Hey There,

Im 19 years old and currently studying the final year of an adv NVQ lvl 4 in accounting (AAT)

I work full time and earn pretty good money (about 15k) upon completing my NVQ my pay could take a nice jump, since i would begin studying toward the ACCA qualification.

I work in the accounts department as a general accounts assistant and get involved with lots of bits and bobs, but im also the IT Co-ordinator there, and look after a network of about 50 users.

Now I love the theory behind accounts but i find that i do not progress quickly enough to maintain my interest, and sometimes find things a little basic and repetitive.

Since leaving school i have self taught myself VB.NET and really enjoy writing applications using it, I wrote a fully functional purchase ordering programme for my company which works very well, for tracking purchase orders and posting invoices.

Now im thinking that if im getting a little bored with accounts now, how will i feel in 10 years, is it just because im still doing it at a relatively low level, or because its just not my thing. Whereas with IT i love everything about it, fixing peoples problems writing apps / reports thinking my way around solutions logically etc etc.

Having looked around there doesnt seem to be many companies looking for "juniors" everyone wants a graduate, even though im certain if a company took the risk and trained me i would pay off, as i tend to pick things up very quickly

This leaves me pondering whether i should look at going back into full time education, enrolling on a 4 year Software Engineering course at Sheffield Hallam (I have NVQ lvl 3 from first 2 years study of AAT which meets the entry requirements)

I dont think i would have wasted 3 years on my AAT since my ideal job would be working on a manufacturing software package or accounts package, in which case my background knowledge would help alot.


Does anyone have any suggestions on other ways of breaking into IT, im quite happy to start on a support call desk working my way up, but i would need to know that i wasnt going to be stuck there indefinately.

Has anyone done a software engineering course? any thoughts?

my main concern is from earning to earning nothing.

I would stick with the job, getting ACCA and a few years experience of it, coupled with a part time IT degree. Your only 19, so when you have both of those under your belt you will still be young enough to make the decision.

you can do a degree in the evenings i think it takes around 5 years... but you'd be able to keep your job going at the same time

or put together a decent letter, cv and some examples of your work and send it around lots of companies... you never know until you ask

Having looked around there doesnt seem to be many companies looking for "juniors" everyone wants a graduate

Once you get into an interview that shouldn't be a problem if you can demonstrate your skills. I've been part of interview panels before and the candidates who impressed most were those with genuine enthusiasm who brought along examples of their previous work on a laptop. Official qualifications were secondary.

Admittedly though, when you're weeding out applications to work out who you're going to interview, not appearing 'qualified' might go against you.

Try Cerco computer systems and maintenance course, they are based in nantwich, the course does cost £4000 but you get a guaranteed job at the end or they give you your money back in installments. I did this and I now work for HP on a half descent salary, it is a way of getting your foot in the door

If your 'desperate' to get into the IT industry you could try EDS - they are seem to always have places for Grads and MA's

As an MA (Modern Apprentice) you propably wouldn't get more money straight away but it would give you a fair amount of experience and skills.

have a nosy:

http://www.mas.eds.co.uk for the MA info

and

www.eds.com for the main corporate site.

They are based next to the old Ward Brewery (off Ecclesall Road)

All the best in your career change.

aardvark.

Hi there,

I work for an IT Company specialising in ERP solutions, based near M1 J27, with offices in 26 countries. We are the leading global Microsoft Dynamics Partner in the world.

We are currently looking for staff for various positions, including helpdesk support.

Let me know if you are still looking for something in this area.

I’ve not been on the forum long and I do not have enough posts to PM, but PM me and I’ll send you my email address for further correspondence.

Regards

Paul