Hello forum. I moved to Ireland from the UK about 8 years ago. One marriage and divorce later, I plan on coming back. I am acclimatised to the Dublin job-market, but not so much on the UK (especially the South-West, and would probably be living in Bath and wouldn't mind commuting to Bristol via public transport). I am fairly new to the IT field after years of retail but have a few good certs (A+, Net+, Sec+ and CCNA, currently studying for the Linux+ and some Python on the side). I currently work in a busy NOC support as 1st line, helping to support DSL to dedicated 100mb licensed radio, RPR Fibre, metro wireless (DOCSIS 2.0) and loads more. I know I could quit tomorrow and find a (although shittier but better paid) 1st line support role in Dublin. The Dublin employment market is really tough, so am I OK assuming that once the CV is good, I could swan over back to Bath and pick up a decent (£23k per annum) job easily? The more I think about it, the more it looks like a stupid question, but these are jitters before a massive move for me, so please be gentle. On a sidenote, I used to to be active on this forum over 10 years ago. Asking this here, its like the first step! Kai.
Living in Weston-super-Mare, the job market here is pretty awful. I haven't looked at Bristol to be honest but I suspect there are more IT jobs there than where I am. If you see any jobs advertised by a company called Agilisys, run a mile, then a further 1,000 miles just to be sure. They are my current employers, they are so draconian its un-real, you WILL get disciplined for sickness even if its backed up a Doctors note.
From my understanding, I'd be lucky to get a good IT job in Bath, so I'm expecting to commute to Bristol. Bristol even has some NOC roles going from time to time, which to me at least suggests its a decent job market. My experience is telecoms supporting corporate customers. I deal with IT managers daily, some are great and others I cant even imagine working under. I guess thats part n parcel of moving jobs though. My current boss is insanely cool, keeps giving the NOC team lootcrates. Our desks are a real mess.
Bristol certainly had an ok job market a couple of years ago, last time I changed jobs. Commuting between Bath and Bristol is very easy as long as you're near the train station.
Bristol is pretty rampant with IT and IT Security. Might be a bit of a bigger commute, but there are plenty of Tech/Network service companies out towards Cheltenham/Gloucester too. If you haven't already, get a LinkedIn, setup up your skills, area and let the recruiters come to you.
Zoon is based in Bristol & his company is regularly looking for engineers. There's quite a few tech companies that way, so get on LinkedIn & your CV on Monster and they'll come to you
Thanks for the replies! I'd have no problem commuting to Bristol. I'd eventually want to move to Bristol anyway. I've no car so a little anxious but I guess that's what life is all about. I genuinely cant wait to move back. Even landing 23k a year I'd be extremely happy. Hopefully I'll have my Linux+ before I move back, and with experience from my current role it should be painless. Linkedin is great, I got my current job hassling HR for an internship (which I turned down to get a paid job in retail, then they offered a paid role instead).
Good news. I have a bead on a nice 2nd NOC role near Bath. It's not with my company (we've got Microsoft technical analyst / engineer roles going pretty much consistently though) but it's a good reliable position, with plenty of opportunity for advancement and lots of training and support available. I've sent you an email using the contact form, so check your registered address. Edit: I haven't sent you an email because the page doesn't work. Somehow get me your email address and I'll make things happen for you if I can!
Hey, thanks! I've had to leave a message on your visitors page. Drop me an e-mail when your available.
