career — Computer Repair Techician..?
Posted on November 11th, 2009 by admin
What is the job outlook on this field (computer repair technician)? I may not be able to go to college for more than an associates degree. I’m not sure. I’ll definitely be going to the community college in my town for an associates degree, but, until further notice, I most likely won’t be able to go for a bachelor’s degree until later on (assuming that I even want to do this…I’m not sure).
Anyway, I’m hearing so many different things regarding the associates degree / the career I’m looking at. Many say the associate’s degree is pointless and will do nothing for me. Others say it’s good. Many people say that a computer repair technician doesn’t make that much money. I actually saw someone that said "from my experience, you stay just above the poverty level." I’ve also heard that computer repair technicians can live comfortably on anywhere from 30, 40, or 50K a year.
Would an Associate In Applied Science (A.A.S.) in Computer Information Technology get me anywhere? Would this be a plus towards that career, or should I think about something else? I really want to do something computer-related, but I’m horrible with math. Being a computer programmer is out of the question (hence being horrible at math). Alright, I’ll stop rambling now…hopefully I can get some helpful answers.
It depends on where you’ll be looking for work. On your own? The degree is meaningless (for now - some day, computer repair may require a legal certificate of some sort, like electrical work and plumbing do now).
In a large company? Corporate America likes degrees - a BS or better. (It considers an Associate degree the easy way out and a sign of weakness.)
In a small repair shop? Your experience and willingness to learn are FAR more important than the paper. But the 2 years will give you knowledge and a little experience (and you’ll understand what you’re doing).
BTW, math is probably my weakest subject (other than Martian and breathing under water) and I’ve been writing code - for a living - for 36 years. And I did a pretty good Accounts Receivable package on one program. You don’t really need much in the way of math knowledge to write software (and then, only for software that’s going to do math.) If you can add and subtract. multiply and divide, you have most of the math. (Learning hex and binary is arithmetic. Saying it as 15 or as 0E or as 1110 doesn’t have much to do with math.)
The problem will be getting a job now. If it doesn’t involve unpacking boxes or flipping burgers, there aren’t too many openings these days. (companies are still laying people off.) But once the economy improves, knowledge and ability to learn will count more than paper when it comes to computer repair. (Our main technician has no degree - his helper has one.)