Question IT career....part Deux!

[Arkena]

Hi,

I did a CS degree and graduated in 2010....so 9 years ago now...wow.

I suffered a burnout 6 and 5 years ago now and along the way gained a neurological diagnosis to boot.
My last IT job i was the IT administrator for an office with about 60 people, upgrading hardware, cable routing issues, minor server issues, active directory negotiating with service providers etc

I didnt want anything to do with computers for several years because of all the stress i associated with them. Now i am finding myself wanting to go back to IT but a be my own boss, money on the side type deal.

So for instance running a home based pc repair/upgrade service to my local community to supplement my income. What qualifications can get me going again and in the right direction as to domestic pc repair (software and hardware)?

Ive heard Comp TIA is a good starting place but doesnt seem to have much about building pc's or repairing software faults etc.

All suggestions kindly received...

 

[Eximo]

You don't need any qualifications to offer services to others. Certifications are for companies wanting something to validate that new employees, or current employees, have sufficient training to perform basic tasks. Often these are minimums or just something to put you above someone without it. Or at least have the appropriate background knowledge to learn and answer intelligently when it comes to computer and IT issues.

If you want to have qualifications listed somewhere, I suppose they can be worth it if you are going into more professional realms. Keep in mind that CompTia certifications now expire, so this would become a regular expense. If it is 'on the side' I doubt you can justify it. Simply offering your services to the local community at somewhat bargain rates might be enough to attract people without certifications.

Most repair shops will typically have personnel that are Vendor certified, like Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc if they want 'serious' business from consumers. Though I still see local repair shops with little accreditation. If you claim to be able to replace iphone screens, and have low enough prices, people will try it.

A long time ago, I got my CompTia Benchtop Technician+, still technically valid. (I've never used it professionally, it was sort of a class requirement to get my degree, actually going to be getting some more soon as I am going back for a bachelors, part of the curriculum) And while I am confident in my troubleshooting abilities, it isn't really something they teach or that I learned from them or at school. It was more about logic and being able to know all the components and technologies likely to be encountered. All my troubleshooting experience came from breaking my own computer as a youth.

Best way to learn about fixing computers is to try. Browse forums for common solutions, etc. Most people just don't know how to research their problems because of a lack of basic understanding of components and software concepts. If you know that stuff, then you are already leaps ahead of everyone else.

Poking around on Tom's is a decent way to learn the common components of the day. Bit of a resurgence in desktop building since PC gaming is taking off in a big way, but the vast majority of people are using laptops.

 

[mdd1963]

I'd watch a few of Carey Holzman's videos on Youtube, both on building new rigs of various types and troubleshooting rigs giving issues. Many of his videos are 2-3 hours, and entertaining for those that actually like tinkering with PCs...especially broken ones!