From Computeach Student to Computeach Staff
“My quality of life has improved dramatically...."
After 8 unhappy years in his career, Peter Shipstone decided to change his life around. He was working for a retailer selling photography equipment, and for a major DIY company completing store conversions around the country, and decided it was time for a change. Pete decided to take an IT course in COBOL programming, which he completed 15 years ago. He had always loved working on computers and it was the ideal career choice to combine his hobby with his work.
Pete found out about Computeach after seeing a newspaper advert. He called up and within a few days, a sales advisor went round to visit him to see what he wanted to get out of the course and to explain what would happen during the IT course. Happy with the information he received, Pete signed on the dotted line to begin his course.
Computeach offered the right balance of course for Pete – the ability to study at his own pace, combining distance learning with tutor support. He also benefited from in-centre days, where he could meet other students and tutors.
“The tutors are always willing to help when you are having problems with the course and they can also give you moral support as you can feel very isolated while studying on a distance learning course. It is nice to be in contact with someone just so you know you are not the only one.”
At times, juggling his work and study was difficult, “but you just have to be disciplined and ensure you devote as much time to the learning process as possible other wise it is easy to fall into the trap of saying, I’ll do it tomorrow.” Pete’s dedication meant that he sometimes took material to read in his work breaks and he occasionally revised before work.
Pete offers these tips to current or future Computeach students:
“You need to be committed to your studies. Ensure you have a game plan and set yourself realistic target dates and try your hardest to achieve them, try not to procrastinate too much. Be persistent and consistent and you will achieve your dreams.
Pete now works at Computeach, within the IT department. His career has been varied with Computeach – he has worked as an IT trainer, a team leader managing tutors and project leader. Wanting to improve his technical abilities, he then adopted the role of Webmaster/Developer to develop the student website. About a year ago, Pete moved into the IT department and took on the role of Business Systems Analyst.
Now, Pete has the job satisfaction he was looking for,
“My quality of life has improved dramatically. I now look forward to going to work as I enjoy what I do so much. And also the money is much better than working in a supermarket.”
