How I got into Tech: Ross Coram, Service Desk Team Leader at Timewade

How I got into Tech: Ross Coram, Service Desk Team Leader at Timewade 800 654 Timewade

Ross Coram has been at Timewade since May 2020, and in June this year he gained a promotion to Service Desk Team Leader. Here he explains how he turned his interest in tech into a career.

Route into tech

Ross said: “I’ve always had an interest in technology since I was at school. Gaming helped expose me to technology at an early age, and that exposure pushed me to take more of an interest in the sector.

“Growing up with tech all around, I’m the sort of person who wants to try and give things a go to understand them more.

“I enjoy hands-on learning and making things happen, which my interest in cars and mechanics has also helped me with.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to study Programming, the tech-related course I wanted at college, because the course wasn’t available, and other circumstances meant that I needed to start working.

“I began working in a manufacturing role which wasn’t really related to technology so I went down the self-study route in my spare time after a colleague at the time explained to me how I could get a tech qualification.

“I started with an industry-recognised CompTIA accreditation. The manufacturing company I was working for saw my passion for tech and changed part of my role to include website management. Over time my role grew increasingly tech based and eventually I became an IT Support Technician, allowing me to do more training such as Windows certifications like the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) course.

“Since then, I’ve continued working in tech and gained plenty of working experience, joining Timewade last year.” 

 

Skills and qualifications

“My IT skills and qualifications have come from training and developing while I’ve been working. 

“I’ve been able to gain the base qualifications and continue developing my skills with hands-on experience in tech roles.

“Before joining Timewade, and while I was in a field-based IT role, I gained a management and leadership qualification which was an 18-month NVQ which helped me gain a promotion.

“Since I’ve been at Timewade, they’ve supported me to continue working towards industry-recognised qualifications.

“I’m now training to become a Sophos certified engineer (a cyber security vendor) and I’m on a specialist training course for Datto (a disaster recovery solution vendor).

“Being in a team of IT specialists pushes us all to collectively develop as we share knowledge and learn from each other.”

 

The world of work

“As the Service Desk Team Leader at Timewade, my job is really varied and no day is the same. 

“Because we’re talking to clients and finding solutions for their issues, it’s key to be a problem solver and be able to ‘read between the lines’, which also means you have to be patient.

“Clear communication is also vital as we need to be able to explain tech problems and solutions in simple language.

“It’s also vital to be organised working on such a busy service desk. If you’re not naturally organised, it’s important to learn the skill as it can cost you time further down the line if your notes and records aren’t kept properly.

“Working in a tech role for Timewade helps to build life skills as it teaches you how to be personable when visiting sites, as you talk to everyone across a company’s hierarchy and deal with so many different things.

“Having the extra responsibility of being Team Leader at Timewade, I’m able to improve the customer experience by streamlining and implementing changes to processes, guides, and documentation.

“Seeing where I make a difference to a clients’ business provides a high level of personal reward.”

 

The future

“With tech moving so quickly, and increased reliance on cloud services and data security, skills in tech are going to grow in demand.

“Also, as new technology develops, we need to move with the developments, which are unknown, cutting edge, and exciting.

“For instance, AI is rapidly developing, which will require the skills for integration that will come with inevitable advances.

“So, a career path in IT provides great opportunities for development. 

“At Timewade, personal development is really encouraged, and as the company grows and we move to new premises, progression will be further encouraged, giving us all great opportunities.”

 

Words of wisdom

Ross’ advice for anyone looking to begin their career in tech, is this: “From my experience, if you have an idea of what you want to do but aren’t sure where to start, then an entry level qualification that certifies a degree of knowledge really helps to put you on the right  career path.

“With that initial learning, the rest will follow if you put in the effort and as you gain more experience. Tech and IT are massive and there’s so much to learn that it takes time – don’t stress at the start if you feel you don’t know everything.”

 

Next steps

There are a number of courses available at Exeter College including BTECs, and apprenticeships for school leavers as well as 12-week skills bootcamps for adults aged 19+. 

Discover more at: https://exe-coll.ac.uk/ 

To find out more about the best route for you contact the Apprenticeship Team at Exeter College: apprentices@exe-coll.ac.uk; 01392 400800.

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