Internship PC Repair Shop

Sylice_

Hi, I was wondering if interning at a PC repair shop is a good path to take into getting my foot in the door. This repair shop also installs and maintains the networks and computers of hospitals.

I plan to move on to either security or cloud computing. I am currently studying Information Technology at my local community college. And I also plan on getting the CompTIA A+ certification as soon as possible.

bigdogz

Yes. That is a great start. Take care of your customers. That will take you far.
I had a potential customer ask me questions for over 8 months. He bought a PC and told me he had a virus and was wondering if I could fix it for free since we were an authorized service center. I calmly told him, 'It is not a warranty issue and if you had purchased the computer from us I would have done it free of charge.'

You will also learn a great deal about other hardware and their warranty policies. 
 

tedjames

It's a good idea, though if you're thinking of opening an actual brick-and-mortar business, don't expect to be profitable for a long time. If you just operate out of your home, you'll save a fortune in overhead costs. 

SteveLavoie

Unless you really want to have your own business, dont do it. Concentrate on your studies, get some certs and get a nice internship that will help you start your career.  The kind of client you will get are mostly small business, or home professionnal. The pay rate is not great, they dont value IT, they dont really have the technologies that you want to learn (how many 1 router, 1 switch, 1 printer, and 3 PC network do you need to get it ) and this market is cibled by smaller MSP who will undercut you.  Also don't hope to be become an authorized OEM repair shop(HP, Dell or Lenovo), the requirement are stringent and costly to maintain even for larger authorized shop (I know I have one). 

JDMurray

While hands-on experience with computer equipment is good to have, unless you will be working in a Cloud data center most Cloud engineers never touch actual hardware and only need to know about the software configuration aspect of Cloud services. Instead of A+, you should be looking at the Security+ and Cloud+ certs to see if the material is something that interests you enough to make it a career path for you to follow. If this material looks enticing to you, start learning sooner than later.

baghdaddy19

A break fix shop is a decent business idea. It looks like you want to move into another field, so if you want to do this on the side to make some extra money then its not a bad idea.
But if you want to get into cloud for info sec, then you should focus on school and doing labs at home. Just my 2 cents (I am a beginner in IT myself so take it with a grain of salt)
If you do decide to do the repair shop then make sure you register the business as an LLC. Also make your customers sign contracts before you touch their computers or phones, it protects you if **** should ever hit the fan. 

DFTK13

@Sylice_

I started out the same way, my advice is to keep moving up on the certs, correct me if I’m wrong but it looks like you’re just getting into IT. I would pursue your CCNA, networking knowledge goes a long way and helps you to see the bigger picture and looks good on your resume. 

UnixGuy

Just be careful how you'll manage your energy. You want to run a business and study for certs at the same time, you may find the business can take all your time and energy.

Sylice_

Thanks for your responses guys, I see it as any experience is better than none. Once Im done with my associates degree and have my A+, Im going to start looking at Help Desk or Desktop Support roles.