Help me I need a change in career/industry

[Paul1984]

Hi guys I have been working in retail as a manager for the last 6 years but I have had enough,I don't really like managing people and I get ****ed of all the time.What would be the best industry that doesnt require a degree as I dont have one to go into.I don't know what I want to do but have to get out of retail management before I kill someone.I was thinking of studying with computeach part time(has anyone done this) IT does sound fun but then again I now nothing about it.

Any of you have experience of changing from retail,what is the best industry that would use my skills.

Thanks in advance guys,need to sort this out asap.

[L3nny]

If you start at the bottom rung on IT ladder you'd probably be on a helpdesk, you don't usually need any qualifications or IT certificates for this. Depending on the helpdesk you work on this can be quite interesting but can also be very boring.

I assume you have good customer service skills as you have worked in retail which can be more important that IT skills as these can usually be picked up quite quickly and you'll be first line support so if you are stuck with something there will always be someone who you can ask for help.

If you get in with a good company they will pay for you to attend courses and that will help you further your career.

The downside is starting pay is quite low (about 16k) and you may have to work unsociable hours (i work nights and weekends and do 12 hour shifts)

Just noticed you are in London so the pay will prob be a bit more, but there will also be more competition for jobs .

If you do take any courses let me know how you get on as I am looking into doing some of these myself.

[Jackie_Black]

If it's well paid and secure then you're doing well in this economic climate!! Distance learning is good if you have the dedication and i've tried it before but often find I need someone cracking the whip to make me work!

I have no experience with computeach but I did look into it years ago and they weren't cheap!

Write a list of what you like/dislike about your job and then go from there. Aim to find something with more of the bits you like. If its a big retail place can you not move to a different part and work with different people within the company?

[Paul1984]

Yeah will do,the prob is I earn good money at the mo so dont want to lose too much(still gotta eat) I was thinking of the customer service side of things might be an option

[Paul1984]

If it's well paid and secure then you're doing well in this economic climate!! Distance learning is good if you have the dedication and i've tried it before but often find I need someone cracking the whip to make me work!

I have no experience with computeach but I did look into it years ago and they weren't cheap!

Write a list of what you like/dislike about your job and then go from there. Aim to find something with more of the bits you like. If its a big retail place can you not move to a different part and work with different people within the company?
Yeah the only place I could move is to head office but not many jobs to get into,if i move around within the many stores it would still be the same S**t

[timwilky]

Even our help desk staff require ITIL foundation.

We also expect them to do level 1 fixes as well as field service requests, incident management etc.

[L3nny]

If you have experience of managing people you may get a job on a helpdesk and go straight in as a manager which would be better money. If you were looking at that then consider ITIL training. DOn't know much about it myself but the helpdesk managers where I work are all sent on ITIL courses

edit, beat me to it Tim

[Paul1984]

Dont know much about helpdesks but have delt with my fair share,anyone here work at one whats it like

[L3nny]

I worked on a helpdesk for 7 years.

It's okay but you can often spend a lot of time just sat there waiting for the phone to ring. You need good customer service skills as often the people calling are annoyed to start with. You are also the only ones left in the office when everyone else goes to the pub for the afternoon for a "meeting"

Anything in particular you want to know?

[Paul1984]

Whats the cash like and the hours I suppose and how to look into it,best company

[L3nny]

Money as I said before isn't great but it is an easy way to get your foot in the door as you often don't need specific qualifications. Depending on what you are supporting the hours can vary if you are supporting the general public you'd probably need to work a shift pattern which includes evenings and weekends but i expect you are used to that working in retail.

Everything else depends on the company, i worked for helpdesks for 3 different companies and they were all completely different.

Have a look on here

http://www.cwjobs.co.uk/JobSearch/Results.aspx?Keywords=helpdesk&LTxt=London,+South+East&Radius=0&LIds2=ZV&clid=1621&cltypeid=2&clName=London

[Paul1984]

Thanks mate much help will look into all that,hours dont bother me,the people do

[muffles]

Why do all suggestions of IT jobs always lead to the helpdesk lol - e.g. no coder is going to be going that route?

[Paul1984]

Why do all suggestions of IT jobs always lead to the helpdesk lol - e.g. no coder is going to be going that route?

No coder?

[christopher]

Yes. No coder.

I'm a coder... a front end web developer to be precise. Which means I've mainly got my head stuck in HTML, CSS and JS. Though I do work with PHP, SQL, Classic ASP (unfortunately) and ASP.NET regularly. Also know my way around Photoshop/Fireworks as use them daily for translating visuals into functional templates ready to plug in the code from the backend developers. I'm basically a middle man! Without me neither design nor function would come together well.

I don't have any formal qualifications which enable me to do my job. Business studies and geography don't exactly help!

I got into it as a hobby first, basically how was that site put together etc. Progressed, did bits of freelance work, got full time job as a junior developer, became a normal developer soon after. Been at the same company for a little over 3 years and am earning a decent wage for my age. Nothing special but more than I need.

Could earn more but I'm happy where I am, I don't have many responsibilities as such and I'm more than fine with the lack of them. I have plenty of time to move higher up but right now I have a stable 8.30-5.00 Mon-Fri where I don't have to think about work outside of those hours, perfect for me.

That's longer than I expected to write!

What type of IT are you looking to get into? Programming web applications, or going to install a new router at a customers house for an ISP, or answering a phone telling people to switch off the broken hardware and back on again to solve the issue?

[Paul1984]

Yes. No coder.

I'm a coder... a front end web developer to be precise. Which means I've mainly got my head stuck in HTML, CSS and JS. Though I do work with PHP, SQL, Classic ASP (unfortunately) and ASP.NET regularly. Also know my way around Photoshop/Fireworks as use them daily for translating visuals into functional templates ready to plug in the code from the backend developers. I'm basically a middle man! Without me neither design nor function would come together well.

I don't have any formal qualifications which enable me to do my job. Business studies and geography don't exactly help!

I got into it as a hobby first, basically how was that site put together etc. Progressed, did bits of freelance work, got full time job as a junior developer, became a normal developer soon after. Been at the same company for a little over 3 years and am earning a decent wage for my age. Nothing special but more than I need.

Could earn more but I'm happy where I am, I don't have many responsibilities as such and I'm more than fine with the lack of them. I have plenty of time to move higher up but right now I have a stable 8.30-5.00 Mon-Fri where I don't have to think about work outside of those hours, perfect for me.

That's longer than I expected to write!

What type of IT are you looking to get into? Programming web applications, or going to install a new router at a customers house for an ISP, or answering a phone telling people to switch off the broken hardware and back on again to solve the issue?

Probably the latter as I had no idea what you were talking about before that

[muffles]

Oh, not sure if you misunderstood what I said or was arguing against it :D either way all I was saying was that helpdesk experience generally isn't any good to someone who wants to code...

I was more commenting on the fact that every time I've seen 'IT jobs - what's it all about, how do I get into it?' come up on the forum, it always seems to be 'helpdesk job' that's the majority answer. Even though that is just one area of 'IT'.