Longjing

I agree with that too - sooner or later you do need a few quid. I did a number of jobs before training to be a lawyer, so I started about 5/6 years behind most people who do my job. The jobs I did first were fun - worked for a builder for a while, was a courier for year or so, worked as a researcher for a journo and also dit various office temp things.

I think 90% of what makes a job fun or bad is the people you work with. I've been in the same place ten years now and it's not bad at all.

Kuro

Listen to this bloke Really useful comment.

Also, whilst the 'do what you enjoy' crap sounds good, in reality what will happen is that you'll show up 15 years later to your class reunion in the equivalent of an '92 Ford Escort.

Not good. You'll look (and feel) like a complete plum.

It's a balance really, and you'll need to spend time adjusting it until it feels right. Hopefully at some point the two aspects will combine and you have a job that's cool, and a salary to match.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

IT Systems Manager £36+k per year (on age and position), fully paid leave be it sick or holiday, subsidised housing, free medical and dental, assistance with Boarding School fee's, if you move location you are paid assitance and the relocation is free, assisted house purchase, retire at 40 with an immediate pension and lump sum or defer this until you are older, but the pension is index linked and guaranteed, but you can continue beyond 40 with the new contract systems in place.

Not everyone is a fighting soldier

Roads and cars are very dangerous too!

www.armycommunications.co.uk

The Royal Corps of Signals

Royal Engineers - Trades

Career

StickyMicky

self employed

25K in the first year of trading
30k in the second.

this is the third year and i expected another 10k with the plans in motion, but this past few weeks of rain has compleatly wiped me out

never understood why people always shy away from how much they earn

Longjing

In my case, I shied away because people are not well disposed towards lawyers in the first place.

Butkus

Hi there,

Good on you for thinking about things now, instead of leaving it till later. I won't post much about myself, as I think you should probably arrive at your own decisions. The advice so far is all good, but can I just suggest you read a couple of books which I wish someone had given to me when I was 15? They give slightly different advice to the normal, university, good job, mortgage route which you might find interesting.

I suppose they're very focused on money, but whatever your thoughts about money, it's always good to have plenty of it! It doesn't just buy you material goods - more importantly it buys you freedom.

The books are as follows, and hopefully if you decide to read them, they will help you as much as they helped me:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

Abdabz

I’m a Business Analyst working IT for a company who own, design and build an advanced billing engine used by companies across the world. Salary undisclosed. I spend my time interacting with Project Leaders of national size companies, discussing their future IT requirements in line with our product and gathering business requirements that capture their needs. These are then signed off by the customer and I then work with developers to ensure that the solution meets the customers needs etc.
I started out by skipping university, and spending time working in Retail, Banking, and Insurance before going into Telecoms. In each of these early roles I was shop floor / call centre agent level – sussing out which industry was right for me.
I stopped in Telecoms, slowly learning more and more before finally getting off the floor and into IT projects as a junior level Billing Systems Super User.
From there I went into Process Management, managing a team of analysts and earning double what I had been on the phones downstairs, but with well more than double the responsibility, expectation and stress. Passed our own internally rebranded Prince2 and Six Sigma (green belt) courses etc…Also done ITIL Foundation (yawn)!
A few years later, I realised I could earn as much as a Business Analyst (with no-one reporting directly to me) as I was as a Process Manager, so I took voluntary redundancy and within 2 months was working for one of the largest global IT project companies in the world. Did 12 months there as a BA before joining here last year.
BA work can sometimes be menial, and sometimes challenging but never has the stress of a Project Manager. Despite that you can earn plenty – and travel a lot. Contracting out at £400 a day with my experience is realistic, if you have the ***** and can handle the uncertainty. I chose to be an FTE for a company as I like the security of a monthly wage. I am charged out at just under £1000.00 per day, although my wages don’t come anywhere near that!!! – wow I wish!!

Petem95

It can be quite hard to get a decent IT job these days - getting your first few years of experience can be almost make-or-break.

My firm has taken on quite a few people recently (skills varying, but mainly network engineers with Cisco certs and server engineers with MSCE etc) and the rates paid are a LOT less than you would've got 2 or 3 years ago.

We get flooded with CV's for people who are really very well qualified (IT degrees, good certs like MSCE and CCNP and citrix) but theyve pretty much been unable get a decent IT job because they have no industry experience (but cant get the experience cos they cant get the jobs etc!).

A lot of the lower end jobs have been filled with guys from Pakistan now, and they'll work for the minimum and have all the certifications you can shake a stick at.

I finished a Computer Science degree 3 years ago, and some of my mates from my course have now left IT due to never being able to break into a decent job. Quite a few others are stuck on 16-18k wages with little prospects.

IT is not the gold mine people still think it is! Of course you can earn good money, as is true for any career. I've been lucky enough to land quite a good job with a decent salary, but despite more experience I'm likely to earn 5-6k less this tax year compared to last.

D.K.1

I know what you're saying and see exactly where you're coming from, but at his age he may not have even considered mortgages etc.

Hopefully he will be one of those who gets a good education and walks into a well paid job that suits him and enables him to have the lifestyle of his choice In his shoes, I wouldn't want to have a low paid job knowing what I know now, but he may start in a good job with lower pay and work his way up or be qulified to have a go at a few different well paid jobs

One of the problems I have seen from people I have worked with in the past is that they come out of uni etc with loads of qualifications, then end up being over qualified for jobs they apply for or if they have the exams and knowledge to do a manual job they end up not being good enough with their hands to do the work properly. By that I mean can't keep the pace and would be better off with jobs that tax their brain rather than body. That's just from people I have worked with in the past though, as I am sure there are many out there who can do a good day's graft as well as have all the qualifications

AudiLover

well your first mistake is to ask on a subaru forum.

The professionals marquee of choice is an audi

AudiLover

Oh and BTW I was in the whole I.T industry before I realised that its fooking boring job. Always thought when I was a youngster that I would be in I.T until I woke up and realised that I didnt want to spend half my life sitting in an office behind a computer screen all day long.

Hence I got an apprenticeship in plumbing and gas, banged those qualifications out in no time and then left the company I worked for ASAP. I now have my own firm and am the big boss.

The construction/building/maintence industry is great and there is alot of money to be made if you choose wisely and you are skilled in your trade. Everyday can be different, unless your on a building site.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

You need to be an all rounder to really get on in IT, a bit of prgramming to start, bit of networking, web, database and know all the buzz words, Google is your friend.

Get a general grounding doing the grunt work like desktop support (no disrespect to desktop bods, been there) and understand the OS, learn Unix at home at the same time, set up a network, download the database software its free, find out whats paying out there and make sure you are getting your nose in the right places volunteering to do stuff but only on CV enhancing stuff, avoid anything old, proprietary or home made.

Certifications are useful but not the be all and end all, I have done the last three Oracle ones, it just proves that you have read some books and remember some stuff, it doesnt do any harm though.

Make sure you learn something every day, instead of surfing on here, pick a random it related thing on Wikipedia, read about it, you will only remember a bit but when in that meeting 5 years hence you get to remember it and sound knowledgeable, dont be afraid to learn on the fly.

There are very few shortcuts, you just have to learn, learn, practice and get used to knock backs.

Dont stay in the same place waiting for promotion, ask once, ask twice then leave, managers typecast you into the trainee or whatever you started as and are more apt to give more money to a complete stranger than existing staff.

Turn up on time every single day

Dress well

Wash and shave every day

No Simpsons ties or socks

Be positive

Dont take the p1ss with sickies, if you are too ill dont go to work, otherwise you go in, alcohol abuse is not the companies problem, you have a hangover, you should suffer and then dont drink on a work night.

Prepare for meetings, properly, do a little more than the bare minimum

get your stuff ready the night before, lay your clothes out, car keys, wallet, work pass, cash, lunch, make sure you have petrol in the car.

Talk to people, about work as well as gabbing , ask what they are up to, you get valuable information.

Keep a task list in Outlook or whatever suits

Keep a diary and use it !!!!!

Set reminders

Backup your work religiously, keep three copies on different drives.

Dont slag people off, if they are a ****, everyone knows anyway, you can get your point across without sounding like you are having a go.

Dont nick anything from work, I have seen someone lose 30 grand a year for a graphics card.

Dont surf all day, unless its about work, allowable at lunch and the odd check on BBC or similar, but not hour on here, plus be able to justify any other sites you go on, There is no way to justify **** at work.

Try to save the company money, dont waste anything, it all comes off the bottom line.

Meetings are boring, live with it, you still earn.

Be nice to cleaners and canteen staff and wonderful things can happen.

Dont have your hair like a junior estate agent, you will look like a junior estate agent.

Make a brew occasionally, you are not too good, too expensive or too important.

Never be racist, sexist or homophobic at work

Dont make an **** of yourself at the Christmas do, if you cant trust yourself, dont drink or dont go.

Learn peoples names, ask them how to spell pronounce if not sure, if they have an amusing name they will have heard every variation on it, so dont bother.

Be nice to customers/users, IT staff can be obnoxious stereotypes like the one off the office, there is no need and sometimes they are actually right. They love you for it and say nice things about you and you get to keep your job.

Do your hours plus a little bit for goodwill, say 40 if you do 38, but dont let the company take the p1ss.

Dont leave for the day if there are problems, muck in or everyone thinkys you are a ****, leaving to buy a Hawaiian shirt for a fancy dress party is not a good excuse for leaving a database down, dont laugh I got told that by a contractor !

Norman D. Landing

Dont go into IT security, they're the traffic wardens of computing!

David Lock

The alternative being "Just get on with the job and don't p1ss about too much"

LG John

Jacko, I'm quite serious when I say that I have at one point or another broken every rule on that list!! Can you tell I'm not very career orientated?

Scooby-kid

Thanks for the replys everyone, I can see that a lot of time has gone into that advice, and I'm grateful.

So, IT can be a bit of a slippery slope when you are trying to get your foot in that very important door, also, the prospect of looking at a screen all day can be a bit daunting.

One thing I have been thinking about alot since I was even younger than I am now is the entrepreneurial side of things. I would love to run my own company with other people working for me, or to be the one with that break through idea which takes the world by storm. Does anyone here have experience of starting a business from scratch - did it work, are you doing well, still trying to get it working? The reason I say this is that that is where all the money is, and I get to choose what I do, I don't have to be doing a job I don't like just because no other positions were vacant at the time.

University - is it worth it? three years of my life? - I could have made my first million in three years, however i understand it is the right way to employment and it's something to fall back on. I am doing quite well in my education at the moment. I am starting my GCSEs' with one year left to go, so i have already done some mocks, and some real modular exams which go to my final mark next year:

Scinence:

• physics -A* (full marks - 50/50)
• biology - A*
• biology(b) - A*
• chemistry - A*

MOCKS:

• english - A*
• Tech - A
• IT - A
• R.E - B
• English liturature - B

Other predicted grades for next year are no lower than an A, with most being A* .

Now, the master plan at the moment (without trying to sound to cocky) is to be a multi millionaire and I'm never going to get that by working for someone - Am I?

Once again thanks for all your input, and all advice and comments welcome,

Scott.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

eh???

seems cocky, but if you have brains fella use them. cocky of me, but im good with a pencil, and although just a side job at the minute, the B i got in art, the A* i got in d.t. and the B+B i got in college, kind of back up my skills of commission drawing.

looking at your general remarks, your level headed enough, but remember to keep your feet on the ground, dont disappear into the clouds, saying this, saying that etc.

at least your good at a range of things on a constant, not say one particular thing, thats gonna work in your advantage...

AudiLover

Yes you can become a millionaire working for someone else but thats usually only in financial and law backgrounds.

As for your predicted grades its good that you are presumed to get all A* but quite frankly or for better word sadly they dont quite show just how intelligent a student is! They are just too easy IMO. I base this opinion on my younger brother who went to a school full of wasters and inturn was being dragged down by everyone around him and looking to become a waster himself. Always having gang fights, back talking teachers, terrorising the lessons and generally being a very anti-social student which actually seems to be the norm in London secondary schools. However even though he spent most of his last few school years mostly out of the class room he still managed to get a Grade C in every of the 11 GCSE's he took to everyones shock

Upon leaving school slightly demoralised and uncertain of what the world had to offer him, and him offer the world he started a college course in plumbing thanks to my guidance. College completely turned him around from being a ASBO candidate in school to being a model student. He excelled in his new enviroment and returned to his former self before he started secondary school when he used to have ambitions (ambitions that vanished with labours so called ever improving secondary schools ) He is now in his final year of his studies as a plumber at 18 doing whats traditionally a 4 year learning process in just over two whilst making too much money for a boy his age. He has now also decided to do his A-levels with visions of going to uni to do a degree in economics or something similiar as he wants to make even more money as city banker etc

His older sister, (my younger) got a A* in every one of her GCSE's but then she went to a grammar school and she said they were frightengly easy. A-levels then showed the weaknesses of former a* gcse pupils who couldnt cope with the extra load. Once again she got all A's for her a-levels. Now at uni doing a law degree it gets harder even more and now shes starting to be challenged. During her summer holidays she works in the city and gets roughly £12 an hour. She has absolutely no trouble at all finding jobs even though she hasnt yet finished her studies. Degrees and a-levels will make your life a hell of alot easier and will be something to fall back on. Make sure you atleast do your a-levels unless you get an apprenticeship. However saying that you are only young with plenty of time to switch what you wnat to do for a living. Try different jobs and ones that interest you. Try and get a good balance between wage and job satisfaction. Oh and wage is very important in this day and age of taxes everywhere and high mortgages, so if you do, do a degree make sure its a propper one and not one of those pointless ones that thousands of fools do every year. Do the wrong degree and prepare to come out of uni earning a measly 15k

Nido

I run my own business, and love doing so

It's not for everybody, many just like to be able to switch off at 5.30 on a Friday until 9.00 on Monday.

Running your own business becomes your life basically, there aren't many times when you are not thinking about some aspect of it in some way. You put the hours in though, and the rewards are great.

The money side never bothers me too much, I make enough to do what I want to, and that's all I'm interested in. However, getting started is obviously a lean period as you tend to need to plow all your profit back into the business.

Now things are established the biggest headache is finding reliable staff, but then the joy is you can hire / fire them - no more having to work with somebody that doesn't pull thier weight (most frustrating if you are employed).

I also get to be out and about most of the day, I'm an outdoors type of person and sitting at the same desk for day after day is not for me, life is too short

Oh, and if I fancy a morning at the beach, then I just shift the staff around and go!

Good luck with whatever you do, one thing that becomes apparent reading this thread is the difference between the "do something you enjoy" theory compared to others "must earn lots of money incase you have to drive a **** car" thoughts.

I'm lucky enough to be able to do both now, but the former is much more important I'd say. Who gives a stuff what the people say at your school reunion if you turn up in a 10 year old Escort? Far more important to enjoy your life, you only get one chance to do so.

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

No you probably wont. But the only way you will find out how not to make that million and how to make that million is by working for someone else, in actualfact a few someone elses. Go and work for companies and observe very carefully what they do wrong - thats how you learn to do it correctly

hades

My other advice is don't assume that high predicted GCSE grades etc makes you that exceptional and guarantees earning potential - it doesn't. You'll find plenty of people who are academically clever who can't link it to the real world, or don't have the drive and creativity to run companys etc. You'll also find people with mediocre exam results who have the drive, creativity, flair and people skills to run successful companies etc. However if you combine the exam results, with practical application, people skills etc and apply yourself (work hard), you'll do pretty well in most fields. However, running your own company and making millions before you're 30 involves having lots of different and fairly unusual talents, and often taking lots of risks that pay off.

This isn't sour grapes from someone who didn't get good grades at school (straight As at GCSE and A level), but exam results really don't mean that much in real life. Academic achievement has little link to common sense, wisdom (gained useful knowledge if you like), people skills, luck and that certain inspirational something that some people have. Sure set your sights high, plan on how to get there, follow your dreams etc - but don't forget that if most people could do it (or even most people with good exam results could do it), many of them would have done it already.

AudiLover

yes intelligence doesnt necessarily equal to much common sense. Most women prove that theory

David Lock

Money, money, money. Oh dear.

Sadly you have already made the mistake of assuming that money is going to bring you all you want in life. It might but it probably won't. dl

Luan Pra bang

Become a chartered surveyer. easy money, easy hours lots of work.

ChefDude

make sure you have enough money to go on holiday, but don't let it run your life .

I spent 10 years earning well over £100K and was sooo

got a decent woman, am earning less than 100k and couldn't be happier


oh, and i get charged out at £2500 a day - it doesn't bear any resemblance to the 'consultants' real wage. don't let any one tell you otherwise lol

Tim-Grove

im probabaly the lowest paid person on scoobynet but im happy

this is what i do and who i work for

The Power of Inspiration - Apprentices

been in the electrical trade since leaving school 12 years ago and i still enjoy going to work

AudiLover

havent clicked on link and assume your an electrician. surely you must be on over 30k!

Tim-Grove

Im a cable jointer. And 30k. No chance, not without overtime.

fatherpierre

Again, cash isn't everything, and there are people who post here that probably clean floors for a living (nothing wrong with that) but claim to be MDs, or earning 100s of K.

I left school at 16 and joined the RAF. Once there I quickly realised that I should have stayed at school as I was treated like **** by the supposed officer class who claim to be more intelligent than you due to a degree.

I then got the degree that the RAF paid for and joined the officer class. More money, but still idiots in general.

I left and joined the Met Police. Good thus far. A properly structured job that allows you to expand - or not. They allow you that choice with no questions asked if you just want to do your job.

Stay at school, get the highest level of education you can and then choose. Education gives you the choice to whatever you fancy - be it manual work yoi might love, or IT etc. Choice is a nice feeling - being stuck with little option isn't.

If I could be 15 again I'd do 2 things:

1 Stay on at school when given the choice

2 Shagged Stephanie when I was offered instead of running off

Good luck

Skoobie Dhu

iTrader: (3)

Get into the oil industry, funny money to be had at the moment and lots of UK based folk working abroad.