[RESOLVED] Retail Technicians

[jza734]

Man i feel for you guys. After seeing that alot of the tech's who post here are working as retail bench techs, i had to write this. i worked for three years at a small var/mom pop store near Ann Arbor, Michigan. There our customer's where usually idiots. Some small businessess ran by idiots. But all in all the usual. These shops ask too much, pay too little, and where do you really end up after serving many years? Screw that, take your years of exp. and go to a corporate var or a corporation period - that's what i did and boy, so little stress it's no even funnny.

oh yeah, much better pay too!

good luck guys/gals!

[captpackrat]

Oh yeah. I did the small local computer store thing. After I quit, I was so stressed out I didn't even bother looking for a new job for 3 months!

Now I'm working for the engineering department of one of the world's largest surveilance equipment makers. The hours are MUCH better (9-5 instead of 9-9, 5 days a week instead of 6), the pay is nearly triple, and the work load is 1/10th. And no lusers to deal with, only engineers & admins.

I doubt if I'd have gotten this job, however, without 'doing time' in a store.




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Captain Troy D. Pack Rat
`akbar Press

If you're furry and you know it, hug the mouse!

[weich]

I hear you. Every tech needs time in the trenches with those crazy home users. Now that I am the only Network Admin working for a company what I say goes, and if I see something I don't like, I change it. Plain and simple.
The 2x soon to be 4x pay isn't too shabby either.
The only downside is you start to lose some skill, and the comradare with all those other techs<sniffle>.

[theBeast]

I think I'm beginning to suffer from burn out.
Does fantasizing about electrocuting customers with 15,000V 200A cattle prods fit in that category?

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***the Beast
- Fate drove me here...then told me to get out of the car...

[tracker]

Cattle prods always work great!

I've had 3 tech jobs - one was more of an intern kinda thing at the college I was going to, which, was nice..next job outta there was a tiny consulting firm, sucked ***. Now, I've been lucky enough to get in on a place that isn't large enough to be a corporation, but, not small enough to be mom & pop...no stress, decent pay, can't go wrong!

Craig

[Marlboro_Man]

I am working for a small company know the hours are 24/7 on call 8-5 normaly i spend 8-8 working though sallared position with health. it sucks people at mcdonalds are making more than me and i am busting my ***. no large corporations looking to higher techs right now 3 corpations in my area. i figure i will put in a nother year or till i go nuts and go and find me a nice admin job

[iateyourcat]

yep, that time in the trenches is necessary. i thought i new something about computers until i had worked as a bench tech for a month. then i started learning something about computers. after working for a var 1.5 years i learned something about the industry. invaluable info.. now i'm at a big *** corp and i love it. i could go work for another var or integrator and make more money but i don't give a ****. i work hard but it's nowhere near the stress level. i go home now and don't think about work until the next morning. i'm not thinking about the little pc piranhas who yelled at ME because THEY deleted the windows folder. i don't goto sleep worrying about how the hell i'm going ghost 110 fully installed SBS machines (and change the name/domain) because the sales guy said it could be done. instead, i work with a good crew on a well thought out platform that makes life relatively simple.

the world is currently golden. life is good. ..all of a suddden i'm craving chicken wings and a pitcher

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=-iateyourcat-=

[evilcabbage]

I worked for 12 months in a small retail shop, after which been in a quasi-corporate company for almost another 12 months now.

As much as I bitched and moaned about working in retail, I did meet a fair few decent people, and I wouldnt have the chances I have for advancement now, if I hadnt gone through the process of "my sons cousins girlfriends, second cousin twice removed, who is some sort of computer guy, told me my compute would run faster if I did *insert stupid thing here*"

Im glad for the time I was there, wouldnt have changed it a bit

[crtlaltdel]

I had the same deal, small operation (me and the owner), worked 7 days a week 12 hours a day and didn't get paid on a regular basis. Finally cut my ties and started work for a 100 user corp, with all the right situations to study for my MCSE, no looking back now

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What do you think this is ? The Holiday Inn...

[slkdprk]

I don't know how many of you have read the MASH book ( yes from the television show) in it they talk about the kind of surgery they do in the trnches. they call it meatball surgery. this is to say that you jump in tear it out get it done and move on. the ability to do this is invaluable later on when you decide you want that cushy job. Some of us however still live for the fast pace and iminent danger of being up here on the front lines and not some sort of REMF.
/Slk

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It's a Jeep thing you wouldn't understand.

[kennethstarrfp]

With cattle prods, shock them in the stomach, they have no control over themselves and hey **** their pants.

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Don't **** with me, I'm running LINUX!

[Kyr0n]

I work at a retail computer shop, the customers suck, but you have to be nice to them cause its not a corporation, every single customer matters, cause most of our business is from customers who come back frequently(not because of anything we've done...but because of their own ignorance..and a little bit of stupidity sometimes).

[SiCkNuT]

I work in the same kinda thing, same kinda dumbass customers, same kinda dumpy paycheck. I've been doing it for 3 years now and it's driving me mental. I like what I do but it's the retard clients who wreck it for everyone by being complete ignorant fools who can't find the start button, lack the co-ordination to double click their mouse and can't boot their computer because they've left a floppy in their drive. Who lets these people use computers? They cause us techs sooo much stress, the occasional laugh but mainly just headaches. So, you people, you know who you are, when I quit my job and become a homicidal maniac, it'll be all your fault!!

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[ i N S A N i T Y 2 0 0 0 ]

[wire_wiz]

The Beast Said:

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I think I'm beginning to suffer from burn out.
Does fantasizing about electrocuting customers with 15,000V 200A cattle prods fit in that category?
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***the Beast
Only if you Overclock them

[wire_wiz]

The Beast Said:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think I'm beginning to suffer from burn out.
Does fantasizing about electrocuting customers with 15,000V 200A cattle prods fit in that category?
------------------
***the Beast
Only if you Overclock them