Yet another career advice question and my apologies in advance if similar posts already exist that I may have not located...
So, a little bit about my situation: my background is in classical music, and as I approach my 30's, things like working ridiculous hours for crappy paying gigs to barely make ends meet has become less and less appealing. After a lot of research, contemplation, speaking with various people in different fields, I have settled on moving into the IT sector. Initially, my thought was to try and pave my way into programming, however, after more research, talking to people, etc...I can picture myself better in more of a network admin. position. It seems to me like all of the factors I'm looking for in a job are there - decent salary, stability, positive job outlook, and it's something that I can picture myself feeling reasonably content doing for the next however many years of my life...
At first I thought I could just get an entry level position and work my way up - however, I've been advised by some others in the field that without at least some certification, no one but no one will hire me for anything, even your most basic help desk position. So, I have been looking at this program here:
http://camosun.ca/learn/programs/computer-network-electronics-technician/It is 10 months long with an optional internship at the end. It also costs a little over $11,000 CAD. And it's a full time program, which would also mean I would probably not be able to work full time during this next year, in addition to the expense of tuition.
Although these problems are not insurmountable, my concern is, is the investment worth the possibly payout? I'm moving out to Victoria, Canada at the end of August, and based of what I've seen on the internet, median salaries out there are around about $55,000-65,000. Frankly, I was a little surprised - not that that's not a decent salary, but somehow I expected the earnings to be more.
My other thought has been to just get a basic front desk/admin job (which is what I'm doing currently, however, it is a temp position that ends at the end of the summer) with the aim of moving up within a company. I could be wrong in my assumption that after staying at one place for awhile, I would end up making a similar salary? Or perhaps the ceiling is higher in network admin?
Anyway, I am open to any suggestions/thoughts/advice that anyone can offer!