best buy, fry's, comp usa ??? average wages for A+ techs

jacktheripper994465221

does anyone know if its worth working for the geek squad, or comp usa, or frys? or are you better off working at a business and not a store.

kevozz

Geek squad seems like a good place to work. Fry's here in Atlanta only pays 7-8 and hour. CompUSA is a joke, don't even get me started on them...

mobri09

Working at Geek Squad right now, Its a great tech job for some basic experience. Im making 9.60 right now and i believe they start you out at 9.30 per hour. I mostly deal with everything that is A+ related...building, troubleshooting, installing....etc. The discount is great and you get alot of free software and products as well. The job is nothing to brag about, but its entry level work i guess and it will def look good on the resume. You also stay updated with all the new products and stuff. Hope this helps.

keatron

Basically if you don't have a job or experience, any of the mentioned jobs would be a good start. If you read some of the posts here and other places, you'll soon realize that experience is the most valued commidtiy in IT (and most other professions), so your goal should be to get as much of it as you can. I know people who started out working for almost nothing. If you don't start some where you'll usually end up no where. Or end up being one of the people complaining about how much of a joke IT is and how it sucks, and you can't make money, etc etc etc..... I think I've heard about all of it. Be patient, and try to make sure that when ever you go from one job to another that it's in a somewhat vertical direction. It will be tough, you will have to be smart, dedicated to reading, and be open to putting in "woodshed" time. But if you stay the path, it will pay off eventually. I speak from experience. Not just theory. Good luck.

jacktheripper994465221

my A+ class got me a 1 day a week job at Insight investments.

uncertified is 10 and when i get certified is 13.50

all i do is refurbish comps and acessories.

put a format cd in the drive, and ghost the OS for 8 hours

clean lcds, clean keyboards, and replace bad compenets. i guess its a good start

but i was kinda hoping for those 18 dollar an hour tech jobs

keatron

burzumaske91 wrote:

but i was kinda hoping for those 18 dollar an hour tech jobs

And by all means, keep looking for those. But keep working to. When you do get the call to come interview for that 18 dollar an hour job, the experience you're gaining in the 10 dollar an hour job just might be what pushes you past the other people interviewing for the same job.

crap I forgot my old pwd

Geek Squad, make $20/hr doing on site calls. When I was in store, started at $11.05 and moved to about $12.50 in a year. Only certified tech in my store, only person in my district with more than A+

crap I forgot my old pwd

Oh, I must also add upon my previous statement. Do not expect difficult competition from other workers at Geek Squad. At least at my location, if you walked in there and have actually opened a PC case before, you are already almost at par with the tech senior. I have never seen more idiots in my life. Nobody there can do anything, and when someone comes along that can, they are either promoted out, find a better job, or quit because it is a horrible working environment. You deal with a WHOLE LOT of bs, more than you should ever have to. But, the pay can be worth it if you have the skills. Remember, Geek Squad is owned by a retail company. They do not care if you can fix a pc or not, only how many sales you can attach with it and how much $$ you can rake in. If you actually know what a pc is, more power to you according to them. In fact, when you aren't doing too much, they will have you help sell other stuff. I have even been asked to sell washers and dryers. wtf would I know about that!? ...nothing, except best buy knows that since I am wearing a tie, people might buy it from me if I say its a good deal. If you get hired there, go straight for field work.

skully93

keatron wrote:

burzumaske91 wrote:

but i was kinda hoping for those 18 dollar an hour tech jobs

And by all means, keep looking for those. But keep working to. When you do get the call to come interview for that 18 dollar an hour job, the experience you're gaining in the 10 dollar an hour job just might be what pushes you past the other people interviewing for the same job.

My first tech job was 12. My next was so low I can't fathom how we lived on it. My next one after that was over 20, and I've been in that range ever since. Currently all I have is my A+ and Network+.

Realizing I really don't know that much, I'm pursuing my CCNA, then on to MCSE+security. I doubt I'll stop there either, as I know next to NOTHING about UNIX/Linux, exchange, sql, etc.

Bottom line, if you want the $$, put forth some years, and you'll get there. It also takes time to learn how to exist professionally. When you first roll into the world, you have to balance the youthful exuberance with professional demeanor. I'm a tattooed punk rocker. I keep all my tats hidden, and I try not to freak out, thus, I get better jobs than those that know more than me, but act like jerks.