Just Curious: How you guys got your jobs in computer career/IT/ Computer shop?

[Mykie]

So 10th Grade for me in high school is coming to a near end (4 months left till summer vacation for us), and I have to figure out some courses for me to take.
 
And I just turned 17 on the 3rd of March so responsibilities will be up to me real soon...
 
Honestly: I don't even know where to go.
 
I took an auto class, changing car oil, brakes, parts, taking apart a car engine and rebuilding it, and all sort of stuff, and it was okay but not my interest. Graphics, which is design for like business cards and posters and stuff, its okay but not my interest but of a hobby if doing it at home or whatever. Took drafting which is 3D modeling designing buildings and 3D printings and all the fancy stuff, not my interest really. Music tech, making music on computers and it's just not my interest but of a hobby. All the stuff I took would pretty much seem to be stuff to do when I need to and or a bit of a hobby like music/design.
 
What I'm curious now is how you guys got jobs in computer stores, or IT, Tech, Support those kinds?
 
I love to fix problems on computers, even though some of them are a pain (dealt with problems that took nearly half of my day), and fiddle around with stuff. I fixed many of my friend's computers, laptops, my desktops and so on. Taking out parts, cleaning, getting drivers fixed and or dealing with nasty viruses, I just like doing that. Many times I just facepalm at my school IT such as replacing the whole computer in school just for an easy error fix or buying like over 20 new desktops with SSD, but all the desktops have the SSD unplugged... I'm rambling on here a bit but I just wanted to get the idea out like who I am or what kind of tasks would be good for me.
 
My school offer lot of courses: Engineering, IT Tech but that's just teaching all the basics of computer parts... IT A+ certification course, however, that's just a course to just get a certification, an exam pretty much than a class. There's coding, but the HTML coding parts turn me away since it's basic... and there's Computer science which is all the basics combined in one, making robots do stuff, a bit of coding and whatever. I think you guys get the idea.
 
I thought about being a YouTuber for tech reviews/talk but of course that costs money (maybe I'll just do tech news? But nobody would watch that since the competition is high for example LTT pretty much covered everything). I like to talk about tech things, mention the pros and cons of things, and learning overall, recommending people what to do or get.
 
I'm just throwing some stuff out there but in short: What steps did you guys take? OR.... what steps you guys think I should take? Any help would be great! ^^

 

EDIT #1: Some grammar fixes

[The Flying Sloth]

I walked up with a resume, pictures as proof of all my PC builds/setups and asked for a job

 

[AvocadosGuac]

If your school has a coop program do it, do it at a computer shop and you have a chance of getting hired.

[arbellason55]

2 minutes ago, Mykie said:

 

My school offer lot of courses: Engineering, IT Tech but that's just teaching all the basics of computer parts... IT A+ certification course, however that's just a course to just get a certification, an exam pretty much than a class. There's coding, but the HTML coding parts turns me away since it's basic... and there's Computer science which is all the basics combined in one, making robots do stuff, bit of coding and whatever. I think you guys get the idea.

Sounds like your school offers quite a lot of stuff to let you get a feel for it, I'd take the It A+ certification as it may get you past an introduction course which will save you money and time in the future.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

You're gonna have to pursue post secondary education to do legitimate IT work. At the same time, I would work at a local repair shop or something like Geek Squad at Best Buy just to get work experience. Yes, Best Buy is questionable, but any work experience is better than no experience.

[Qwweb]

I do not have a job in a computer shop, but I got my COMP TIA A+ certification and OSHA Industrial Safety certification (and several other certifications) through my high school. Having a COMP TIA A+ certificate definitely helps, as I have done some work building server solutions for a few businesses where I live. Experience speaks volumes with job applications, but post-secondary education is typically needed for higher paying positions and better opportunities for advancement.

[Mykie]

2 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

You're gonna have to pursue post secondary education to do legitimate IT work. At the same time, I would work at a local repair shop or something like Geek Squad at Best Buy just to get work experience. Yes, Best Buy is questionable, but any work experience is better than no experience.

Hmm I've been avoiding Geek Squad since they have a bad reputation such as ripping costumers off for such a simple problems and or making claims that "PC is infected with viruses" when in reality the HDD is just unplugged. 

And many others around...

[2FA]

I took an IT class in high school that let me do an internship with the district Network Admin. He needed more help and he knew I was knowledgeable so I pretty much was offered the job.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Just now, Mykie said:

Hmm I've been avoiding Geek Squad since they have a bad reputation such as ripping costumers off for such a simple problems and or making claims that "PC is infected with viruses" when in reality the HDD is just unplugged. 

And many others around...

That's what you'll expect in any big chain. The same can be said about Apple's in house repair programs. That being said, in IT, you'll be dealing with customers a lot. And jobs like these (albeit makes you feel unethical), is where you can get that experience easily.

[Qwweb]

C++, Java, and HTML are good things to learn early on as well

[SkilledRebuilds]

Schools "Work Experience" in Australia had me working in an "Independent" PC store, right at the time of 3DFX and TestDrive 4

Before this I only had my Uncles PC and Destruction Derby game to enjoy tech on, everything else, not interested...

 

So the best advice I got from this store, "It's a Jigsaw Puzzle, Here is a junker, this is this, that is that, figure some things out and ask questions"

Over the first week, terminology and lingo, learning the basics and what plugs into what. All Hardware stuff.

The second week, 3DFX landed, and we had some Voodoo2's in store for show, everyday that week all staff stayed behind after work.

 

This was the AGE of 3D accelerators, and with my new found knowledge, and 2 PC builds I myself had finished for this store,...I got hooked.

I was a casual worker there for 8-9 months afterwards until I moved to another state.

 

I had some lucky opportunities at a young age, building a few, basic "consumer PC's" and then the second week,...an elitist niche machine.

 

Loved every minute of it, The amount of Products and Manufacturers (since then over the years from major players) I can recall "specifications" for is immense.

I'm sure many people here have some wicked Re-call. (Dipswitch overclocking,pencil mods for example)

[Droidbot]

I wish there was a decent PC chain or store near me.. mostly just shite. There's a PC store but it's mostly just business stuff and contract IT work. 

[Mykie]

Just now, Droidbot said:

I wish there was a decent PC chain or store near me.. mostly just shite. There's a PC store but it's mostly just business stuff and contract IT work. 

I got MicroCenter not too far away from me, but only way to get there is by vehicle since highways are all around, and I don't have a car. Also they require me to be 18+ I believe 

[Mykie]

3 minutes ago, SkilledRebuilds said:

So the best advice I got from this store, "It's a Jigsaw Puzzle, Here is a junker, this is this, that is that, figure some things out and ask questions"

 

That sounds awesome man, I'm pretty much the same  

[Droidbot]

4 minutes ago, SkilledRebuilds said:

Schools "Work Experience" in Australia had me working in an "Independent" PC store, right at the time of 3DFX and TestDrive 4

Before this I only had my Uncles PC and Destruction Derby game to enjoy tech on, everything else, not interested...

 

So the best advice I got from this store, "It's a Jigsaw Puzzle, Here is a junker, this is this, that is that, figure some things out and ask questions"

Over the first week, terminology and lingo, learning the basics and what plugs into what. All Hardware stuff.

The second week, 3DFX landed, and we had some Voodoo2's in store for show, everyday that week all staff stayed behind after work.

 

This was the AGE of 3D accelerators, and with my new found knowledge, and 2 PC builds I myself had finished for this store,...I got hooked.

I was a casual worker there for 8-9 months afterwards until I moved to another state.

 

I had some lucky opportunities at a young age, building a few, basic "consumer PC's" and then the second week,...an elitist niche machine.

 

Loved every minute of it, The amount of Products and Manufactorers (since then over the years from major players) I can recall "specifications" for is immense.

I'm sure many people here have some wicked Re-call. (Dipswitch overclocking for example)

Damn, I'm about to go into work experience and wish I had an experience like that near me. I already have experience building my own machine, and a pretty good background in PC hardware. Too bad.. 

[SkilledRebuilds]

Just now, Mykie said:

That sounds awesome man, I'm pretty much the same  

It was, They had unplugged every single connector one of the first days (Power/Molex/Motherboard Front panel and all the typical things)

Basically, "Undo this" , Pointed to the open side panel,..Gave me a manual, "Make it work" <-- with a smile on his face, just a test of sorts.

End of the day it was back up and running, I think this was more of a "Does he have the patience" test...

When you have workers you also enjoy being around it helps for sure,... if an angry manager had done this same test I doubt I'd want to...

 

But these guys made working a bit more fun, hated the last few days knowing it was all about to be over, but it was a great experience.

[Automobili3XF]

Diesel is a well known machine around the city for whatever reason, small city i guess, and the current mayor knew me and my family from a long time ago, plus the fact that they really needed one more guy on the I.T. department.

So that's where i get in, i talked with an alderman and got the paper i needed to get in the office, next thing i know, i'm working there!

 

[wilamu]

25 minutes ago, Mykie said:

I just like doing that. Many times I just facepalm at my school IT such as replacing the whole computer 

When you've done the rodeo a few times and you're working in a REAL environment where it's your actual job to maintain an expected level of service it's often easier to swap the computer/laptop and just re-image the "broken" one.

 

There's only so many hours in a day and you can image something in ~30 minutes (can be less or more) rather than troubleshoot an issue for 3 hours and end up behind on your other jobs

 

Tricks of the trade.

[Mykie]

1 minute ago, wilamu said:

When you've done the rodeo a few times and you're working in a REAL environment where it's your actual job to maintain an expected level of service it's often easier to swap the computer/laptop and just re-image the "broken" one.

 

There's only so many hours in a day and you can image something in ~30 minutes (can be less or more) rather than troubleshoot an issue for 3 hours and end up behind on your other jobs

 

Tricks of the trade.

Hmm I'll agree to that. Maybe the school IT are very busy doing something else job related so who knows.

[Droidbot]

Just now, wilamu said:

When you've done the rodeo a few times and you're working in a REAL environment where it's your actual job to maintain an expected level of service it's often easier to swap the computer/laptop and just re-image the "broken" one.

 

There's only so many hours in a day and you can image something in ~30 minutes (can be less or more) rather than troubleshoot an issue for 3 hours and end up behind on your other jobs

 

Tricks of the trade.

In our case with our school Surface Pros, we need to swap them immediately if anything goes wrong. You can plug them into a display to get data off them if the screen is screwed or KB doesn't work, but that's essentially it..

[wilamu]

Just now, Mykie said:

Hmm I'll agree to that. Maybe the school IT are very busy doing something else job related so who knows.

I've been there and done it, you see tickets come in and you know what ones are more trouble than they're worth. So you swap it out

 

It's a fun career, very challenging but rewarding too.

[wilamu]

2 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

In our case with our school Surface Pros, we need to swap them immediately if anything goes wrong. You can plug them into a display to get data off them if the screen is screwed or KB doesn't work, but that's essentially it..

We used to do the same, users didn't store anything locally and My Docs + Desktop had folder redirection to their shared drives.

 

Most users had simple builds and it was just such a big time saver giving then another machine.

[Teddy07]

Not yet but here is my strategy to do it:

 

I personally just started to change my life again. I am now 30 and will go back to the University and take a computer science degree to work later on in the IT industry. I know it is the hardest way possible because the math part is hard but it is a life goal for me. The easier part would be to simply to apply for an apprenticeship place but i would not learn in depth about computers as i would like. I really want to dig deep and understand it from the core.

 

Not sure if i can finish the degree but i want have at least tried it and say to myself i gave my best.

[Droidbot]

1 minute ago, wilamu said:

We used to do the same, users didn't store anything locally and My Docs + Desktop had folder redirection to their shared drives.

 

Most users had simple builds and it was just such a big time saver giving then another machine.

We use Google Drive mostly, but with the school connection being so crap it was annoying when you're trying to write an essay and Docs acts up. 

 

 

[Mykie]

Just checked out Geek Squad and the "experience" is stopping me there: 

 

"What are the professional requirements for a Geek Squad Advanced Repair Agent? 
Basic Requirements:

• 3-6 months experience in customer service
• 1+ years experience diagnosing or repairing PCs or consumer electronics

Preferred Requirements:

• High School diploma or equivalent
• Associate degree in PC repair/Networking
• 1+ years retail or customer service experience
• A+ certification or equivalent"

I don't have 3-6 months experience and or 1+ years... unless personal time counts like helping out friends computers and fiddling around my mine replacing parts and stuff.... Plus no A+ certification unless I take the A+ exams in my school. And "Associate degree" too.... Unless preferred requirements doesn't mean required?