Firebrand Stories

Andrew Hampson's Story

I got into this apprenticeship as I wanted a career change. Even though I was 25 at the start date, I still felt that an apprenticeship was the best route as it provides entry level learning whilst still being able to pay the bills.

Before starting in I.T, I already had working experience in retail (management and merchandising), policing and electrical installation. None really touched on I.T but all brought me skills I could use.

My company specialises in Microsoft CRM and it was hard for my employers to pick out courses that specifically targeted CRM, so they instead chose to go with a recommended infrastructure track. This would mean that I can get in house training but also receive Firebrand training on areas that cover a broader I.T world. For this reason, I benefited from the larger selection of courses. It made my learning curve huge, but one that will benefit me more in the long run.

I said from day one that I do not want to choose a specific career path straight away, but instead learn as much as I can in my first year or so before considering what options I have going forward. A natural progression in my career with my current employer would be Junior Support Analyst to Senior Support Analyst to CRM consultant and possibly onto Solutions Architecture.

In the long run, a Solutions Architect could appeal to me as it would require a strong knowledge of many areas. This appeals to me as I feel that my learning curve will never be complete and doing this as a career will mean I am constantly looking to deliver solutions using many different approaches and always learning about alternatives.