Schooling to do with PC's?

[willhenderson]

so i was thinking of maybe going to school for something to do working with pcs, pc repair or something of that sort.

any advice/thoughts/experiences? things to look out for or keep in mind, fields to shoot for etc..

[3Simon7]

so i was thinking of maybe going to school for something to do working with pcs, pc repair or something of that sort.

any advice/thoughts/experiences? things to look out for or keep in mind, fields to shoot for etc..

"You learn by doing"

Buy some books or find some info on the internet.

Build your own PC, mess it up and then learn how to fix it!

Get some older PCs cheap and do the same thing.

As you gain experience start working on PCs for your
friends and family (although that could backfire!!!).

If you start learning now you'll be way ahead of the game when
you go to PC school.

[willhenderson]

right on, noted. thanks for the advice

[willhenderson]

would something like this be a nice foot in the door..


Network Support Technician (NST):
NST graduates will be able to troubleshoot computer and network hardware and software problems, install and configure hardware and software components common to most computer systems and construct wired and wireless local area networks, in accordance with A+ and Network+ certification standards. Training includes a strong emphasis on computer/networking theory, coupled with intensive hands-on practical experience, which provides the skills necessary for maintenance and troubleshooting of modern computer and networking equipment.

[Dv8ted2]

That will be sufficient.

[Super Warrior]

"You learn by doing"

Buy some books or find some info on the internet.

Build your own PC, mess it up and then learn how to fix it!

Get some older PCs cheap and do the same thing.

As you gain experience start working on PCs for your
friends and family (although that could backfire!!!).

If you start learning now you'll be way ahead of the game when
you go to PC school.

Agreed. I first began learning all that i know now about computers, when i attempted my first mod on a comp all by myself. It was an entry-level gateway comp in a boring looking tower, and i wanted to switch to a nicer looking tower with more drive bays.

Learned ALOT just from taking it all apart, and putting it back together in the new case. Having never done that stuff before i was pretty damn nervous, thinking i'd mess something up.

When i finally finished doing it all with the new case, i celebrated with some Mike's hard lemonade. Ahhhh memeories :P

Same goes now with my first 2006 Dell laptop early this year. I'd NEVER done anything with a laptop before, and thought it would somehow be "harder" to upgrade. Turns out upgrading a laptop is even EASIER than a desktop PC.

[Dv8ted2]

Super[/url] Warrior]

"You learn by doing"

Buy some books or find some info on the internet.

Build your own PC, mess it up and then learn how to fix it!

Get some older PCs cheap and do the same thing.

As you gain experience start working on PCs for your
friends and family (although that could backfire!!!).

If you start learning now you'll be way ahead of the game when
you go to PC school.

Agreed. I first began learning all that i know now about computers, when i attempted my first mod on a comp all by myself. It was an entry-level gateway comp in a boring looking tower, and i wanted to switch to a nicer looking tower with more drive bays.

Learned ALOT just from taking it all apart, and putting it back together in the new case. Having never done that stuff before i was pretty damn nervous, thinking i'd mess something up.

When i finally finished doing it all with the new case, i celebrated with some Mike's hard lemonade. Ahhhh memeories :P

Same goes now with my first 2006 Dell laptop early this year. I'd NEVER done anything with a laptop before, and thought it would somehow be "harder" to upgrade.
Turns out upgrading a laptop is even EASIER than a desktop PC.

I too learned by doing. I gave now built and repaired hundreds of systems. I then went to school and was ahead of most of the class.

[willhenderson]

did you end up landing something, a job for the said school^

cheers for the replies everyone!

[Dv8ted2]

did you end up landing something, a job for the said school^

cheers for the replies everyone!

I got a job, although it took me a while. I work in technical support. I answer network questions everyday. I speak to so called network administrators that do not understand windows permissions and do not know where the start button is. I am back in school. This time my field is Information Systems Security.

Have faith, for this industry is bent on keeping people out and telling you that you cannot do things. As long as you truly love what you do, you will come out on top.

[SquirrelDip]

I got a job, although it took me a while. I work in technical support. I answer network questions everyday. I speak to so called network administrators that do not understand windows permissions and do not know where the start button is. I am back in school. This time my field is Information Systems Security.

Have faith, for this industry is bent on keeping people out and telling you that you cannot do things. As long as you truly love what you do, you will come out on top.

Working technical support can be a thankless job - I used to work for a larger engineering firm and helped out the I.T. group when they were overwhelmed. If anything went wrong it was always your fault - not the fact that the moron using the computer hadn't a clue what they were doing.

My current company only has 8 employees - I am the I.T. department (as well as my design duties). The nice thing with a small group is all are fairly compitent and I don't get the bullshit questions.

I've always found programming rewarding (I finished half a degree in CompSci before transferring to Engineering) but can be very difficult to make it a decent job. However having programming as base and applying it to something else will do you well. Point here is you want to separate yourself from the group.

Information Systems Security would be a good option - I would think this to be quite interesting and challenging.