Going for broke!

I studied one year of Aircraft Engineering and passed the first year after leaving school, and didn't enjoy it. I started looking for IT courses, and I eventually found one at a college close by. I had the interview and I was accepted, but I was put on a waiting list for the course as the classes were full.

I realised that I wasn't going to get into the 3 year course I applied for, I then started searching IT courses online because I didn't want to be doing nothing for a year. I stumbled across QA's Apprenticeship scheme. What drew me towards this course was it lasting for 6-9 months!! I applied and got accepted, I attended the course I was told that it was going to be hard but I was willing to stick with it as my original choice for my career was in IT.

I saw the qualifications I was going to achieve after completing this course. It was everything and more than what i would have got in college studying for 3 years! Plus QA helped me get into a job! A huge advantage and a lot of support to help you get into a job, best thing was that it was free! Can't go wrong there.

Nil Valand the Senior Placement Consultant was the person who helped me into my job at a company called All3Media, they are an International Media Production company that produce many many well known programmes that we see every day on TV, such as Skins, The Gadget Show, Hollyoaks etc.

I went for the interview, and got a call on the same day from my interviewer telling me i got the job! All thanks to QA's Interview training sessions! I was placed in a one of the many many media production companies they own, the one i was at was Cactus TV. I was part of the IT Support Team spread across the companies! I had some training with the old IT manager Henri Walkley at Cactus TV, it was supposed to last the 3 Months but he was being moved to another office so i was left to take his position as the IT Manager at Cactus and learn as much as i could in 3 weeks!! But they assured me that they were always there for any questions i had and obviously to help me, and all i had to do was pick up the phone.

I learned a lot and developed my skills. I passed my 3 months work experience and IT director at All3Media HQ and Amanda Ross Managing Director of Cactus TV decided to keep me on and told me that they really liked me. My salary had doubled as well! I started off more than the minimum that an apprentice would get paid, so i was very happy and worked to the best of my ability as anyone would do in a job.

I now look after Cactus TV's IT system, over look servers and maintain them, i also look after all the users within the office, i repair and build PC's and more. QA gave me the head start i needed, and without them i don't think i would be where i am today. They gave me experience that a college would never be able to, and i learnt both theory and the practical side to things. When i started my job, i realised that being at QA, was very beneficial, as they taught me the basics of any job in IT. QA gave me an idea about the small things i needed to know that lead to the biggest problems you may face in IT and in a workplace in general.

Also i matured a lot more and became a better person from studying at QA because it was disciplined, i learnt that you will meet different types of people and won't always think like you, this means that i would have to adapt to different people and learn to accept other peoples point of view and ways of thinking.

good job