Matt Newman
Job Before: Sales Manager
Job Now: Technical Support Engineer @ SoConnect Ltd
Why did you start the Traineeship?
Having not given much thought to my career when I was younger, I ended up falling into sales, which I was very successful at for 20 years. I’ve always been interested in IT though and dreamed of a career in the industry but was sure that I’d missed that boat. Being married with 3 kids to support, I couldn’t imagine that I’d ever had the opportunity to retrain and get the qualifications needed to take the leap. However, after relocating to Scotland the opportunity was presented to me and I took it with both hands. It’s clear how important technology is in the world today and that will only increase. I strongly believe it’s the best industry for personal and career growth.
What did you enjoy most about the Traineeship?
Coming into the training with no previous experience I was really pleased with the amount of content available. There were a number of courses that covered a variety of topics. These included the basics of hardware and software to more detailed subjects like IP addressing and subnetting. In addition to the courses, there were also quizzes, flash cards and mock exams which were all very useful tools.
What's your current role like?
I’m now in my new job, and my first in IT, as a Technical Support Engineer and I’m absolutely loving it! I’m putting all the new skills I learnt on the course into practice and continuing to learn every day. My goal was to progress into Cyber Security and the company I’ve joined have a growing Cyber Security team which I’m hoping to progress into once I pass my Security + exam. I’m so glad I took the risk to retrain, I’m much happier in my job and I have a clear career path ahead of me.