I wanna put stuff together!

[Chivpcgamer]

Hi guys, what qualifications are required to become a pc builder? Bearing in mind im from the uk, but general idea is welcome

[Snickerzz]

Being able to put the parts together, know what they do, and how they work I guess but it really depends on whos hiring.

[Chivpcgamer]

I wanna build custom gaming rigs for a company, i wonder how many qualifications i need??

[Samdb]

Can you build a computer?

[Broseephus]

I wanna build custom gaming rigs for a company, i wonder how many qualifications i need??

Best thing you could do would be start a portfolio of custom rigs you build/design. Keep really good build logs.

Take those logs with you on interviews to companies that do this.

Now for the real advice. Build custom rigs as a hobby. Pick something else to make money.

[Salmiakbal]

I can strongly agree with Broseephus' real advice, get a real job :p

[Kotobars]

Since when being able to put an extension card inside a slot became a money making profession? =\

Come on people, get real. You can either go assemble 40-50 typical standard PCs a day on an assembly-line for close to no money, or hope for a miracle make your way up a line in some PC boutique or a retailer, but its a 1 of a million chance.

My advice would be - study system administrating. Get a job as a sis admin helper at some nice big company and build office/workstation PCs. That's as close as you can get to actually making some money and spending time assembling pcs

[TechTheWorld]

I can strongly agree with Broseephus' real advice, get a real job :p

I agree.

[Broseephus]

Since when being able to put an extension card inside a slot became a money making profession? =\

Come on people, get real. You can either go assemble 40-50 typical standard PCs a day on an assembly-line for close to no money, or hope for a miracle make your way up a line in some PC boutique or a retailer, but its a 1 of a million chance.

My advice would be - study system administrating. Get a job as a sis admin helper at some nice big company and build office/workstation PCs. That's as close as you can get to actually making some money and spending time assembling pcs

^^^^^^^^What he said^^^^^^^^.... for the most part.

Even as a sys admin the only assembling for office pc's is picking the components out on a vendors website. When you're buying >10 PC's at a time, there is a reason you'll pay $50-$100 premium's on expansion cards that come pre-installed. Nobody in the real world wants to open up 10+ cases, insert a card, and then install the drivers.

There is literally NO professional (professional in this case means earning a wage that allows you to support yourself) career that will allow you to assemble PC's all day. You can probably get a gig making like $10-12/hr at one of those "boutique" stores, or maybe one of those "Computer Exchange" type businesses. But as far as making a career out of it no one will pay you for that. Assembling PC's is really a layman skill (I can show anyone how to do it once or twice and they can repeat the action)

[striker1553]

I agree with what Broseephus is saying. I looked into starting my own custom PC shop when I was in high-school. This isn't the early or late 80's any more. Most people will undercut your cost, regardless of your better hardware, and buy a cheap computer from a big box store. Most people don't care to know what's inside a PC. Most people don't know even what the hell you mean when you say the processor's bottle-necking your video card. You'll get blank stares.

The only people I've seen that sell custom PC's are stuck with very old and outdated hardware that they paid for and will never see a return on their investment. If you're going to do it, do it on a single computer basis and make it something someone else hasn't done. Check out Singularity Computers on YouTube and match what they do, focusing on a niche market of gamer's, and offer a personal warranty on you're builds. But, don't expect to live off what you make. Find a job somewhere else, first.

[tacticalpanic]

Theres no money in it anymore becuse desktop pc sales are down due to the requirements of basic tasks such as E-mail and word processing no longer needing a fully fledged work station computer.

all the computer shops I see on the highstreet that do sell custom computers probleby get higher busness fixing phones/tablets/laptops.

and if your a an IT consultant/systems analyst for a company , your not going to bother spending a week building 10 - 20 computers , your just going to go to a company like dell and order a batch of systems.

a company sure as hell isint gonna pay you by the hour to build the computers yourself.

[Kotobars]

Theres no money in it anymore becuse desktop pc sales are down due to the requirements of basic tasks such as E-mail and word processing no longer needing a fully fledged work station computer.

all the computer shops I see on the highstreet that do sell custom computers probleby get higher busness fixing phones/tablets/laptops.

and if your a an IT consultant/systems analyst for a company , your not going to bother spending a week building 10 - 20 computers , your just going to go to a company like dell and order a batch of systems.

a company sure as hell isint gonna pay you by the hour to build the computers yourself.

Thats not really entirely true for a small business/single department

I work as a tech support/sys admin kinda thing in a marketing department of a big agency. I have ~35 users, and i build PCs myself for them cause its cheaper for us to buy like that, instead of ordering prebuilt crap. I love building systems myself, but i admit its not that exiting to build a 300$ office PC for the 5th time... Its not like building a custom gaming rig with water cooling etc, that would be a dream job to do that for living. Just a dream as far as real world goes tho

[Andy28]

yea, like every else has said it's a dead profession, even as a sys admin they tend to only just order new computers or ship them out for repair and its usually not done inhouse, sys admins tend to help reset passwords all day and set permissions for new accounts because most of the other stuff is pretty automated that they do (backups/ servers).

The only ppl I see that make alot of computers all day are the ncix tech department instores, where people like us order all the parts and pay them like what 50/100 bucks extra for them to put it together and do some benchmarking / stress test to ensure it works and puts like a 1 year warranty on it.

[IdeaStormer]

"No Money In It"? Well really depends on your approach. Sure you may not make a boat load but if you get your foot in the door you might be asked to setup the network or fix another computer or upgrade it later to windows 8 or fix a virus that got on the system. If all you want to do is build computers yea, you're not going to do much with that, but if you want to work on computers and its associated components then you can make some money. Diversify.

[IdeaStormer]

yea, like every else has said it's a dead profession, even as a sys admin they tend to only just order new computers or ship them out for repair and its usually not done inhouse, sys admins tend to help reset passwords all day and set permissions for new accounts because most of the other stuff is pretty automated that they do (backups/ servers).

The only ppl I see that make alot of computers all day are the ncix tech department instores, where people like us order all the parts and pay them like what 50/100 bucks extra for them to put it together and do some benchmarking / stress test to ensure it works and puts like a 1 year warranty on it.

Wrong! I do pretty much anything and build, maybe not gaming systems. Then guess who makes it automated.

[TechTheWorld]

[url=http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/lego-group/programs-and-visits/lego-certified-professionals/]http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/lego-group/programs-and-visits/lego-certified-professionals/[/url=http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/lego-group/programs-and-visits/lego-certified-professionals/]

[mvitkun]

I'd say build budget gaming builds that cost around €540- €700 and sell them on ebay.

there really isn't alot of money in building pc's unless your well known

[Broseephus]

The only way I see this working is by offering this as a service on Classifieds/Craigslist.

If you try and build a system and THEN sell it. I guarantee you don't make money in the long run.

Write up a post on craigslist about how you'll consult with component choice, handle the ordering of the parts (after you receive atleast half money up front), configure/deliver the pc, have a fixed fee for the service and include a basic labor warranty.

This way you don't put any of your money up front.

[Art Vandelay]

I can strongly agree with Broseephus' real advice, get a real job :p

You can get a job as a computer repairman and play around with computer parts... in addition to cleaning semen out of laptops.

[Chivpcgamer]

Thanks alot for the advice guys, its great to get a realistic idea of what its really like, cant say its so appealing now. I had this image of o-c testing and installing fans and getting my hands on the latest gpus, probably like the crazy russian or like some guy at cyberpower or alienware. I wouldnt want to earn poor money even if i really enjoyed it because i bet its hard work. Will probably just stick to building/upgrading my own personal computers and enjoy having the time to do it right. As for cleaning sperm out of a laptop, i never thought of that, yuk, that has really put me off being a technition! Thanks for the advice guys! 😊

[bradscoolio]

If you wanna get hands on with stuff all you have to do is ask xD personal conversation with others industry is a great opportunity to ask if you can, they're likely to say yes. I mozied on into a small computer joint and talked to the manager to see if I could get work experience. Easy as pie! We got along and he gave me the position. First place i tried and didn't even have a résumé xD

[Chivpcgamer]

You know thats a great idea, i have a full time job but have plenty of time outside that to go help out. I wanna be around pc stuff i love it, even if its just a part time intern type of thing. Theres a few places near where i live so ill go ask them, wont be building but will be probably a bit of hands on. Nice idea ☺

[Chivpcgamer]

So just rang a company who sell gaming parts build a few systems, etc (fairly big company) i said im looking for some experience working here i have a full time job but would love to come work part time for "free". Nope sorry got no positions here, im like "but its for free". Nope sorry. Terrible phone manner by the way, typical british service. I suppose they have to insure me etc... Who knows? Kinda dissapointed though, i mean "free!!!"

[joelthezombie15]

So just rang a company who sell gaming parts build a few systems, etc (fairly big company) i said im looking for some experience working here i have a full time job but would love to come work part time for "free". Nope sorry got no positions here, im like "but its for free". Nope sorry. Terrible phone manner by the way, typical british service. I suppose they have to insure me etc... Who knows? Kinda dissapointed though, i mean "free!!!"

lol this kinda made me laugh i feel bad for you but it was kinda funny

[Chivpcgamer]

Lol 😀