a ton of free materials out there. A few months ago on reddit I saw a guy posted about a entire CCNA series on YouTube that was very well done, don't have the link handy.

Cybrary has a bunch of free courses including the CCNA
https://www.cybrary.it/course/cisco-ccna/

You can download GNS3 for free to setup virtual labs on your own. If you don't want to spend money on this you really don't have to, you'll have to pay for the tests of course but it's a far cry from $2500

xnx

That's a horrendous salary, I wouldn't take less than 20k - I live in a seaside resort up north

Even basic admin jobs pay more

adam220891

Get your A+ for starters. Plenty of free material on the Internet and each test is like $150.

ImThe0ne

xnx wrote: »

That's a horrendous salary, I wouldn't take less than 20k - I live in a seaside resort up north

Even basic admin jobs pay more

Thats still only, what, $31k? Are UK IT jobs really that low?