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Making A Difference
I teach in Adult Education but after 17 years I need to change. I would still like a job that makes a difference to people's lives and don't mind a post with some training /presentation. But not full time teaching. I'm thinking of the voluntary/charity sector. Any suggestions? I can use basic IT but I'm not too good with data bases and spread sheets etc. which all jobs seem to require. I'd love to do an IT course but I am so overloaded with work.
Jean
Comments
Lots of options if you want to consider working for a charity. There are so many to choose from. Look in the local press and in the Guardian jobs pages for inspiration.
In terms of IT skills, do a distance learning course, or one day a week at college on the ECDL (European Computer Driving License). There are different stages to the courses, but they will get you up to speed on Databases and Spreadsheets.
Perhaps then inquire on teacing/training that subject. Spreadsheets can be very very complicated but most people just skim the surface of what they can do. Start with ECDL and then perhaps do a more specialised course on Databases or spreadsheets. Microsoft Excel is probably the best bet for spreadsheets, and Microsoft Access or SQL (Oracle or Microsoft) are the in-demand database skills.
Another option is web-design. There are lots of people building websites out there, and the quality varies tremendously. You could specialise in helping local charities get online with free 'web 2.0' technology such as: moonfruit.com or ning.com. These are good ideas as you don't need much base knowledge to create something really great.
Thing to bear in mind with IT. Many many people are paid well in IT, who don't actually have much IT knowledge. You don't have to be some super geek to add value to a business or charity.
Anon - November 10, 2008 1:21 PM