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Working Abroad Job Vacancies Job Hunting Guide Voluntary Work Working Part-time and Temping Useful Job Hunting Resources Working in Somerset Wages and Employment Rights IT Technicians in Somerset CLCI: CAV CRCI: D Information technology (IT) technicians keep computer systems working. In a large organisation this might mean looking after several hundred networked computers. IT technicians do this by setting up networks, maintaining hardware and installing and running software. Often they need to respond to things going wrong. They either work for specialist IT firms or organisations that use computers in a large way. Other technicians work for themselves on a self-employed basis. To find out more look under the above CLCI/CRCI headings in your Careers or Connexions library THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT IT TECHNICIANS IN SOMERSET It is estimated around 3000 people are involved in IT work in Somerset. A large proportion of IT technicians in Somerset work for large users of computers such as schools, colleges, hospitals, councils, government agencies, manufacturers, warehouses and financial service companies. Really big organisations might have an IT team of 5-8 people. Slightly smaller companies may get by with only 1 or 2 staff (who may do IT along with other duties). Other companies may call in IT technicians to tackle their problems. HOW DO I GET STARTED?   Get work experience when at school to see if it’s the career for you   Go to college or sixth-form full-time to do A levels or a BTEC computing course   Start as a trainee – or apprentice – and go to college as part of your job USEFUL QUALIFICATIONS   Good GCSEs in maths, English and science subjects are a good starting point. (IT helps but is not essential)   A levels and vocational A levels (maths, ICT, computing, etc); BTEC National computing qualifications, (for some jobs starting at age 18 plus)   University degrees, foundation degrees, HNDs and HNCs may be required for higher-level jobs   NVQs in ICT-related jobs (available through apprenticeships and other training)   Computer industry and manufacturer-approved software engineering courses (either done in your spare time or with the encouragement of your employer) More about qualifications, courses and training can be found in Moving On (published by Connexions Somerset) DO YOU KNOW? If you’ve got key IT skills you can be employed to tackle a specific project on a short-term contract. This can be a way of earning good money WHAT IS THE PAY LIKE? Around £80 per week (maybe more) if starting as a new employed trainee or apprentice. This can increase rapidly as you go through different stages of your training. Earnings may be significantly better if you start training after gaining college qualifications. With experience you can generally earn around £15,000 per year locally (up to £24-30,000 per annum for the better paid jobs in the area) FINDING A JOB   Connexions centres   Job centres   Through applying for work apprenticeships   School and college careers notice boards   Speculative letters/visits/emails   Newspaper and industry publications adverts   Adverts displayed at premises and on industry/company websites   Job offer after work experience   Word of mouth   A Guide to Job Hunting gives tips on CVs, interviews and job letters. To view click here OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WORK   Sometimes hours can be fairly standard (9-5). Otherwise you could be working shifts or be on 24 hour call out   Much of the work is fairly routine. It’s about making sure things work and keeping them going   Many IT technicians change jobs regularly to get ahead in their careers   The industry changes all the time so it pays to keep up-to-date and learn new skills   You need to be a good communicator because you have to work with the users of your equipment   You have to be patient, do your work properly to maintain standards and be good under pressure   If you want a cutting edge IT job you should consider going to university WHO DOES THE WORK? Yang (19) lives in Frome. As part of his IT course at college he did work experience in the IT department of a local company helping them install a new software system. After college the company employed Yang full-time as an IT technician. Now, as part of his training, he is back at college once a week doing higher-level IT courses paid for by his employer Anne (17) works for the IT department of a company in Street dealing with queries and problems from people throughout the company. She is doing her training through an Apprenticeship which involves doing NVQs in IT-related subjects. At work Anne is being trained on technical support, both hardware and software, by experienced IT technicians More Info: A-Z Careers Careers information dates rapidly. Every effort has been made to ensure information is accurate but please check details before making firm decisions. Make text larger Make text smaller Text Only Display Privacy Policy/Terms of Use