finding a job

[SilentDeath]

im 18, and currently at college doing a electronics course. ive found the theory and practical lessons easy, just doing the acctual assignments (of which theres about 50 in total) is too difficult due to the lack of time and that im already very far behind on them. ive decided to leave so im looking for a job.
atm also working in a local shop at weekends @ £6/h. i might ask if i can work full time temporaly so my parents can stop annoying me with there argument that i cant stay at home all day doing nothing

havent really got any qualifications - if i left college then what ive been doing since september isnt worth anything - and om not staying another 2 years on it! ive got AS level in ICT and business studies, didnt do very well in the rest (geography, maths) and good gcse's. note that ive found the maths at college, which is harder than whats at as level, easy, due to having a decent teacher

i dunno really what sort of job i want - was thinkning about something in IT or setting up a business for web design, programming (both of which id have to learn first) or selling hardware/building pc's (easy!) or something

the fact that im living at home with parents doesnt help as they are against me leaving college.
so any suggestions would be appreachated

[Cat Woman]

You can usually do part time city and guilds courses to go on to the job u want to do, or something related. they're only a few months long too plus it gives u that extra qualification. My advice however is to find another college course that does what you're doing now, see if u can transfer or start this september.
You'll miss being a student,try to make the most of it. I hated my year out. Working sucks if you cant do what u really want to do because of lack of qualifications

[TeePee]

'i dunno really what sort of job i want'

I know that feeling only too well. The problem with IT work is that there are so many graduates also looking for jobs, in an industry that really isn't expanding as much as it was a few years ago. Setting up your own business is a gamble, be in the right place at the right time and you could be very successful, if not, it could be a disaster. Myself I found that while I enjoy doing stuff with PC's for myself on my own terms, actually working in the IT industry was soul-destroying.

Find something you enjoy, and make a career out of it!

[Spunkey]

Whilst starting your own business may sound like a good idea, unless you have a bullet proof business plan and your parents as guarantors to get some cash from a bank, and even then itd be 50/50. Youd really need to know youre stuff to do a web design site, and you'll need a lot of startup for a pc parts company, and you probably wouldnt see a return for at least a year because of skinny margins.

if i were you id try looking for a small local IT company who deal primarily in the field your after (web design, data analyst etc.) and see if they've got any junior roles available, with no experience but some IT knowledge. Its the best way to learn, although id have to say now in that kind of job you'll be pushed to get £6ph.

Thats what i did, and after 2 years learning ASP/VB/Access/SQL/JavaScript before moving on to an IT analysts job.
Try scouring JobServe daily - you do get the odd junior job from time to time, but most are fake job posts to get you on the books of recruitment companies. Most effective tools are your loacl paper, yellow pages and your phone

wish you some good luck mate

[SilentDeath]

Thanks
i dont want to go to college any more, i feel ive had more education than my brain is capable of, not only that, i have ages till the next courses start, and my local college is crap anyway (like teachers that are always late or dont turn up atall!)
atm i think its best i try going full time in shop, its not too boring and doesnt require much effort at all.
my dads m8 started an angling shop (fishing stuff) and he has had a few problems, mostly that it took all of his time.
if i do start my own business, i dont want to be in debt (loans), so i would probly keep another job, live here still, and use my earings to support the business. that would obviosly limit how many sales i could do, but sounds safest.
id like to learn some programming languages, maybe i could make a few apps supported by adverts, but that would rely on me making an app people might use :/

TeePee are you still in the IT industry? what part of it didnt you like? when i done ICT in my as levels, i really hated that, i think working for a IT company might be much the same boring crap, if i started my own busness i might have some control though

[Russ]

if ur becoming an electrician, and you can drive, start your own business, use ur ict and business studies skills to help you set up.

[TomWilko]

Hi |Silent Death|

Firstly, if IT is where you want to go and you don't mind starting at the lower end of the pay scale (which will be about £6/hour) have you considered working for a Temporary Employment Agency? They can offer you:

• You can specify a job you would like to do and they'll find it for you
• Often being paid by the week
• If you don't like the job you are in you only have to give 1 weeks notice - they can then find you another one very quickly
• You often get offered a permanent contract with a company after 13 weeks or approx. 3 months, if you like them, and they like you
• You can also say when you sign up how many hours you'd prefer to be doing a week, you don't neccesarily have to work a full 37/40 hour week

This could be a good way to have some good money coming in till you 'sure' up what you are interested in doing. I am currently with and agency and working at Siemens...I have also worked for Powergen through them. All be it i am only working part-time because i am a student, both jobs were good. Nick from the forums also went through an agency and is now moving onto a permanent contract.

I don't know where you live but if you did consider an agency i would highly recommend Select --> www.select.co.uk or Reed --> www.reed.co.uk With Select being my favourite of the two by far but Reed do have good links to large company's...

Hope that helps

Tom

[TeePee]

I am no longer in the IT industry! I worked in support, and my problems started with whining users who didn't have a clue and expected too much, to managers who had even less of a clue!

The most important thing to remember is that you don't have to be in a career for life at 21. Try something, and be prepared to change if it doesn't work.

[sparky191]

I am no longer in the IT industry! I worked in support, and my problems started with whining users who didn't have a clue and expected too much, to managers who had even less of a clue!

The most important thing to remember is that you don't have to be in a career for life at 21. Try something, and be prepared to change if it doesn't work.

Thats good advice.