Jump to content

Turning a passion into a career


toby17

Recommended Posts

I'm a power user of a number of workplace software. Years ago, I worked part time teaching evening classes in Word and Excel. As a result, people always turn to me for IT help - not the kind of help you get from helpdesk but help using actual programs. (I can also fix a lot of computer hardware problems.) I also have a lot of patience with people while they're having computer issues and showing them how to do what they're trying to do.

 

How can I make this into a career? I'd like to be self-employed one day. This is one of my passions and I'd like to figure out I could turn this into a viable job.

 

The only problem is I don't see anyone paying for this service ie. paying for me to come to their company and show their employee advanced techniques, or be on call when their employees need assistance.

 

People understand IT help desk and they understand external training/workshops.

 

Does anyone know of any company that offers this kind of service now?

 

Thx

Link to comment

Well....I mean that IS the business. You go around various companies and offer up to hold training seminars. Start doing a lot of networking and making friends with HR and managers. Make sure you have reasonable fees relative to your competition. In fact, when you are just starting out, just to get a couple of customers in, do it for less. You will make money out of them in terms of using them as a reference. You can also offer up individual tutoring, etc. What you are looking to do isn't new or unique, so take a look at what competitors are doing and do it better. See what they are doing well and pay attention to what's missing and can be done better and go for it.

Link to comment

First off, I'd ask yourself how much you really know. In pretty much every position I've ever had, I've been the wiz kid when it comes to hardware, software, and networking. Still, while I might be able to cut it with no training at a call center for $10 - $12 an hour (nothing wrong with that), I know I simply don't have the formal or informal training and knowledge to cut it in, say, a dedicated IT bullpen.

 

And, while it seems to have been more forgiving than other professions in terms of continuing to be able to get by with informal experience and talent without the formal education and accreditation, it does appear to have now caught up to the other saturated degrees and fields to where I'm not sure you can get into it based on passion and some innate talent alone.

 

But that's not to come off as a giant pessimist. If you're talking guiding people through MS Office applications, I think you could make some money as maybe a private tutor-- perhaps for elderly folks or less tech savvy students going into a profession they'll need to know some Excel. I'm just not sure how well you'd do getting firms to contract with you for that kind of thing without some extensive education and accreditation. Chances are, in this day and age, if someone needed more remedial technical assistance, they wouldn't have gotten hired.

Link to comment

You've got to think bigger than you are. What you want to do is get certified in IT and go to work at a big company working on computer training, networking, servers, software installation, equipment upgrades,, etc. You can start in the mid-to-high five figures and move up into a six-figure salary.

Link to comment

Consider working for a training company to learn how they organize and present their modules and to gain their name on your resume. Then you're more likely to gain corporate customers when you opt to freelance. I'd also sign up to teach at the local night schools in your area, also good for your resume and to build a potential customer base. Consider getting certified in the apps you want to teach through your local community college. If you want to market yourself to local households, advertise yourself as a 'tutor' in these apps. and specify 'beginner, intermediate, and/or advanced' depending on your own skill level.

 

Another area to consider is technical writing and training development. This will give you inside experience with how courses are organized and presented, which will also lend you credibility.

Link to comment
First off, I'd ask yourself how much you really know... I've been the wiz kid when it comes to hardware, software, and networking. Still, while I might be able to cut it with no training at a call center for $10 - $12 an hour (nothing wrong with that), I know I simply don't have the formal or informal training and knowledge to cut it in, say, a dedicated IT bullpen.

 

I don't have the training and knowledge to cut it in dedicated IT unit. I'm not fooling myself when it comes to that.

 

But what I know about Word does exceed most "experts" and I've had experiences that confirm that. Plus no one calls IT for the kind of thing I'm talking about.

 

If you're talking guiding people through MS Office applications, I think you could make some money as maybe a private tutor-- perhaps for elderly folks or less tech savvy students going into a profession they'll need to know some Excel. I'm just not sure how well you'd do getting firms to contract with you for that kind of thing without some extensive education and accreditation. Chances are, in this day and age, if someone needed more remedial technical assistance, they wouldn't have gotten hired.

 

I think this is the crux of the issue. I could easily be a private tutor - I have helped elderly people and I've taught classes to people lacking in basic skills.

 

The gap I see is with people who can use an app but can't do any of the advanced functions or do things the hard way because they don't know how to do them the easy way. I don't see these people seeking out a course because they don't know what they don't know and they're functional.

 

If I was to translate it into something more traditional, it would be like offering an in-house intermediate tips and tricks course.

 

You've got to think bigger than you are. What you want to do is get certified in IT and go to work at a big company working on computer training, networking, servers, software installation, equipment upgrades,, etc. You can start in the mid-to-high five figures and move up into a six-figure salary.

 

I may need to get certified to demonstrate my skills or be more marketable. But to clarify, I'm not looking to be a traditional IT professional or to do this as an employee.

Link to comment
Consider working for a training company to learn how they organize and present their modules and to gain their name on your resume. Then you're more likely to gain corporate customers when you opt to freelance. I'd also sign up to teach at the local night schools in your area, also good for your resume and to build a potential customer base. Consider getting certified in the apps you want to teach through your local community college. If you want to market yourself to local households, advertise yourself as a 'tutor' in these apps. and specify 'beginner, intermediate, and/or advanced' depending on your own skill level.

 

Another area to consider is technical writing and training development. This will give you inside experience with how courses are organized and presented, which will also lend you credibility.

 

Thanks. These are all good suggestions.

 

Make sure you have reasonable fees relative to your competition.... You can also offer up individual tutoring, etc. What you are looking to do isn't new or unique, so take a look at what competitors are doing and do it better. See what they are doing well and pay attention to what's missing and can be done better and go for it.

 

My main issue is that I don't know any competitors. I don't see anyone the offering services that I envisage - where I see being able to add value.

 

Well....I mean that IS the business. You go around various companies and offer up to hold training seminars. Start doing a lot of networking and making friends with HR and managers.

 

Yeah, to make something like this work, I think this is what I'm going to have to do. Thanks a lot for the advice.

Link to comment

If you don't know, then like I said, start doing a lot of networking to get information. Talk to managers, talk to support staff. You are correct that the skills are required but a lot of people are just kind of sort of getting by and could really use additional training. You have to sell the idea in terms of seminars and private tutoring/on call support. The need is definitely there. Also, you are not unique. There are companies that are doing this already. Look around, search online. Usually it will come up under corporate training topics. Literally google "corporate training" and you'll have a ton of companies come up offering all kinds of training, seminars and custom tailored training to companies for whatever they need.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...