Advice: Computer Repair Technician?

[Lampmaster]

Hey, I'm currently going to college to be a computer engineer. But I'm starting to hate what I'm doing. Actually, I don't hate it, I loathe it. I don't want to do this anymore.

I figure at least one of you guys has experience in being a computer repair technician. Any tips? I know I need at least A+ certification and maybe network+, but is there anything else that would help me?

Thanks

[pbmaster]

Computer repair is very repetitive. While I was working for a shop around town, 90% of what came in was Virus/malware related, 8% was hardware failure in prebuilt systems, and the other 2% were custom builds. As much as I love computers, there was many a day when I absolutely did NOT want to go to work.

[dr emulator (madmax)]

i have to agree with pbmaster "Computer repair is very repetitive" and 90% of what comes in is Virus/malware related,
to the degree people still don't get the fact that not only do you need antivirus software you also need to keep away from dodgy sites offering "free software" unless they are like techpowerup he he :D
well all i can say is when i was at colledge it was boring very boring but if you genuinely want a career in computer repair my advice is try to find an employer who'll take you on as an apprentice
ye money will be rubbish at first but if ya get ya head down and don't feck around it may open all sorts of doors,
plus you'll have hands on experience (which in my books counts)
rather than just sitting at an job interview saying i've built loads of pc's look at tpu's website, which i'm sorry to say just proves you can take pictures:p
seriously though my aunties best friend's husband has a job in networking bank machines i'e fixing them and he can earn about £1000 or 1671 US$ a week variable ,ye ye dan it's not much :p but it's a wage and it's a easy job
so pc repair can be a good career, so don't give up, jobs are hard to find these days and even harder to keep
oh and don't expect to become a millionaire like me :D

[Lampmaster]

Alright cool. I do enjoy helping people with their computer problems, but hopefully it won't grow old. I'll give it a shot. I've already been looking around for some sort of apprenticeship or internship, I'll keep lookin.

Thanks

[Xazax]

Alright cool. I do enjoy helping people with their computer problems, but hopefully it won't grow old. I'll give it a shot. I've already been looking around for some sort of apprenticeship or internship, I'll keep lookin.

Thanks

You enjoy helping people with their computer problems!?! WTF are you a Sadist, A masochist, someone who loves to be tortured, and beat around.


I mean i build computers for just my family/friends and help them out time to time but i cant ever say i like doing it, i mean my dad gets upset with "my computer i built for him" when it doesn't do something, take for instance he tells me it doesn't work it wont turn on blah blah. I go check out the computer press the power button and it turns on, no problems... i mean he didn't even try to press the power button! he was just wiggling the mouse :\

[twilyth]

Could you be specific about what things you don't like. Is it the less than computer literate questions users tend to ask? Do you find most of the work repetitive? Do you feel like nothing is interesting any more?

And are there any aspects that you do in fact like? Maybe you enjoy installing and configuring software. Maybe you like doing customizations - either with the hardware or the OS or software. Maybe you like dealing with lots of different people but are just tired of hearing their problems.

I can say that you're making this switch at the right time. Once you start getting a paycheck it's tough to going back to being a poor student. Some people can do it, but most can't.

I want to give a +1 to Dr. E's strategy of sneaking in the back door - meaning you take some shit job just to get the exposure and experience. When I changed careers, I tried to teach myself as much programming as I could and volunteered at charities to help them with their computers by writing code for them. Decent idea I suppose but it got me absolutely nowhere.

Since I needed cash, I signed up with a temp agency and they got me a job, part-time, as a data control clerk. That was someone who would prepare batch jobs to run on the mainframe overnight. It was real grunt work but I learned JCL, ISPF, Syncsort, Easytrieve and a few other things. Most weren't really part of my job, but by learning them, I could do some of the grunt work that the programmers didn't want to do. And for me, it was fucking Nirvana. There's no way I can explain why. You'll just have to consider me as being a little "off."

I won't detail everything that happened after that, but basically they saw I was interested and wanted to learn so when a junior programming spot opened up, they hired me. I was in no way qualified for that job, but I promised to go to night school to get the basics and I worked for the lowest salary they could pay me in that position. Five years later I was making about $150k/yr as a consultant.

If you can see the hidden opportunities, you'll probably do alright. It's not that they're really hidden, they're just not obvious if you take a purely linear approach. By that I mean, go to school, get degree, get job, get experience, etc. Sure that often works, but often isn't always. The rest of the time you need to think like a party crasher and come in through side door or the window.

[MRCL]

A lot of people ask me frequently why I do not work with computers and such. I always tell them the same: I don't want a hobby that I love turn into a chore that I hate.

[Wile E]

Could you be specific about what things you don't like. Is it the less than computer literate questions users tend to ask? Do you find most of the work repetitive? Do you feel like nothing is interesting any more?

And are there any aspects that you do in fact like? Maybe you enjoy installing and configuring software. Maybe you like doing customizations - either with the hardware or the OS or software. Maybe you like dealing with lots of different people but are just tired of hearing their problems.

I can say that you're making this switch at the right time. Once you start getting a paycheck it's tough to going back to being a poor student. Some people can do it, but most can't.

I want to give a +1 to Dr. E's strategy of sneaking in the back door - meaning you take some shit job just to get the exposure and experience. When I changed careers, I tried to teach myself as much programming as I could and volunteered at charities to help them with their computers by writing code for them. Decent idea I suppose but it got me absolutely nowhere.

Since I needed cash, I signed up with a temp agency and they got me a job, part-time, as a data control clerk. That was someone who would prepare batch jobs to run on the mainframe overnight. It was real grunt work but I learned JCL, ISPF, Syncsort, Easytrieve and a few other things. Most weren't really part of my job, but by learning them, I could do some of the grunt work that the programmers didn't want to do. And for me, it was fucking Nirvana. There's no way I can explain why. You'll just have to consider me as being a little "off."

I won't detail everything that happened after that, but basically they saw I was interested and wanted to learn so when a junior programming spot opened up, they hired me. I was in no way qualified for that job, but I promised to go to night school to get the basics and I worked for the lowest salary they could pay me in that position. Five years later I was making about $150k/yr as a consultant.

If you can see the hidden opportunities, you'll probably do alright. It's not that they're really hidden, they're just not obvious if you take a purely linear approach. By that I mean, go to school, get degree, get job, get experience, etc. Sure that often works, but often isn't always. The rest of the time you need to think like a party crasher and come in through side door or the window.

A lot of people ask me frequently why I do not work with computers and such. I always tell them the same: I don't want a hobby that I love turn into a chore that I hate.
Ummm, 2 year old thread resurrected by a spammer. Nothing to see here you 2. lol.

[twilyth]

Bummer. I usually check too. D'oh. :(

[xaira]

where im from they wont hire you unless you have an IT Degree, so a+ and network+ are worthless

[MRCL]

Ummm, 2 year old thread resurrected by a spammer. Nothing to see here you 2. lol.

How am I supposed to tell 2009 and 2011 apart at six in the morning after a night shift.

[theJesus]

where im from they wont hire you unless you have an IT Degree, so a+ and network+ are worthless
A+ and Network+ are not worthless if you're comparing two candidates with similar experience and skill-sets, but only one of them has those basic certs. They're also damn easy to get, so if you don't have much else to put on a resume, you might as well get 'em. If you've already got a degree and lots of relevant experience, then you'd be better off looking at more specialized certs.

The key here is that certs aren't meant to replace a degree, they're meant to augment it.

[FordGT90Concept]

Ummm, 2 year old thread resurrected by a spammer. Nothing to see here you 2. lol.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=116907&d=1309455192

[OneMoar]

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