A Career working with computers

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y3k

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
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Does anyone here have a job as a computer technician? Work with computers at their job?

I am very carious about this. I'm young, in highschool. I would really like to get into this line of work when I get past highschool and college. I was wondering if anyone here can share with me what's it's like to work in such a career.

Is the pay good?

How much hard work does it take to get there?




I would please like to hear from you.:)
 
Field techs for companies that work for bigger companies like Dell. They usually require A+ cert to start and then additional training with whatever specific brand of computer you will be working on. I don't really know how to get you started though...


This field is primarily based on experience so your best bet would be to apply for pc tech jobs as local computer shops like CompUSA (A+ req.), Staples, BB Geek Squad (A+ req.), etc.
 
I couldn't tell you... because I got out before it became my career, lol. Engineering pays better, but I still love helping people solve tech problems. Though, my friends and family are enough to quench my IT thirst. Oh, and this forum, lol.
 
Well, here we have this team called ''Nerds to Go'', completely a rip off of Geek Squad. They drive around in their own little vans and where their shirts and ties. I'd have to work with Geek Squad or AMD. I never touched a Mac before, so is it mandatory for a person who is getting a job in this field to learn Macs inside and out as much as PCs?
 
Definitely you need an A+ to start. I say after high school, get your A+ and work as a field tech while you are working on your college degree. After you graduate the combination of experience and education will help you land a pretty nice job.
 
Getting your A+ is a good way to start after that you'll probably need a fair amount of experience on your own before a company will hire you as a technician (unless you get really lucky). For instance, I started my own business fixing PCs to help me build up my resume and when it came time to interview for a technical position I was exactly what they were looking for.

As far a pay is concerned, a PC tech isn't going to make a whole lot of money. Maybe 8-12 a hour depending on where you are and your level of responsibility. The best thing to do is get in with a company that does the field tech work for PC's and servers then start at the bottom and work your way up.

Be careful though, turning your hobby into a career is a good way to kill your love for a hobby. Users are frustrating to deal with. Funny story, yesterday I had a system admin dissolve a network team on a production server through RDP and then come running over to me when he discovered he could no longer connect to the server.
 
You could even get your A+ over the summer while you're still in high school. I'll admit that's what I did, and it worked out well. After graduating, I went to college and worked there as a student worker supporting staff/faculty members the entire time I attended. This resulted in me graduating with my bachelor's and four and a half years of experience.

I'm not really the type to enjoy stupid people. Network / Systems Administration is something I enjoy, but I also enjoy programming a lot. The best suggestion is what was already posted - to get in a company with room to move up, and that promotes from within.

Like was said above me, doing this definitely has the possibility of killing the passion for your hobby. It has not yet for me, but a job like Geek Squad definitely would. I'd rather flip burgers at McDonalds.

There are plenty of good help desk jobs out there to be had. It's all about who you know and your experience. With that said, there are plenty of bad ones also. I interviewed for a help desk job that paid $40,000/year. It was badged "help desk" but it was more of a pseudo-system administration position. Everyone worked on different issues, but in general a "jack of all trades" type of knowledge or person was preferred. These are the kind of jobs that are a winner if you're looking for help desk or tech support.

Last but not least my #1 suggestion to you is that if you have a passion for computers, be open minded. The general user workstation may be the most common piece of equipment, but there's much more to environments.
 
If you're looking at being a sys admin, look into linux/unix as well. And study networking.
We have about 25 servers and just 2 are running windows. A small file server and a sql server.

Oh, and no one where I work is A+ certified. It's kind of overlooked in place of experiance theese days.
 
hey y3k

I was a electronics tech in the Navy back in the early 80's, but ended up selling skateboards when i got out, then managed retail..fast forward to '99. working a s social worker have crappy pc..using aol..but always interested in tech.. responded to a radio ad for MCSE.."Youll call your own shots! blah blah!"

by that point, the paper certs / no experienced folks had saturated the market..so day one of school I started looking for any IT job I could get, as experience was becoming priority #1 on Monstor, etc for job postings

Got a job at Software Spectrum..which was a cal center environment..outsourced HD for AOL! lol. $10 p/h. crappy, as i was 37 yo, but I knew it was a foot in the door. Stayed 3 months..just long enough to hear about another HD in the area..much more technical than supporting AOL ( AOL support wasn't really about helping the user..just get em off the phone! ) Gothired at that next gig NT4 corporate enterprise support..10.75 p/h..stayed about 9 months..and got onto a new Higher level HD. $14 p/h.. Eventually, I knew someone that knew someone looking for a in house IT shop...GOOD BYE HD's! .. took that on a contract $17 ..no bene's..but another step up.. several more incremental steps..and now..I have a fantastic job as a Sys Admin for the Federal Government..The VA...so..I get to help users, do what I love..IT, and the ultimate mission is supporting our VETS..add to that..a permanent job..Great pay.. ( The Fed pays incentives for IT people.. I am now a GS13 ! ) don't have to ever look for another job again..which is very attractive at 44..and kick ass benefits! I get 1month vacation time..annual raises + cola. it really doesn't get much better..


So my word of advice is go slow..build resume over time..and YES..very worthwhile and rewarding!

Good Luck!
 
Very good replies.

I started working as a desktop technician when in high school, it's a great start for a student. You'll have to move up from there and get more IT field experience to start a career

Some important things I've learned along the way...

-Try to get into an internship position first, it's easier to get into the market that way.
-Working for a larger, well known company is always better (benefits, promotions)
-Get certified in A+, it will give you a better chance. Paper certs + experience is key
-When the time comes and you feel like it's time to move up, get certified in the field of your choice i.e MCSE, Cisco, HPCompaq, IBM etc.
-Leading others looks better than being led, propose ideas, propose positive change and managers/directors will notice you, remember to take credit for your work
-There is no such thing as easy money or instant results, careers take time to build.
 
If you are planning on making a lot of money, look for another field of work ;)

I started off working for Creative Labs as phone support when I was in college. For a college job, it wasn't too bad. Eventually, I moved up to email support (beats the hell out of talking to people on the phone). I wanted to move into R&D, but never got a chance before graduating college and moving to Houston for my wife's career (Chemical Engineer). I graduated from college with a BA in Management Information Systems after giving up on Computer Science field. Assembly Language did me in and the prof refused to provide any assistance to his students if they were having any problems grasping the material :mad:

The first 6 months were awful. I swear I applied for any and every job that I could find. I even got to the point that I was thinking working for a cable company doing installations, at least until my first taste of Houston summer :eek:

I finally found a job at a local bank doing data processing/computer service. Most of the job was just running checks and making sure everything showed up right. Basically a lot of typing, with a little bit of computer troubleshooting every now and then. The hours sucked (from noon until 9 or 10 at night) considering my wife had a normal 8-5 job. I kept my eyes open and finally landed a technician job at a local hospital.

I've been with the hospital for over 5 years now and have moved up from something like $14/hour to a whopping $25/hour. At the age of 30, I guess it isn't too bad, but my wife makes about $10/hour more than I do, so you can see there is better money in Engineering.

Unfortunately, in the company I work for, there isn't much room to advance. I don't have the people skills to deal with being a director/manager and Network Admin jobs are few and far between.

Oh yeah, I don't have any certifications. That is something I've been looking into recently and need to get started on acquiring so I can maybe find something that pays better and has more advancement options. Of course, I've been toying with the idea of going back to school and getting my Masters in Electrical Engineering.
 
farscapesg1 said:
I've been with the hospital for over 5 years now and have moved up from something like $14/hour to a whopping $25/hour. At the age of 30, I guess it isn't too bad, but my wife makes about $10/hour more than I do, so you can see there is better money in Engineering. .
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your combined income is more than 100 000. Settle down and have kids :)
 
Honestly if you want to make easy money jump into a field where there's a skill shortage that way your always bound to have a job and can easily advance up the corporate ladder.
 
blackrino9 said:
Be careful though, turning your hobby into a career is a good way to kill your love for a hobby. Users are frustrating to deal with.
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I agree. I found out that I will always want to do whatever it is I'm not getting paid to do, lol. If I was doing graphic/web design, I wanted to do engineering or IT. If I was in IT, I wanted to do graphic/web design and engineering. If I was in engineering, I wanted to do graphic/web design and IT. I finally realized that engineering paid the most, graphic design was possible on the side, and doing IT type stuff for friends and family was the best combination for me. If there's a job you want, find out what qualifications they're looking for and work towards those qualifications. It may take a while to find what you want to do, so just take your time.
 
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