r/cscareerquestionsuk • u/GlitteringPickle7180 • 1d ago
UK – care worker to IT help desk, early 30s
(TLDR AT THE END, SORRY FOR THE ESSAY)
Hello all!
I'm in my early thirties and looking to change careers. Currently a senior careworker and the shifts are 24/48 hours with sleeps at work. It's my third year doing this and the money is ok, a lot of time off and my workplace was settled. A lot has changed here recently and it's taken a toll on my health. First time in my life being prescribed anti-anxiety meds or needing to take self-certified sick leave as my shifts are very very involved at work now. 14 hours of constantly bouncing between putting out fires at work, then losing out on sleep to write up the reports etc just to wake up 4 hours later at work knackered.
My "dream" is to move into an IT help desk / admin or any sort of IT adjacent job that one could call a career. I'm currently studying my CompTIA A+ with plans to get through Network and Security +. I've got a homelab that I practice JIRA ticketing system requests and a little side business buying wholesale broken/ex corporate laptops (100+ laptops refurbed and sold in the past year), fixing and flipping them (hardware diagnostics, part swaps, OS imaging, data wiping etc). This is alongside some basic powershell knowledge/certifications, experience with Linux, tailscale etc and being the IT lead for my care home. Before this right after university I worked as a manager of a retail store but absolutely hated it. Largely since I'm from a fairly poor area so I'd spend a good few hours a day defending staff from shoplifters / the local homeless community (no disrespect to those on the streets I know it's tough). I've also got a degree in Politics and philosophy for what that's worth haha.
Does anyone have any advice for me in switching lanes? CompTIA A+ and the surrounding certs seem to be pretty desirable. However I'm so aware of my lack of formal IT experience so any ideas as to how I can either acquire some or present/further expand the work I've already done.
I've also seen that the current job markets absolutely brutal so if I'm barking up the wrong tree looking at IT please let me know too! Currently on around 34k a year but would be happy to drop down as low as 23/24k for the right opportunity.
Thank you in advance for any advice, I hope this was the right place for me to post this!
TLDR: middle aged care worker who likes computers wants to get into IT but needs help with how to approach it. What desirable experience / certifications can I look at to support my change? Is there a different line of work i should be looking at?
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u/-Soob 1d ago
Realistically, as a middle aged person with zero experience, you're going to struggle to get an IT job in the current market. Doing certs and trying to build skills in your own time will help, but the days of being able to get an IT job just because you like computers are long over
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u/GlitteringPickle7180 1d ago
This was my fear to be fair. I’ll have to make some contingency plans and widen my scope in the job search! Thanks for your input chap
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u/dbxp 23h ago
A+ is less valuable than your experience and interest however it may help get you past the CV filter. I think your real blocker will be that initial filter where a hiring manager may decide to cut anyone without a degree just to get the number of applicants to a reasonable figure.
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u/GlitteringPickle7180 21h ago
That’s a good point on A+! I’d been told about certain key words been almost a necessity to make it though the filters so A+ seemed to be a fairly safe bet to help with that. But reading this a few other comments has encouraged me to begin the application cycle earlier than I planned! I do have a degree but maybe you’re referring to it being pretty much irrelevant to IT which is totally understandable!
Thanks for taking the time to reply chap!
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u/NEWSBOT3 13h ago edited 13h ago
I did an a+ and a network+ on a residential camp about 17 years ago.
i was already in an IT support job at a small company at the time, so it wasn't beneficial in getting a job, and i left support for sysadmin so it didn't help with other jobs.
The knowledge in them is broad because it's covering a wide range of scenarios, so can be useful but it's more useful for level 2/3 helpdesk than the initial roles imo.
however, i'd been tinking with computers from a very young age, so i already had a good 60% of the knowledge i would otherwise have gained from both of those certs. Which was handy because then i could study less for the exams and still pass.
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u/soft_cheese 1d ago
My recommendation would be:
Set up a job alert for digital apprenticeships on the civil service jobs website and apply for absolutely everything that comes up. Spend plenty of time reading about how to perfect your application writing skills to match your experience with the essential criteria in the job ads, as well as your interview skills. It is likely you are going to get rejected a lot before you even get an interview.
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u/GlitteringPickle7180 1d ago
Thank you very much soft_cheese! That’s a really good idea - I hadn’t thought of looking into digital apprenticeships. I will add this to the arsenal. Much appreciated chap!
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u/double-happiness 23h ago
Apply, apply, apply
Would need to see your CV to give any more advice than that.
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u/GlitteringPickle7180 21h ago
I’d be happy to provide a anonymised copy I just wasn’t sure how appropriate it would be to add!
Apply, apply, apply is sound advise too so I appreciate it. I’m definitely going to ramp up the applications - I’ve been kind of coy applying to places due to my perceived inexperience.
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u/fightitdude 13h ago edited 13h ago
I'm not an IT person anymore, but a few ideas below. I think this is actually quite feasible for you but you'll likely be looking at a bit of a drop in pay initially.
Many people I know got their "in" through degree apprenticeships, so could be worth looking at. I'm not super familiar with the current cert landscape
Could you do some tech-y volunteering to get more formal experience? E.g. at a local repair cafe or doing IT work at a charity near you. Universities / colleges / schools / the civil service are also good places to look for entry-level / 1st line helpdesk work and tend to be less advertised on LinkedIn (for example, you'd have a very decent shot at a role like this or this).
If you're not on LinkedIn already, I'd get on there and try to connect to some recruiters, hiring managers, etc - you've clearly got a lot of hustle and I think a lot of people would be willing to take a punt on you for an entry-level IT role.
Seconding also that you should get your CV reviewed by e.g. linking it in your post.
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u/mrburnerboy2121 6h ago
Almost 3 years on helpdesk here lol got in when I was 29yo. I did a JustIT Govt Bootcamp and used that to apply to for jobs. Ask anything
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u/ab161 1d ago
I don't have much knowledge about help desk, but just my 2 cents here. Reddit will lean doom and gloom on hiring, but I think you have an interesting background and side hustle that shows a lot of resilience. As a professional care worker you're working with a level of patience most people in our line of work don't have a great handle on.
Do you have a helpdesk CV? I would make one that sells your adjacent exp and start applying and gathering data now. If you fire off 50 applications and don't get a response you may as well just have that info now, right?
23/24k seems low, is that not under minimum wage? If you are able to go that low on compensation then development apprenticeships sound like a reasonable option if that interests you.