Computer Tech Shop

CompuGeeks

Hi i work on Ctrl Center at OfficeMax on Puerto Rico, Ctrl Center is similar to Firedog and Geeksquad the only problem i have they paid me $9.00 dollar per hour. I thinks this is not enough money to me because i have A+, Network+, MCP, MCDST, MCITP and Apple Certified. I am a little scary to move like freelancer because the economy is very bad. But can someone give me good suggestion to make more money that ctrl center or other business that can make here in computer.

maumercado

Certifcations are not translated into more money without experience... besides money making also depends on your job responsabilities, companies net income and size, where you reside... for example a person in New york wont make the same money as a person in florida...

You could ask for a raise or for a change in position to system administrator or similar, but that also depends a lot on your experience...

skrpune

hrm, I'm not really sure what a fair wage would be in Puerto Rico...have you tried looking at job ads to see what someone of your skills/certs/experience makes? How much experience do you have?

Most often, the pay rates in chain stores is pretty much set, so I'm not sure if you can really get too much more where you're at unless you move up the ladder a bit. Are there more responsibilities that you can take on to show management that are deserving of a pay hike or a promotion?

I wouldn't advise striking out on your own at this point...while small tech shops often charge less than chain stores, people are somewhat unwilling to pay money (even if it is less) to someone they don't "know" and can't get a guarantee from. And without a set base of customers, you're probably going to have a hard time making ends meet. Maybe start up a business of your own on the side & build up a customer base - over time, word of mouth will spread from customer to customer and you can be growing your business over time, all while having a stable job at the Ctrl Center.

jryantech

Firedog who? Only have Geeksquad now ;]

Remember that you have the basic certifications and probably had no experience before you landed this job. $9/hr is actually pretty reasonable since they are giving you a chance to get experience.

I mean you would rather be doing computer work for 9 bucks then flipping burgers for 10, right? Because the experience is more important.

After you get a year experience, you can take that and your certifications and probably ask for a nice raise or find other work. But I don't know what the market is like in Puerto Rico.

If you have already been working at "Ctrl Center" for a year and still making $9 an hour then you need to sit down with management. And if you feel you deserve more money but have worked less then a year, it is your call to ask for a raise but remember I am sure there are plenty of teenagers who would love the job you have, its the way it is with Geeksquad over here.

CompuGeeks

I have 1 year and 8 month and they never raise to me or other tech in the company. I have full time but i dont have any benefit that other company do like medic plan on something like that.

What do you thinks to put a business of Data Backup and Recovery Disk we have geeksquad in puerto rico but i never seen other place here that they do something like this.

BradleyHU

usually, retail techies dont get paid the big bucks anyways. you need to look at companies and not stores. Law firms, Financial firms, etc....even tho the economy might make the jobs a lil scarce right now. also if you have family here in the states, you could always try looking for something here, and if you're bilingual, there's always an opportunity here, especially in the NYC area, Miami, or any area with a decent hispanic population.