Leigh73
Member
- Location
- Ingatestone, Essex
Hello shuan,
Hello everybody...
This is my first foray into forums so please be gentle!
My name's Leigh, I've been cycling my whole life and have a real passion for 2 wheels. I've recently just lost my job in the music "industry" and have decided that I really need a career change, and one for the better, in something I really enjoy as I'll be reaching that big 4-oh! next year and really need to make this decision count. I want to get my foot in the door of bike maintenance and would love to become a qualified bike mechanic. I've been researching this for weeks and time and time again keep coming across the same problem - To get up the qualifications ladder you already need to be in a bike mechanic job and to get a bike mechanic's job you need to have the experience and to get the experience you need to have done the qualifications. Yet another vicious circle in life! I know you can fork out money to do Cytech training and the likes on your own, but funds are tight right now as I've nothing coming in and living off an overdraft! I've already got the basic knowledge needed in most maintenance issues and have been swapping components on my bikes for years so does anyone out there have any ideas or tips I could use or maybe something I have missed to help me on my crusade?! Would it be worth my while approaching local bike shops and offering my time for a few hours a day (unpaid) to get more knowledge and training? I've looked into apprenticeships but they all seem to be geared towards people between the age of 16 - 25. Would anyone be willing to take on a 39 year old apprentice?!! Hmmm...
BTW, I live in the Essex area and would be happy to commute to London if need be, should anyone know of anything in the South-East area. All comments are welcome and very much appreciated.
Thanks for letting me ramble on and letting me into your community, I look forward to hearing from some of you as and when.
Keep on keeping on =)
Hello everybody...
This is my first foray into forums so please be gentle!
My name's Leigh, I've been cycling my whole life and have a real passion for 2 wheels. I've recently just lost my job in the music "industry" and have decided that I really need a career change, and one for the better, in something I really enjoy as I'll be reaching that big 4-oh! next year and really need to make this decision count. I want to get my foot in the door of bike maintenance and would love to become a qualified bike mechanic. I've been researching this for weeks and time and time again keep coming across the same problem - To get up the qualifications ladder you already need to be in a bike mechanic job and to get a bike mechanic's job you need to have the experience and to get the experience you need to have done the qualifications. Yet another vicious circle in life! I know you can fork out money to do Cytech training and the likes on your own, but funds are tight right now as I've nothing coming in and living off an overdraft! I've already got the basic knowledge needed in most maintenance issues and have been swapping components on my bikes for years so does anyone out there have any ideas or tips I could use or maybe something I have missed to help me on my crusade?! Would it be worth my while approaching local bike shops and offering my time for a few hours a day (unpaid) to get more knowledge and training? I've looked into apprenticeships but they all seem to be geared towards people between the age of 16 - 25. Would anyone be willing to take on a 39 year old apprentice?!! Hmmm...
BTW, I live in the Essex area and would be happy to commute to London if need be, should anyone know of anything in the South-East area. All comments are welcome and very much appreciated.
Thanks for letting me ramble on and letting me into your community, I look forward to hearing from some of you as and when.
Keep on keeping on =)
welcome
