What credentials do I need to work at Geek Squad?

coolbeans777

What credentials do I need to work at Geek Squad? Do I need a college degree?

Would I need a college degree to become a linux sysadmin?

kriscamaro68

To answer your questions.... None. No and no.

Also shoot for something better than geeksquad if you can.

Bloogen

I don't think you need any specific credentials, A+ may be needed and beneficial in general though. Is there a specific position within Geek Squad you are looking at or just an in store tech?

You don't need a college degree to be a linux sysadmin but how to get there is pretty open ended. Start studying, labbing, get certifications and apply to entry level jobs. Also depends on what your current knowledge is.

goldenlight

a High School Diploma or GED.. Be willing to Sell Maintenance contracts, and have a love for technology.


Geek Squad Knows LInux.. No Way

no college degree required.. Take a course at the community college get some experience and read as much as you can about linux.

yoshiiaki

uh...perhaps it was just my ability to answer all the questions and correct things the hiring manager said, but I had an A+ and went in for a job and wasn't hired cause I was "over qualified"...-_- so my guess is if you know nothing about computers and are a smooth talker to sell to people who don't know about computers than your good to go.

Roguetadhg

From what I hear:
1) You have set your standards too high.

There was another post around here about Old/Current GS agents and their thoughts.

EV42TMAN

haha geek squad... If you get the A+ and the Windows 7 certification you can get a better tech support job then geek squad. Side note I've made a lot of money on the side fixing geek squad mistakes their job requirements might say tech support experience but, what they really mean is sales experience.

I applied once when I was bored and unemployed. At the time I had A+ Net+ MCSA, MCDST, and MCITP on Vista (7 wasn't out yet) 4 years of experience and no college degree... They said I was "Too over qualified" and wouldn't give me an interview.

So my piece of advise is to start doing to certifications and aim higher then geek squad.

ptilsen

For Geek Squad? Passable English and a pulse. Although I doubt they discriminate against the undead.

For everything above Geek Squad, a college degree is a great thing to have, but no one sane will say you need it. I would highly recommend it.

tpatt100

Back in the day when I was looking for experience I was turned down by Gateway Country. Thinking back though they wanted Apple Store type employees "before" there were even any Apple Stores to begin with. Now that store is a guitar store.

pcgizzmo

To work for Geek Squad you need to have warm blood running through your veins. You can do better.

Michael2

You have to be related to the general manager.

amcnow

Like others have said, you can do better than Geek Squad. With that said, here are a couple of things they generally desire:

1. High School Diploma / GED
2. A+ certification

If you're expecting Geek Squad to be a tech haven, then you will be sorely disappointed. Your job would be more about sales and less about tech support.

coolbeans777

Thanks for the responses guys. I guess I'm not going to be working at geek squad lol. What kind of jobs could I get with a windows 7 and a A+ certification?

jmritenour

ptilsen wrote: »

For Geek Squad? Passable English and a pulse. Although I doubt they discriminate against the undead.

I dunno, employing zombies can be an extreme legal liability with all the bites and whatnot. Besides, zombies tend to prefer working & shopping at Apple stores.

the_hutch

A GED and a pocket protector?

j23evan

Geek Squad isn't bad. Don't get me wrong, it isn't good. However they tend to pay their people poorly and pricegouge customers. I previous employee of mine was a Regional Manager for Geek Squad and he was technically brilliant. However he had no formal IT knowledge or Certs. They wanted him to obtain the A+ but he never did.

So I believe they prefer A+ but it is not required. It's much better to study and specialize than get stuck in the Tech Support role.

the_hutch

coolbeans777 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses guys. I guess I'm not going to be working at geek squad lol. What kind of jobs could I get with a windows 7 and a A+ certification?

On a more serious note, there are a lot of jobs way worse than geek squad. If you are having trouble finding something else, it certainly doesn't hurt to start at GS and then start looking around for something better in the meantime.

ptilsen

j23evan wrote: »

Geek Squad isn't bad... However they tend to pay their people poorly and pricegouge customers.

Sounds like bad to me.

Iristheangel

Here's what you need for Geeksquad:
1) A pulse
2) Semi-professional looking and behaving
3) You know how to format a computer and reinstall an OS

Seriously though, it's not bad as a stop-gap if you need the spare cash and you can't find another job but I wouldn't advise staying there for too long if you can avoid it. You might see some interesting end-user issues and get to laugh at the copious amounts/fetishes of crazy pr0n you'll see on other people's computers but you'll lose your faith in humanity if you continue this for too long.

On a side but somewhat related note, I was just informed that I was promoted to "Silver" status on my Best Buy rewards card and it comes with a free Geek Squad house call. I have no idea how I'm going to use it yet but I'm sure it'll be fun

paulgswanson

On a side but somewhat related note, I was just informed that I was promoted to "Silver" status on my Best Buy rewards card and it comes with a free Geek Squad house call. I have no idea how I'm going to use it yet but I'm sure it'll be fu

You should set up a trap, and see how long it takes them to figure it out.

Iristheangel

I should set up a strictly CLI Linux box and ask for help setting up Apache on it

prtech

Sales experience.

Roguetadhg

So cruel!

I'd make sure there's a compressed folder that has viruses, labeled "Financial Documentation", "Lovin".

sratakhin

You could encrypt the folder with some documents in Windows and mess up the user profile. Let them have some fun setting up recovery agents

100k

I actually work at Geek Squad its not nearly as bad as you all imply. Some of the guys I work with actually know there stuff with years of experience. All the guys that do the in house repairs are certified CCNA and A+ at a minimum. They have gotten a bad rep because of Best Buy's company direction.

DoubleNNs

I'm sure you need an A+ and a high school diploma/GED.

I applied with my Net+ and Sec+ and haven't gotten a call back, probably because I don't have my A+ yet. Funny thing is, as soon as i DO get my A+, I'll be aiming for higher than GS.

EV42TMAN

Iristheangel wrote: »

I should set up a strictly CLI Linux box and ask for help setting up Apache on it

you wouldn't have to go that level to confuse them. Have a windows server core setup and tell them to install IIS or any server role for that matter.

YFZblu

^ There was a case study done a while back, in which a user intentionally unplugged a SATA cable connecting a PC motherboard to the hard drive, and took his machine into several big box store hardware support departments to see what would happen.

IIRC only one store was up front and told him what the real issue was without charging him. One store tried to tell him there was a power supply failure and attempted to sell an expensive PSU to him. I believe he took it to Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Max, Comp USA, etc...I'll try to find the article later, it was a good read.

Nemowolf

I was an agent for 9 months many years ago. I also have a very good friend who holds a regional manager position for services so i know this is still true.

You don't need a high school diploma as they could potentially hire a kid in HS still. I don't recall ever hearing anything about an age requirement for the position.

They do ask that you have technical experience and can interview through questions that will be presented.

Having said that ...

Geek Squad is primarily an in-house sales arm so expect to be treated more like a car sales man than a technician. If you do end up working for GS you will probably find the one guy who bleeds black and orange and the rest of the team will be there for a pay check. I got out after they canceled the program for the next level i could have been promoted too.

SteveLord

YFZblu wrote: »

^ There was a case study done a while back, in which a user intentionally unplugged a SATA cable connecting a PC motherboard to the hard drive, and took his machine into several big box store hardware support departments to see what would happen.

IIRC only one store was up front and told him what the real issue was without charging him. One store tried to tell him there was a power supply failure and attempted to sell an expensive PSU to him. I believe he took it to Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Max, Comp USA, etc...I'll try to find the article later, it was a good read.

There's a video on YouTube. Granted it is a little old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvnfhjaFSDw

I love GS for 1 thing. Their known brand and high prices. Everyone knows them....so pretty much everyone hates them. Makes it an easier sell for me to make extra money.

When I was at BB last week picking up an XBOX controller, I overheard one telling a person on the phone about how the "iPad Mini has a Retina screen alright, but not a pure Retina screen. But yeah it is still better than the iPad3's."

And that was only being in the store for 10 minutes.

W Stewart

100k wrote: »

I actually work at Geek Squad its not nearly as bad as you all imply. Some of the guys I work with actually know there stuff with years of experience. All the guys that do the in house repairs are certified CCNA and A+ at a minimum. They have gotten a bad rep because of Best Buy's company direction.

Why would you need a CCNA to work at geeksquad? I know customers aren't bringing in their catalyst cisco switches to get them repaired. Do those guys just maintain geeksquads personal network equipment or are they just wasting their time and potential working at geeksquad?