A mate of mine.... ;-)

intel

Want's to go into PC repair at PC World or on His own.


So whats the bets qualification to get.. Or one that will allow this career change.

:beer: :shhh:

albertross_2

IMO, experience, knowledge, or an eagerness to learn is more important than a qualification. Proving the latter at an interview is obviously difficult..

Hanging out on this site would be a good intro to what they might come up against in the real world. O'reilly books are quite good.

Depending on your mate's (hehe spying not paying enough?) age and salary requirements, starting off working in the shop might enable them to get a foot in the door, if there aren't any suitable vacancies in the techy side.

I'd avoid those expensive learn at home and earn 30k packages advertised on daytime TV. A night school course at a local FE college might be more use.

Microsoft exams can be used to get a foot in the door, but they are a bit difficult for a newbie, but it depends on their current level of knowledge. Having said that, I've come across MCP's who don't know how many bytes there are in a kilobyte!

It sounds like dsg need some backend support, click on the links on this page, and you'll see what I mean ..

http://dsgportal01.dixons.co.uk/wps/portal/dixons.careers.searchandapply

intel

My mate will be very happy.

GreenNotM

Probably the A+, Network+ by CompTIA
"Where Do I Start?
Most people who are new to the computing industry start out as computer technicians. The CompTIA A+ certification exam will give you the foundation-level knowledge you need. CompTIA also offers advanced certifications in areas, such as security, networking, Linux, project management, Intranet and e-commerce, technical training and home technology.
"

You can self study for these via the exam cram series etc - they are very practical based. But I have never taken them. Look out for the old MS Exam books on Network Essential now a defunct exam but a good grounding, esp now the internet has taken off ! (Bill wasn't sure on that - remember MSN vs the Web .. hmm wander who won :rolleyes: ?)

Don't want to put a downer on your friend but i doubt PC world do many repairs - it will just be swapping out parts or returning boxes to suppliers. Or you may end up in a call center with a script

Avoid the programming courses - you are best off getting experience at a charity doing PC recycling etc.

Toxteth_OGrady

albertross wrote:

(hehe spying not paying enough?)

Maybe his mate is going undercover!

:rotfl:

:cool:

TOG

mondayuk

Intel
I agree that experience is a far better qualification than anything you can walk out of a course with. I'm MCSE qualified and while it's definitely worth the money if you're planning to be a Server admin, there's nothing in there which is anything more than the guts Windows Server (apart from a touch of TCP/IP and Networking). In terms of hardware i've heard good things about A+, but i've got by with nothing but the willingness to take things apart and to hell with the consequences .

I'm a posting newbie intel but your name has cropped up a few times on fixes i've seen. If your "friend" has half your experience he'll do well.

MondaY

mondayuk

And just one more thing. Tell your friend to steer clear of PC World....

albertross_2

Personally, I think that knowing a bit about programming gives anyone working in PC support a good grounding. All you need to fix hardware is a screwdriver, a spare part, and a wrist-strap. Most PC support is about software .. knowing how software works, is fundamental to understanding how best to fix the problem.

GreenNotM

albertross wrote:

Personally, I think that knowing a bit about programming gives anyone working in PC support a good grounding. All you need to fix hardware is a screwdriver, a spare part, and a wrist-strap. Most PC support is about software .. knowing how software works, is fundamental to understanding how best to fix the problem.

The source code to Windows is not yet available, maybe if Intel's friend wanted to write device drivers to test erratic kit or compile custom Linux kernals then an intensive C or C++ or C# etc.. course would be an advantage but not at a PC World counter..

Best to get :-
i) an understanding of the various levels involved in a PC/computer from actual hardware to user interface ( onion model ) and how each level interacts.
ii) an understanding of comms/networking - 7 layer model good place to start
iii) a methodical efficient approach to problem solving - first look at the recent changes then the common problems (first line) Was it set up correctly ( know the best practises) has a gremlin crept in (aka virus etc). know when to escalate ( are updates avail to fix ) .. when to stop !
iv) understanding of users - an ability to listen to the problem and to what is being said and not said - but not empathy - people want solutions not "ahhh did dums" etc.. How to control the info they are giving you... :rolleyes:

When you have the first 3 and you can start looking at specific operating systems such as XP/2000/NT/98/95/Linux/Dos and see how they implement the above i) & ii) models and use iii) to solve the problems. Learn the best practises - no need to re-invent the wheel.

Next get used to installing/using/updating/removing common applications - MS Office AV/Firewalls - explore all the menu items all the options and settings esp the help files. Also include the various set-up routines for the popular items sold at PC World esp wireless kit !!

Then consider looking at the network o/s's W2k/2003/Novell/Linux and the type of resilient kit that is needed to run 24/7. Server applications etc etc

Anyway that should take your friend a week or two :j , after that he can look at cisco boxes :j

All I am saying is that knowing how to read/write programming code will not help a pc support tech - best to do the generic A+, Network+ courses then specialise to your local market. A programming language is like a spoken language it can takes years to know every nuance and write efficient code - non-GNU source code would/is not be released into the wild beyond beta programs so a PC Support person would never need such skills.

Being able to use the final product of the programming is a different matter - that is where the support starts in the product's lifecycle.

albertross_2

Greennotm,

You missed my point, but I can't be bothered to argue about it..

Knowing how an internal combustion engine works, will make a better mechanic, than someone who can change an oil filter, but doesn't know what it does.

A basic understanding of how programs work (and how they fail) can be achieved, without having access to the Windows source code, or being an expert in C++.

silverfoxdude

Hi

I dont know what quals one 'should' get, but I dont see why it cant be done with self taught knowledge.

I would def not go to PC World, doubt it would look good on the CV