Age 44 career change

[chrise17]

At the age of 44 I am considering a career in I.T.
Comptia A+,network + and/or cisco ccna systems.
Has anyone else at a mature age succeeded in this field when starting from scratch?

[kwicky]

Most people in their 40's in IT are being laid off. The firm may not say , but age has a lot to do with it as they prefer kids straight from university where they can mold them in their own image. After sending nearly 300 CVs I finally gave up and took the route of self employment although not in my chosen field.
I would suggest you take the self employment route. It takes more guts but somehow an empoyer prefers someone like yourself on a short term contract. A certain amount of bluff is required but you have nothing to lose.

[mattie]

I'm 41 and I am doing a CCNA course run by www.skillstrainuk.com.

It is very good, you get access to tutors who are very helpful, all the course material, access to the Cisco academy website, online labs using real cisco equipment, not simulation programs.

There are two things to consider - it will take up a lot of your time, so you have to be committed.

The cost - about �3500, payable in the form of an interest free loan @ �100 per month.

I already work in IT and I am doing this to advance my career, the only thing I would check is to look at job adverts for Cisco engineers and look at the required skills and ask whether the course covers these.

They also do the A+ and Network +, so they may suggest you start with these first, they are also probably cheaper.

For the Cisco course, they offer a guarantee - if you complete all the material and pass the external exams, they guarantee to find you a job, or refund you the course fees.

[mazzugara]

just remember that you will have to start at the bottom rng of this ladder and the pay aint that great there. Thought about doing the computeach course until the sales monkey said i would be on �12-15 k a year, half my current income, hmmm dont think so!