To feel sad and cross about this?

[flowersinthepost]

This is not a Home Ed bashing post exactly but AIBU To Be aggrieved that my horrible father (now nc) didn't allow computers /mobiles/internet in our house when I was growing up meaning that the first sustained contact I properly had with them was when I was 16/17 and we fled the family home due to DV EA etc. This has meant that as I didn't go to school until I was Sixth Form age, I missed out on all IT lessons meaning I now know nothing of excel and the like compared to my peers.
It is definitely impacting on my job prospects right now as well as my confidence (early twenties).

School computer lessons did absolutely nothing to teach us about computers.
There are more negatives than positives tbh.
I didn't have a mobile phone or access the Internet until I was 19 and I'm never offline now. You just need to get stuck in and practice.

Your upbringing sounds less than ideal but I think home ed and lack of a computer were the least of the problems.

I'm sure that most of the senior people at work (i.e. senior in age!) didn't have computers/IT at home growing up either. I think I had a very basic BBC computer, and Excel wasn't in common usage in offices until I'd been at work a couple of decades. Word was in its very early stages in my first decade, and Powerpoint didn't really get much traction until then either.

Many Google and Silicon valley executives deliberately send their children to schools which don't have IT. Microsoft Office/Google etc. are designed to be so simple that children can use them. They are intuitive so trust your instincts, play around with them. Maybe make a spreadsheet to do your monthly living expenses? Type a few letters, draw a few powerpoint slides. Mess around, have a play, that's how many of us learned.

Lack of IT is a separate issue to having an abusive father. I suspect that this is a greater effect on your confidence than lack of IT knowledge. I hope that you find some healing.

If it helps, I'm a bit of an Office guru and my favourite key is the F1 button at the top of the keyboard. It takes you to the Help page whichever program you are in.

I suppose I am more irritated at the fact that my age group all got to go to school and learn this stuff in IT lessons and I didn't , meaning I have to just learn it in a separate way now. Would've been easier to do it the normal route!

The IT lessons in school are very disconnected from real-life skills, rarely are they up to speed with what is actually being used out there right now. Schools that are on the ball are exceptions.

Having said that, there is no substitute for just getting on with it and doing it yourself. The most skilled users didn't get proficient from the classroom.

In addition to accessing courses I'd strongly recommend you explore ways in which IT is relevant and interesting to you on a personal level - use it for fun - these skills will be very 'transferable' and will engage and accelerate your learning across the board.

As soon as you become an adult you can male your own decisions. Use your lack of stimulated upbringing and turn it to a positive by signing up for courses etc. Plus that you can now prove via these courses and certificates that you really got this.

Please try to look forwards, and not backwards. It is much better to shape your own life than spend decades wondering "what if". You will become a better and stronger person if you take control now.

How old are you?

IT integration in schools is often excellent but is support for other subjects as opposed to a discrete subject. I have a PhD in a computer-sciency subject but as I'm 50+ I had no access to computers or the Internet either when I was growing up.

Your problems with your father (and they sound well-founded) and entirely different to lack of IT skills.

Fortunately for you there are excellent IT courses online and the basics are remarkably easy. Get on Udemy (others exist) and get learning.

If you have an idea of what you'd like to learn then I can certainly point you in the right direction. Is it basic computer use with things like Word and Excel or do you have a direction in mind?

I am 50 we didn't grow with computers at home yet here I am knowing how to use a computer very well. YABU. You can take classes as an adult.

He sounds like an oddball, but is there any reason you haven't learned since? I'm 37, and we were only just having lessons as I left school, but consider myself fully IT literate.

I am in my late twenties and we couldn't afford computer, internet or phones so never had them. To be honest my school never taught ICT either so I still don't know how to use excel etc. Just one of those things. I learn what I need as I go along. I use ppt and word (I'm a teacher) but that's about it. Why not do an evening course?

Theres no guarantee that what the "hypothetical" school wouldve taught you, you would needed to know in your current job. I remember doing stuff but never needed it in my jobs. As pp have said lots of online tutorials on youtube, if youve got on to mn you can di that and youtube has everythiiiing! If not courses and books. Dont feel bad, x

I'm definitely going to be trying some online courses /evening classes to help me learn excel, as that is needed in all my job apps pretty much.

What age are you?

I was 16 in 1997 and we learned nothing about Excel, Word either in school or college.

Everyone I knew is either self-taught or took a course.

Your father sounds horrible but don't let this keep you down, Excel just needs regular use/practice.

Early twenties , yes nothing remains of my childhood now so I am trying to move on from it

You don't need to go to classes for this sort of thing, just get on it and have a go.

We didn't have a computer or whatever at home, not many did.

I didn't do computers at school because I'm old. I'm a nurse but when I trained the internet and computers still weren't around. We got information for assignments from books and wrote them using pen and paper and IT wasn't part of the curriculum. Now though I use IT daily, at home and work. I'm mainly self taught with a few work based training sessions chucked in. I haven't suffered for not really learning it till I was in my 30s.

I'm nearly 50 and work for an IT company and certainly have been self taught. We hadn't heard of Windows or the internet when I was at school. Now I would say I am more technically aware than a lot of colleagues younger than me. I think it's the willingness to learn and understand, explore IT etc. There are so many tutorials and ways to teach yourself.

Whoever mentioned Mavis Beacon teach yourself to type I agree with. In my early 20's I had never really seen a computer but somehow got a job for an IT company. The first 3 months when things were very quiet I spent about 1-2 hours a day teaching myself to touch type using this package. It's stood me in such good stead for life. I can now type about 60 wpm. Not particularly fast (used to get up to 80 odd wpm) but much better than sitting there with one finger jabbing at the keyboard. One of life's great skills I believe.