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sdrawkcab
June 20th, 2007, 02:38 AM
I've been thinking about trying to get a job at some computer repair place. Anybody think it's a good idea? I mean, it's better than working at McDonalds right? (no offense McDonalds employees. )

CautionaryX
June 20th, 2007, 02:45 AM
I can't see how it'll be a bad thing as long as you know what you are doing and are patient with customers.

fdrake
June 20th, 2007, 02:47 AM
the important thing is that u like it. it doesn't matter what's your job or how much u make (well maybe i should skip this one) if you'r not motivated it would always be another wasted day of ur life...... personally i would love to work with computers and learn how to fix them

sdrawkcab
June 20th, 2007, 02:49 AM
Yeah, that's what I think, I just don't know how much I would have to do. I mean, I read a "menu" if you will at one of the places and a price list for each thing, and I knew off the top of my head how to do 95% of the stuff. I do have some experience with being the "family computer guy" and also the "friend computer guy", and I like to do it most of the time.

I don't really have huge troubles with dealing with people. I mean, I don't like most of the people, but I am pretty patient.

steven8
June 20th, 2007, 02:58 AM
I can't see how it'll be a bad thing as long as you know what you are doing and are patient with customers.

A friend of mine got a computer repair job back in the late 90s. He didn't have a clue of how to fix computers, but wanted to learn. he was given how to books and manuals, and basically learned how to fix computers on the job! That's right. When those trusting people took their computers to the 'pros' to get it fixed. . .the 'pro' was figuring it out via books and manuals as he went!!

You too can be a computer repair professional!! :)

some_random_noob
June 20th, 2007, 03:05 AM
Take a course at a decent institution. I went to a small place in a class of less than 15 people and learnt heaps. There's a lot you need to know about customer service and risk-taking. More than you'd think too.

actualandrew
June 20th, 2007, 03:11 AM
I think it's a great idea! I tried to get a computer job for 5 months and I finally landed one a out a month ago. During those 5 months, I even applied to McDonald's! Yea, they didn't want me :(. But if they did, you bet I would have taken the job. I guess it worked out for the best. Good luck to you! Computers are fun yay!

sdrawkcab
June 20th, 2007, 03:24 AM
So, did you have any special training or anything to get hired? I'm just a 16 (nearly 17) year old with a 3.2 GPA and an aspiration for anything dealing with computers. Any hopes of me landing one of these jobs?

I know it really depends on the employer, but I'm just trying to get an idea here.

jayson.rowe
June 20th, 2007, 03:38 AM
sdrawkcab, your profile doesn't state where you are from, but I am a Supervisor for Geek Squad at Best Buy...I've been with the company going on 4 years, and I truly CAN say that I love, and look forward to going to work each and every day.

GS/Best Buy is an EXCELLENT company to work for - excellent pay, exellent benefits - for retail...also the employee discount is pretty handy too :)

If you have a Best Buy in your area, fill out an app and give 'em a shot. All stores are different, but my store, and the others in my district are all excellent, have excellent customer satisfaction scores, and we have excellent leadership - they really do care about their employees...which is rare for a large corp. these days.

eklitzke
June 20th, 2007, 07:09 AM
Find some places you're interested in working at, and just email them with a resume and a short cover letter in your email.

Last summer I sent out some emails to the mailing lists of some local LUGs and got an email back from someone who was interested in bringing me on for a (paid) internship doing sysadmin work. This summer I sent in an unsolicited email to another company I was interested in working for, got an interview, and landed another job. Right now I'm doing sysadmin work and some web development (using Python). If you're proactive in looking for work rather than passively looking for job openings you'll find a job -- plenty of people are looking for really smart computer people.

I happen to live in the SF Bay Area so I've been able to work at two startups. If you can, I suggest looking for a summer job working at a tech/web startup, since I've had a lot of fun working at these places. My job seems immensely more fun and rewarding than most of my friends' jobs, who are primarily doing internships that they found through school (and I'm making more!).

Edit: For reference, I'm 20, and last year when I got my first internship I was obviously only 19. I didn't have any relevant work experience, but I had been using Linux for quite a while before I applied for work, and I did really well on my interviews because I had pretty strong technical knowledge of Linux and sysadmin kind of stuff. If you're kind of new to Linux and you want a Linux related job, I suggest spending some time on IRC and sign up to a bunch of different mailing lists (e.g. redhat-list, the ubuntu mailing lists, etc.) and start participating there -- you'll learn a lot, and when you go in for interviews you'll have a better idea of what problems a lot of people are facing, what the solutions are, etc. You should also learn bash and either python or perl (or both -- more languages is better). Even if you're not looking for programming work, knowing a little bit of scripting is almost mandatory.

Tundro Walker
June 20th, 2007, 07:51 AM
As a teen, I had a summer job at a fast food place. The only thing I learned there was what I DID NOT want to put up with at another job. I did not want another job where I smelled like grease at the end of the day, had to work all kinds of different schedules each week, got paid little money for high-pressure work (especially the lunch and dinner rush), and did not want to be treated like crap from managers who didn't have any greater ambitions in life than to be a fast food manager at a dead-end restaurant.

Dude, you should skip the fast food job and go right for the computer job...at all cost.

actualandrew
June 20th, 2007, 07:54 AM
.

actualandrew
June 20th, 2007, 07:55 AM
So, did you have any special training or anything to get hired? I'm just a 16 (nearly 17) year old with a 3.2 GPA and an aspiration for anything dealing with computers. Any hopes of me landing one of these jobs?

I know it really depends on the employer, but I'm just trying to get an idea here.

I have a strong A+ style background. Computer Repair. I have been messin' with computers since 97. The job I got hired for though, I'm not really doing too much repair. I'm learning as I go (which happens to be Linux yay). So look at it that way. What you don't know at the time, you can learn as you go. Why not? ;)

sdrawkcab
June 20th, 2007, 06:11 PM
Wow, thanks everyone for the thumbs up replies! :)

I'm definitely going to make up a resume, and visit some of the local computer places. I have been wanting to get a few computer languages in my repertoire ever since I took a couple classes on good 'ol QBasic. Does Ruby sound like a good starting place?


Last summer I sent out some emails to the mailing lists of some local LUGs and got an email back from someone who was interested in bringing me on for a (paid) internship doing sysadmin work.

Sorry, I'm not sure what LUGs are.

jgrabham
June 20th, 2007, 06:54 PM
I learned loads at my work experance - (better not say where it was, but nothing to do with computers) like how to do all the work really fast the stand behind the dustbins smoking, so the boss couldnt find you and give you more work.

jgrabham
June 20th, 2007, 06:55 PM
Sorry, I'm not sure what LUGs are.

Linux User groups

daynah
June 20th, 2007, 07:41 PM
I'm a college age temp and I make a little twice over minimum wage and my agents are very willing to work around my college schedule and try to get me jobs near my school. So... it's like having a campus job that pays more. When I signed up, I had just moved back from a far away school, and I was like oh I'll just do this for a little while, 'caus I'm too good for this blah blah blah big ego blah blah. No, no, no. This is fabulous. I'm not searching for another job. After a few annoying phone service jobs, the agents found a job related to my major even. It's great.

My friend who works at Geek Squad is making far less than me, is standing up all day, has annoying customers to bug him, and has an annoying boss. My bosses work for me as much as I work for them, I have a job that is going to look fab on my resume, I get to look at Ubuntu Forums during work... jeeze it's great!

If you're thinking about working with computers... maybe try going to a temp agency. Pretty much every one of the places that is asking for help from a temp agency is going to need computer help. Off the top of my head, those huge ware houses filled with customer support people have got to keep all of those computers running, and we would pretty much freak out when our phones dropped a customer. Freak... out. And as a specialist, you'd make more than the lower level temps, who always make more than min wage. I've never done a min wage job here.

Just give the first jobs time. They'll send you out to places that will only be a few days each job to make sure you're not some freak who randomly has spazz attacks on superiors, before they give you out to the good clients.

jfinkels
June 22nd, 2007, 06:42 AM
sdrawkcab, your profile doesn't state where you are from, but I am a Supervisor for Geek Squad at Best Buy...I've been with the company going on 4 years, and I truly CAN say that I love, and look forward to going to work each and every day.

GS/Best Buy is an EXCELLENT company to work for - excellent pay, exellent benefits - for retail...also the employee discount is pretty handy too :)

If you have a Best Buy in your area, fill out an app and give 'em a shot. All stores are different, but my store, and the others in my district are all excellent, have excellent customer satisfaction scores, and we have excellent leadership - they really do care about their employees...which is rare for a large corp. these days.

Oy...watch out for Geek Squad: http://digg.com/search?s=%22Geek+Squad%22&submit=Search&section=news&type=title&area=all&sort=most

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxqx4hgeKgQ&mode
http://www.desinc.net/node/2467
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/49412/best_buys_geek_squad_conquest_of_branding.html
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/the-rollercoaster-ride-of-pride%2C-shame%2C-and-morality/the-10-page-geek-squad-confession-+-stealing-customers-porn-was-an-easter-egg-hunt-257108.php
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/best-buy/geek-squad-charges-415-dollars-to-replace-a-hard-drive-makes-customer-retrieve-data-files-himself-240116.php
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/geek-squad/geek-squad-sued-for-videoing-customer-in-shower-251662.php
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/geek-squad/insider-secrets-5-ways-best-buy-ruined-geek-squad-248947.php
http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/geek-squad/geek-squad-insider-speaks-out-243154.php

Edit: I'm sure you're a wonderful person jayson.rowe, just trying to say that I personally would never voluntarily work for a company with this kind of reputation.

stmiller
June 22nd, 2007, 05:35 PM
Oy...watch out for Geek Squad:

Edit: I'm sure you're a wonderful person jayson.rowe, just trying to say that I personally would never voluntarily work for a company with this kind of reputation.

Yeah, same here.

daynah
June 22nd, 2007, 05:49 PM
My friend who works for Geek Squard truely hates it... When I said I was going to apply there (Before I went to the temp agency) he said I shouldn't, not to any of the Best Buys in the area. He can't switch jobs, though, because his budget is so tight. :(

jayson.rowe
June 22nd, 2007, 05:50 PM
Geek Squad doesn't have that kind of reputation - the morons that have nothing better to do than post crap like that online give us that kind of reputation.

Not getting into a flame war here- just trying to give the guy some advice. There are good and bad stores, just like there are good and bad agents. Best Buy has 900 stores in the US, and everything can't go right all the time...there WILL be mistakes made, and there WILL be unhappy customers that have nothing better to do than rant online...that can't be stopped when you are as large as we are.

DR_K13
June 22nd, 2007, 06:17 PM
Geek Squad replaces motherboards like they are going out of style.

I tested geek squad one time.. I took my Girl friends computer in there knowing that it had a bad stick of ram that was causing BSODs. Geek squad said it was the motherboard. :lol:


Also, what is with the damn diagnostics software that they flash onto computers that they fix?
It really slows stuff down/

HeavyAl
June 22nd, 2007, 06:23 PM
If you're serious about computer repair you might want to think about getting some basic certifications - yeah, they cost money so you'd have to leach off some friends or family but thats the brakes .. the CompTIA A+ cert is a good place to start - a lot of windows specific crap in it, but also a good measure of general hardware troubleshooting as well. Then if you can go for some of the hardware specific certs.

Good luck in your new gig, whatever it may be.

jayson.rowe
June 22nd, 2007, 06:25 PM
I'm just getting out of this right now - expect no more replies from me...after I address DR_K13

DR_K13, to answer your question - we don't "flash" computers w/ any "Diagnostics Software" that would slow a computer down - we have DOS and even some Linux based tools that we boot from a CD to do Diags...as for mobo's honestly, in my 4 years of working w/ the company, I only think I've diagnosed a bad mobo a handfull of times, and those times it was usually caused by a big surge, or bad PSU...A memory diagnostic is one of the first things we do, and I'd say we replace more ram than anything...it's amazing what a bad stick of ram can do to a machine.

DR_K13
June 22nd, 2007, 09:51 PM
I'm just getting out of this right now - expect no more replies from me...after I address DR_K13

DR_K13, to answer your question - we don't "flash" computers w/ any "Diagnostics Software" that would slow a computer down - we have DOS and even some Linux based tools that we boot from a CD to do Diags...as for mobo's honestly, in my 4 years of working w/ the company, I only think I've diagnosed a bad mobo a handfull of times, and those times it was usually caused by a big surge, or bad PSU...A memory diagnostic is one of the first things we do, and I'd say we replace more ram than anything...it's amazing what a bad stick of ram can do to a machine.

Well, I have a laptop that I got 2nd hand. The person that owned it before took it to geek squad.
After I boot the laptop, it goes into the normal bios, after that is done, it goes into a geeksquad diagnostics bios screen , after that it goes into the bootloader then into ubuntu.

jayson.rowe
June 23rd, 2007, 05:09 AM
DR_K13 - honestly, I would take that thing back to a Best Buy asap - we have NO, and I mean NO software that we use that would do ANYTHING REMOTELY like that! All of our stuff runs off of CD (except for software like AV/Spyware the cust. purchases that we would load for them) - seriously - PM me if you have to - something is W.R.O.N.G there!!!

hasimir44
June 23rd, 2007, 06:33 PM
IMO.. the best *entry level computer job* is a data center operator. That was my first technical job that didn't involve being leashed to a phone (help desk). An operator basically just monitors jobs, backups, server messages, etc., then writes up tickets for problems and escalates them to a sys. admin or programmer, etc..

I loved that job and the only requirement was that you can type, you're able to remember and follow procedures, and you know how to move around a *nix shell and open files (logs). It's even easier to land one of those jobs if you opt for 2nd or 3rd shift (they usually pay more too). There's usually alot of *down time* and I used it to get familiar with Unix, shell scripting, perl, etc. which allowed me to move up really quickly (the other operators just surfed the web).

Every data center is different, but I was surprised to learn how little it actually takes to get hired. Good luck.

Scotty Bones
June 23rd, 2007, 07:27 PM
If computers is what you love, skip the other BS and go for it. But one suggestion wold be to forget about the geek squad. I don't know how the hell you do this (I work for sony tech support by the way) but i got a call from a customer one day who had taken their notebook to bb for repair, droped it off in 1 piece and got it back in many. $1500 worth of damage to a $1200 machine. (BB actually paid for the depot repair, which I understand is very uncommon) These guys don't know what the hell their doing, the only thing you could learn from them is how NOT to something. For Hardware issues they just ship it to the manufacturer (RAM is an exception). If they don't know how to fix it (software issues), they just wipe the HDD. "Oh, you had a virus and spyware infection". VIAO's dont ship with recovery cd's, that info's on a hidden partition of the HDD. So when they wipe the drive they wipe the recovery part. Now you have to purchase recovery disks, usually about $30 bucks a pop + SH. if there even still in stock.(if not your kinda screwed, thanks BB). And heaven forbid you let them optimize your new computer, ohhh god, There is this nice little entry in MSCONFIG called partseal that they just love to remove for some reason. this startup app does 2 things. #1. It buggs the customer till they create a recovery set (why? because they are not free) #2. It allows the viao recovery wizard CPL to access the recovery partition from within windows. this sounds kinda important to me, how about you? And I could go on and on about BB/GS horror stories all day long....but thats enough ranting for me for one day. The IT industry is huge with a very wide array of things to do. Hit up your bookstore, like B&N or something (even google) and take a quick scan through some of the books. Your sure to find something that peeks your intrests more than the others. All the best of luck to :)

macogw
June 25th, 2007, 08:57 AM
my most recent geek squad experience was me asking them to google for linux creative zen and see if it'd work before i bought it (the display comps are all offline). he said google said no. funny, google said yes when i asked.

most recent BB experience was being asked 3 times as I looked through WAPs in 2 minutes if I needed help, was sure i didn't, and was really sure i didn't need help. it resulted in me near-shouting "yes! i'm sure! look, unless you can tell me how to bridge my connection to make my desktop act as a wireless access point using a bcm43xx and Linux, NO, I DO NOT NEED YOUR HELP!" To which he (the sales guy) responded "oh...uh..that's a technical question.....Geek Squad?" "They'll just use Google. I've asked them Linux questions before, and they couldn't even get it right WITH Google!" I still want to know why "that's a technical question" is ever an acceptable response from a guy sellng TECHNICAL equipment.

samschoice
June 25th, 2007, 10:38 PM
Do any of you ever call it Worst Buy ? I do. Way too expensive, if you ask me.