I've always considered a computer technician career as a poor career choice. I remember when I was at school and we used to have technicians who used to set the apparatus up in the science class for us. They weren't the best of paid individuals and their career progression seemed rather limited.
The stigma of the word 'technician' seems to have stayed with me from my school days and any job title with the word 'technician' always seems to ponder up a poorly paid individual with no career prospects.
Is this a harsh comparison?
Well, in researching my own aspirations for a career in IT, I found that the Computer technician is indeed the bottom of the ladder, they're a starting point for many IT career paths.
The jobs themselves aren't particularly glamorous and likewise aren't the most financially rewarding. Even so, competition for jobs can be incredibly fierce, as most people quite rightly understand that the Computer technician is the gateway into many IT careers.
When I started out looking for a IT job, I came across several Computer Technician vacancies but the money on offer was about same I was earning in my job working in the mail room for my local council.
Some might say that it would still have been wise to pursue the opportunity of a job working as a Computer Technician, as it probably had far greater prospects than working in the mail room but that was easier said than done.
Just getting an acknowledgement to my application letters or was difficult enough, let alone getting an interview and getting the job itself. I found it very depressing and my confidence was slowly being eroded from the lack of response from my job applications.
Every job I saw advertised had ludicrous entry requirements set by the employers, where they wanted candidates to be proficient in many different technical skills. I could just about understand the basics of one, let alone have a good grasp of several, as the job requirements insisted.
At the time I thought it really unfair how much knowledge was required for these roles and now I look back thinking what overkill for such entry level roles. No wonder many people like me at the time couldn't get on the IT career ladder at the time. It took me another few years to get a job in IT after my friend told me about thin client and later Citrix technology.
If I'd managed to get an interview for one of these technician jobs, I think the technical questions they'd ask would have been just too much for me to answer.
Today I think the story hasn't changed much either with entry level jobs such as the technician jobs demanding a multitude of technical skills. Hence it can be very difficult to find a computer technician career.
The competition for jobs results in lower salaries and tougher entry requirements, because employers can pick and choose only the best candidates, especially those with years of experience.
So where does that leave someone who hasn't much experience and is probably new to IT?
My advice is to look at a career which is easy to learn and which can help build 'on the job' experience in your own time. My free guide (on the right side of the page) suggests a few options you could try.