Underqualified

I finished zenos about 3 weeks ago (05/02/10) and i was quite pleased to get out of there, the last few weeks doing the MCDST weren't ones that i wish to remember.

However the last few weeks aren't my biggest issue, my main problem is with the qualification you recieve and the job oppertunities that you should expect from them.

When i started this course i thought 'Ahh these qualifications will get me far in life'
Ohhh how i couldn't have been so much more wrong. Unless you want to be sat at a desk waiting for someone to call you because they have forgotten to plug in their computer, then you're well catered for, otherwise these qualificatiosn will get you no where. Maybe the A+ has some worth if working in a call centre isn't your thing, but the MCDST is just pure evil.

So now i'm supposed to be looking for jobs that i am not qualified for and as a result have not been offered any jobs, i haven't even had an interview simply because the employers aren't interested in my low level customer support qualifications.

'So did anything good come out of Zenos?' you might ask, Well yes there was something good, but none of it was to do with what i was learning. The only good thing for me that came out of those waisted 5 months was some good friends that i hope to keep in contact with and who actually made the terrible experience of being at Zenos remotely bareable.

I have come to the conclusion that i won't get an IT job because of 2 things, 1 being that i have lost the will to live and Zenos has put me right off a career in IT. And 2, I just simply cannot get a job due to my hopeless qualification.

Anyway this is just my experience i'm sure those who wanted to be sat by a phone have had such a more pleasant time, and good luck to you.

BigMiniMe

I think I know how you feel. I've always been pretty good with computers overall, but never actually wanted a career in IT. Only recently, due to the recession, the shortage of jobs and my lack of interest in anything, I've decided to actually go ahead and try for a career in something I'm good at rather than something I'll enjoy - because I don't really know what I'll enjoy. I can't keep sitting around the house doing bugger all.

After doing some research about Zenos, the qualifications, IT sector etc. I've come to the same conclusion as yourself. The only thing Zenos will get you is a helpdesk job. But then again, that's not Zenos' fault. Zenos offer the A+ and N+, and those are entry-level certifications. Every IT professional recommends those certifications as a bare minimum before even applying for any IT job role - no more, no less.

Unfortunately, it seems that although you're qualified, you can't even get your foot into the door without experience. And you can't get experience without experience, and certs - and so therefore you're forced to start off at the bottom, in a 1st Line Support Role, working your way up the ranks and gaining the necessary experience.

Look on the bright side though. You achieved your ADITP didn't you? You can do an advanced apprenticeship in IT or telecomms for BT. Can't you go to Uni and do an HND in IT or computing or something? Join the Forces as a communication engineer/technician or Officer.

There are quite a few other options available now, due to getting your ADITP.

Len

No experience? Why not do volunteer work? After finishing college, I knew I wouldnt be able to find a job straight away due to the recession and stuff, so I did some unpaid work at my local computer shop.

Now, when I leave Zenos I'll hopefully have everything they have to offer PLUS 6 months experience. Why? I didn't sit on my ass doing nothing.

I'm not having a go at you or accusing you of anything, but doing ANY volunteer work, even if it doesnt involve computers will help you stand out from the rest to potential employers. Also, don't forget that due to the recession, lots of experienced people have lost their jobs. Entry level jobs are now being filled by those already have years of experience because employers would rather employ these experienced people because it saves them alot of money having to train them up.

Do some voluntary work until you find a job. Apply for plain old admin jobs. This way internal vacancies open up to you.

Underqualified

Yes i did achieve the ADITP and working at telecomms for BT? isn't that more telephones? right now the site of my own mobile phone makes me want to throw my computers out of a 6th story window and be done with IT forever.

Like you Daniel i chose IT because little else interested me and IT was something i'm good at. I did a 2 year IT course at a college and then decided to do Zenos after that. The idea of doing UNI has been at the back of my mind (the very back) but for some reason UNI just doesn't interest me, i think i'm fed up of education, i'm 19 i've been learning for what 14-15 years, that feels to me a good few years too many.

The thought of voluntary work just doesn't appeal to me either, do companies realy give a damn if you do voluntary work, i know if i was an employer i probably wouldn't care about voluntary work they had done, voluntary work to me sounds so menial.

I'd like to mention now that i have gotten a job interview with a company which Zenos found me and contacted them for me. However this is a 1st line support role which i have told Zenos on multiple occasions that i do not want to do, but they never listen. This sad situation is not just me, i know many others in my class who have told Zenos that they are not looking for a job or are not willing to do certain jobs, yet Zenos still contacts them about these jobs. I feel, and i know others do to, that Zenos doesn't care what job we get so long as we get an IT job, so that Zenos can put it on their records to make them look good. I have felt on a few occasions that i am being forced to apply for a position that i have said i don't want to do. I know i should be taking any oppertunity to get a job but the thought of a support role just makes me want throw myself out of a window along with my computers.

Anyway my job hunt still continues and i've decided to not just look for IT jobs but for jobs that require driving, like being a courier or delivary driver. Seeing as all i really need to qualify for these jobs is a driver's licence which i already have it seems like a good idea. Plus i love driving too so that's an added bonus.

dayle2010

They basically just want you to sit at a phone all day don't they lol, don't you believe that the 5 months was worth it, was you have several qualifications to put onto your cv?

BigMiniMe

It is more telephones, but the job actually involves installing, maintaining and fixing network and communications hardware. You'll end up dealing with routers, switches, even firewalls etc. - so it is still an IT role, albeit, more on the networking side.

I just threw it in there incase you were interested in network admin/analyst roles or something.

Underqualified

Yep they do. I think the whole 5 months was worthless. You can't get a job with them (well not in the South of England anyway).

That actually doesn't sound to bad, if i see a job like that i think i'll most likely apply. And hopefully they except me, even with my poor quality qualifications.

Just thought i point out at this has some realivance to this, the N+ qualification is not standard just incase you didn't know, you have to ask to do it extra otherwise you wont do it. I can tell you that you will not have enough time to do it anyway even if you do want to do it because you'll be held back by those collegues who aren't so IT minded and because Zenos will just hold you back just to keep you in line with their schedule.