OnForce reliable?

win2k8

I am next semester switching back to full time studies & i heard about OnForce, and wondered how safe is it to work for them? (is it a scam or not, etc..). Anyways I am looking to while studying try this OnForce since i can have a flexible schedule with it, while along still doing something IT related work, so I dont have a big gap in my IT resume.

Anyways those people who have actually tried this OnForce, let me know the positives and negatives of it.

Thanks in advance,

win2k4

1MeanAdmin

I've worked for them 2-3 years ago in NY-NJ area while having another job. It's a legitimate help desk company that sends HP, CompUSA, ComputerGeeks (not to confuse with GeekSquad) and other companies' job tickets to the subscribed technicians in a particular area and takes its %10 commission.
Positives:
- Flexible schedule
- Better pay than working as an employee doing the same tasks

Negatives:
- A job ticket is sometimes dispatched to 10-20 or even more technicians. A good job may be accepted by someone else in less than a minute. May be it has something to do with my area, but if I stayed longer I'd get a smart phone + data plan to get the best job tickets! I only used regular cell phone and received SMS whenever I got a job notification in my yahoo email. While I was at a client at my primary work, I logged on to accept OnForce tickets.

I stopped working for them because I wanted to focus on network engineering and server administration.

I'd give them a shot. There's nothing to loose. If you don't feel like taking a ticket, don't accept it. There's always another one!

P.S. At that time my coworker also worked for OnForce. He started before me and built an excellent profile and when he moved to Philadelphia, one company that he worked for through OnForce, offered him a direct contract for $45/hr. I started my CCNA back then, so I didn't have time to do so many job tickets.

win2k8

Thanks for your feedback. Good luck to you on your certification journey.

--- win2k4

SEM

OnForce would be a great fit for you especially while in school. OnForce allows you the flexibility to back fill any free or down time with work. It would be a great way to earn cash, support your resume, build you own business, and stay current with IT and CE work. If you would like more opinions check out their blog at http://blog.onforce.com/ There is also a community forum you can check out here, http://forums.onforce.com/ Good luck with school!

jamesp1983

win2k8 wrote:

I am next semester switching back to full time studies & i heard about OnForce, and wondered how safe is it to work for them? (is it a scam or not, etc..). Anyways I am looking to while studying try this OnForce since i can have a flexible schedule with it, while along still doing something IT related work, so I dont have a big gap in my IT resume.

Anyways those people who have actually tried this OnForce, let me know the positives and negatives of it.

Thanks in advance,

win2k4

Well, I just completed my first ticket for them today so I'll have to let you know my entire opinion after I get paid. The flexibility is great. I don't know if you have a lot of bills, but the work seems to be very sporadic. There are forums with lots of people who are willing to answer your questions. I just completed a ticket for 85$ less the 10% OnForce takes. I was on site for about 1 hour. I think OnForce would be a good choice for you given your present situation.

ScottFern

I recently became a member of OnForce.com and so far in the past three weeks I have received one ticket in my area and it was taken in less than 10 minutes. This is the Chicagoland area.

I have a feeling though that these companies know there are lots of techs looking for side work and they lowball on the jobs. But, I understand then I just don't take the job, but it would really suck if it turns out all the tickets are like that.

BradleyHU

hmm...i might have to halla @ this, cuz i'm definitely looking to do some side work...

sambuca69

Wait.. so do you go through an "interview" here?

I'd love to do some side work, and if I'm understanding this correct, this sounds like a easy and flexible way to make some extra $$$.

dynamik

Yea, you do a phone interview. I need to do that and verify my certs.

For those of you that have been working with them, what's your skill/knowledge level and what type of work do you typically get? I put a relatively high dollar amount on server work only, and I'm not really expecting much to come from it. It seems like it's more often going to be something like: help Grandma setup her WAP and printer.

skrpune

dynamik wrote:

Yea, you do a phone interview. I need to do that and verify my certs.

For those of you that have been working with them, what's your skill/knowledge level and what type of work do you typically get? I put a relatively high dollar amount on server work only, and I'm not really expecting much to come from it. It seems like it's more often going to be something like: help Grandma setup her WAP and printer.

Good questions, I've wondered the same. I've been looking for part time work options and am going back to school in a few weeks, so it would be nice to have an option like this to get a little extra cashola. I do have some experience - a year as a tech doing in home/small business setups & reinstalls/repairs/troubleshooting/etc. and doing some work in a SBS 2003 environment, so I'd probably be better suited to those grandma-type jobs...

SEM

Like anything else there are tickets that are better than others. Sometimes you end up at grandmas but other times you are working with big VAR's and other reputable companies that use OnForce to grab big work orders. Either way the money is still green!

As for tickets getting picked up quickly, that does happen. It is a marketplace so where ever you are you are probably not the only game in town. The more you use the OnForce platform and get the rating up the more work comes your way. If you have an iPhone or something similar you can get the offers in real time and quickly decide to do the work or let it slide.

The percentage that OnForce takes is less than what it would cost to find these jobs yourself and if you do enough work you would happily pay it. You still have the opportunity to make your hourly.

Check it out here, http://www.onforce.com/pros_overview and find out how to best represent yourself and your skill set.

win2k8

I thought I should post this to let everyone know who is interested that their is an age requirement to be a professional, see below. I know it sucks, not sure how they came up with a 21+ age requirement.

Be Eligible - Users of the Platform must be at least 18 years of age; Professionals delivering on-site service must be at least 21 years of age with at least 2 years of technology experience in order to participate on the Platform. Any individual Professional added to a Service Professional company must be a W-2 employee or, if a contractor, must earn at least 75% of his/ her total income through that Service Professional company. (legal terms)

win2k8

jamesp1983

SEM wrote: »

As for tickets getting picked up quickly, that does happen. It is a marketplace so where ever you are you are probably not the only game in town. The more you use the OnForce platform and get the rating up the more work comes your way. If you have an iPhone or something similar you can get the offers in real time and quickly decide to do the work or let it slide.

Their mobile compatible page is a real benefit. I have grabbed my third ticket and 2 out of 3 I've accepted via my BlackBerry. Your phone interview consists of them telling you about the company, asking you a few questions about the pro platform, and asking you about what you've been doing over the last few years, career wise.

jamesp1983

dynamik wrote: »

Yea, you do a phone interview. I need to do that and verify my certs.

For those of you that have been working with them, what's your skill/knowledge level and what type of work do you typically get? I put a relatively high dollar amount on server work only, and I'm not really expecting much to come from it. It seems like it's more often going to be something like: help Grandma setup her WAP and printer.

5 years IT, desktop support to network engineering, and most things in between. Two of the tickets I've had so far were to replace hard drives. This 3rd ticket that I'm doing Friday is to diagnose a slow PC and transfer some files from one system to another. I've had 5 tickets come my way total. The 2 that got away were moving a printer and replacing a server hard drive at a large company. I see about 1 or 2 a week. Join PPNs if you just want a lot of tickets. Some of the PPNs will try to lowball you from what I've heard. I'm a member of 2 and one has paid very well for the extent of the work.

SEM

Which one pays well? OnFroce at least lets you choose the ticket's you want and let ones you dont slide. I noticed that compared to a Service Magic at least OnForce will allow you to do real work instead of no jobs ever.

jamesp1983

att connectech has done right by me. I don't know what other people will tell you, but my experience with them has been positive.

loxleynew

When you accept jobs how do you setup a time to get the work done? I assume most of you work a 8-5 job or w/e. Do you just call the person and setup a time for the evening? Or are you all contractors and just work whenever you feel like it?

Ive always wondered about this.

SEM

I am not sure if you are asking about OnForce or another company but with OnForce you are sent a job it normally will have a service date included. In my experience you do have some wiggle room as to what time you can schedule the work. In some cases a client may have a specific time that they want you on site. If you cant make it you just choose to not accept the job.

Something I found helpful when joining OnFoce is to speak with other techs that are working on the platform. You can do this many ways, either go to the OnForce blog or they have set up some social media sites you can use to get more info on the company. LinkedIn has a profile here: OnForce - Company Profile on LinkedIn also they have a Facebook site with other techs on it, OnForce, Inc. | Facebook . Check these three options out and see if it helps.

amart83

Don't know about you guys but in Miami the IT industry is not very good if you don't live in the Coral Gables, Downtown, or Ft. Lauderdale area. At least if you don't travel 25+ miles to work every day or have a dependable ride.

I'm gonna give this OnForce a try in the meantime until things pick up and hopefully it will help build my contacts in the IT industry.

Dakinggamer87

I may look into this to make some extra cash doing some side work. It would help to pay for my certification tests.

earweed

I've been with them for a while. I've done maybe 20 jobs. Not bad actually.
A plus is the free Dell training and certs theyngive you.

altjx

Sorry to bring back an old thread. I heard about OnForce when I was 18 and I'm 20. Turning 21 in Feb and I've just been anxious to finally finish my profile with them. It really sucks that I have to wait until I'm 21 and I'm already working on my 6th certification with 2 1/2 IT experience.

I have a quick question for you all though who are working with them, do you ever send out work orders after business hours? I was hoping I could use OnForce as a side income, but not sure how their hours and stuff work.