Is today's technicians getting younger or what?

[mikesorensen]

Everywhere you go now, Best Buy, CompUSA, etc., you see teenagers working on your computers. Most of these techs are afterschool kids with a part-time job. I myself got started in computers when I was ten. I then went to a government agency to build gigahertz memory boxes for just about anything, right down to CIA, Lockheed, westinghouse, security, etc. The, I slowly developed a name for myself in my area and worked in computer stores to be a tech. Most of my peers and trainers where teenagers younger than me even! I just think it is amazing how the youth of our future are getting a head start. All I have to say is this:

Parents, if they are into computers...get em started early. You know as much as I do that computers are the wave of the future. The internet has hit an all-time boom in only 5-8 years! Imagine what tommorow will bring as our youth of my generation learn and move up in society. Give them the encouragement, the need, the will to do the best they can. I built my first Heathkit computer when I was ten. I owe it all to my dad. I am not certified in anyway. No MCSE, no A+, no CNA, etc. I am a 20 year old systems administrator and director of the MIS dept. I probably will have no plans ever to go to school and get certs. Why should I? I have my career set.

What does all this mean, you ask? No, I am not some snot-nosed punk kid who thinks he knows it all. Believe me, I swear to you, I worked my tail off to get where I am now, but after just getting into the real world, right outta high school, when all my friends are struggling at a school they cant even really affor. Plus, there is so much MORE for me to learn. I love what I do, and I see a new troubleshooting problem everyday. I learn something new all the time. That, is what computers is all about!


mike sorensen
MIS director
NASCO

[This message has been edited by mikesorensen (edited August 17, 2000).]

[msn_tech]

The school of hard knocks is the best training in the computer field. No 2 motherboards react the same, yet most help desks are supplied with fresh out-of-high school kids who can read and follow line by line a trouble shooting check list provided by the manufacturer. Most of the work I do is on Dell, Gateway, HP, and Compaq machines when the customer gives up on the help desk. Fortunately, these are all sound in hardware so the solution is usually simple unlike the Packard Bell days.

[jeffbrown]

I agree, I am 20 as well and a Systems Admin, I did go to a 2 year tech college to get a AS degree, but that is not expensive. I was an intern here less than 6 months ago, and now a Sys Admin. It shows that hard work pays off, and so does learning by example. I have a friend who is my age who goes to a 4 year school for a BS in Computer Science. When he gets out I want to apply for the same jobs he does. With Three Years Sys Admin experience vs. School, I think that I can win! All jokes aside, we are testament to the fact that learning by example is the best way to learn Computers. Period.