Apple or Best Buy

zafeer20

Hey guys im looking for some advice, I got offered a job at the Apple store. I am currently a computer salesman at Best Buy. I applied for another position at Best Buy (Geeksquad TEA) that position is paid $11-12 hourly and I would just be educating or teaching people on how to use their devices, pc's, mac's, etc. At Apple I think I would just be the normal salesman I would earn $15.50 hourly, the only thing that I am hesitant on is experience. I think the TEA spot would be better on a resume as opposed to the Apple associate. I am about to take the test for my A+ in the coming month and then I will be moving to my Network+. I hope to get a helpdesk early next year anyways, what should I do for now? Thanks
(The TEA spot is not certain as it is jumped on whenever a position is open, so also answer the question if I dont get TEA job should I still stick with computer sales or Apple sales.)

Cliffs
-Work at Best Buy
-Offered job at Apple
-Apple pays more($15.50) Best Buy ($11-12)
-Best Buy experience looks better than Apple in my mind due to the position (Educating vs. sales)
-Plan on doing helpdesk early next year
-What should I pick

22306

i would..geek squad--->A+--->help desk

zafeer20

I see that you are in the NoVA area, do you know of any companies that would not require a degree for a help desk job? I am currently enrolled in NOVA (NVCC) and will transfer but about 90% of the time I always see that a degree is required, I want the job while going to school.

pinkydapimp

i think you should find out more of the details of the apple job. If you wont be doing anything technical then take the bestbuy job.

zafeer20

"As a Specialist, you help create the energy and excitement around Apple products, providing the right solutions and getting products into customers’ hands. You understand that the Apple Store is dedicated to delivering a customer experience that’s unlike any other. It starts with you discovering customers’ needs. And with the support of your store team members, you match those needs with the right products. Every day is an opportunity for you to turn another Apple Store visitor into a loyal Apple customer." Thats the job description it seems to be mainly customer service/handing over product.

realPSI

I would choose the $3.50 an hour more. I worked for best Buy or I worked for the Apple Store. In my opinion It sounds the same to me at the surface level. With an A+ I don't see the benefit or value in giving up $7k in earnings for a year(assuming full time hours).

zafeer20

REMOVED UNNECESSARY QUOTED REPLY FROM PREVIOUS POST



So what you are saying is go with Apple as the experience would be irrelevant if I get my A+?

realPSI

We all have opinions. I am saying with one year experience I think the difference is irrelevant. In addition, you could spin the Apple Store as educational as well. Part of the job should be educating the customer on "why choose apple". Also you would be building customer relations skills which should be part of help desk.

I would take take the money.

zafeer20

Appreciate the input, I will put everything I get into consideration.

goldenlight

go with Apple. NOt sure if best buy is going to be around much longer...

zafeer20

REMOVED UNNECESSARY QUOTED REPLY FROM PREVIOUS POST



Would you consider the experience I get from the Apple store to be on par with Best Buy?

pcgizzmo

Maybe it's just me but I'd rather work for Apple than Best Buy. It not only pays better but at least around where I live Apple employees have a little more prestige than Geek Squad guys. $3 more per house isn't anything to sneeze at either.

MagnumOpus

Geek Squad hands down. Apple is not going to offer you the traffic of computer repairs GS will. GS will also prep you for a helpdesk or future role as you will become accustomed to client behaviors. If you make the move to GS you could collectively claim the years of experience in computer support/repair. The experience, and the GS brand are well worth it and will line your resume when you're ready for bigger and better things.

Talonize

If you really need the money, I say do apple. If you can live with the lower wage, go for Geek Squad.

GS will teach you the basic computing and troubleshooting skills as well as work on your soft skills. Apple on the other hand, could give you the pay, but it will most likely only give you soft skills.

By soft skills I mean communicating with people, customers; processing orders, following procedures. Those are big parts of help desk support IT, so never shy away from those opportunities.

Also, any time that you see or think something is too hard for you, do not start hoping that you'll just never have to deal with it, begin to think how you could become better at dealing with the task at hand and ask for help. Yes this was off topic, but it's a very important thing that I have realized, and maybe this little pep talk will help you.

N2IT

You asked for opinions, mine is go to Apple.

22306

inbox me zafeer20

markulous

If you can afford it, I'd go with the Geek Squad. At least that can be put down as IT experience. Work there 3-6 months and grab a cert or two, then get in at a help desk and you'll be making as much as the Apple job. At that point you are in.

tkerber

This is really a toss up because the $3.50 extra an hour is really a pretty big bump compared to GS. However, at the same time you will be exposed to a lot of Windows machines and common issues that would help you land a entry level desktop, helpdesk, or maybe even Sysadmin position in an enterprise environment.

Plus I wouldn't be too concerned about money at this point in your career unless you absolutely need the extra pay. If you choose the right path and stay motivated you should have no problem doubling what either of those companies will pay you in 2 - 4 years.

Also to respond to a comment above about not working for Bestbuy because they may not be around much longer. I see your point but a lot of companies are suffering right now and even though Bestbuy isn't doing too well I wouldn't say they're just going to vanish overnight. I live next to their world HQ and I know lots of people working there. The whole 'Bestbuy going under' scare has been around for a long time and it's hard to find companies that are stable nowadays. Contracts and short term employment are the new trend! Plus it's not like OP is going to retire at GeekSquad 40 years from now--stay there for at least a year and get as much experience as you can and move on up.

MeanDrunkR2D2

Personally, I would take the Apple job. More money which is good. But, what you may get is a better understanding of the Mac OS that you wouldn't be exposed to nearly as much, and for helpdesks/IT jobs that support Apple products, having that knowledge can be a great thing. You can spin anything into a positive if you look at it from a different angle. Now, whats stopping you from looking for a helpdesk position today? I'd say that you should keep looking, and in a helpdesk they are more about the customer service and soft skills more than your tech skills at that point. They can teach you all the ins and outs of their systems, but they cannot teach the experience of offering great customer service to the end clients and that is harder for some to pick up and in an Apple store, you would definitely be doing that all day, every day. Plus the pay increase is nice.

TomkoTech

Apple has at home tech support people. If you get your hands dirty at the Apple store for a year I would venture to guess you meet their cultural fitness test which is pretty much the most important thing for them when applying for the tech support jobs. Work there for a year and get your A+/Network+ under your belt and then apply for that. Pretty sure they pay $18-20 an hour for at home work, and they give you a mac desktop/macbook to work from/on.

GLaDOS11

Assuming that you actually get offered the Geek Squad position and you are not in dire need of the money, I would take that in a second over Apple. I gotta say, I'm a bit surprised by all the people saying Apple. I would think that Geek Squad looks loads better on a resume than the Apple store. At Geek Squad at least you'll deal with virus removals, PC cleanups, internet issues, etc. It's really just a basic helpdesk role. If you're just a normal Apple employee, not a "Genius" (ha), than all you're going to do is push the new Apple products. I see absolutely no value as far as career progression in that unless you apply for a helpdesk role at company that uses a lot of Apple products.


I'll agree that neither of them are really great and Apple does pay a bit higher, but there's no doubt that Geek Squad is closer to what you eventually want to be doing a year from now.

Polynomial

You go with Apple. Trust me. Infinitely better image than Geek Squad.

You're sending a message that you know how to handle customer service brilliantly with a stint at the Genius Bar. You will learn nothing more at Best Buy than you can by getting A+ on your own.

zafeer20

I wasnt expecting a lot of people to reply but the Geeksquad position wouldnt be repairs etc. I would be a T.E.A. which is a technology education agent, I would essentially help with PC setups, helping customers install programs, and walk them through operating systems not only of computers but cameras, tvs, etc.

zafeer20

Just sent you a message

zafeer20

I personally have Apple products at home I know my way around it I also installed Windows 8 to learn the OS. I am already familiar with Win. 7 because I had that on my PC before I switched to Mac. That seems logical about the helpdesk, but when I search for help desk jobs they mainly emphasize on the technical skills and then they would have a line or two about customer service.

TomkoTech

https://www.apple.com/jobs/us/aha.html

Check that link out.

zafeer20

I see, none of the jobs are guaranteed they were just offered. I am going to get an interview for sure I just want to know what would be better in the long run for when I want to transfer to a help desk position. I appreciate the advice you have given me.

zafeer20

I didnt know they did that, thats awesome. They dont have any jobs available in my city but they do in neighboring cities it says you don't have to live there in order to apply. I guess ill try this out as well.

VinnyCisco

I would do Apple. You never know where it may lead. I have a friend that started out as a Apple Sales person. He is now a project manager for Apple.

Just my 2 cents.

TomkoTech

Just going to be honest. Even if your Best Buy job was a Geek Squad lead. I wouldn't hire you. It is my experience that they are complete knuckleheads there lol. Apple would look a lot better in any case as customer service is paramount in any help desk environment and they are know for having some of the best.

zafeer20

Haha most of the people in my store are knowledgable, but I do have a friend at another store and he says they get paid to do nothing and that they just ship everything out instead of fixing it in store lol.