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Background: I graduated from college in 2012 with an utterly useless degree and spent the following two years trying to find employment in Southern California. Work history includes a summer at a theme park (fired because I'm autistic and didn't understand that I was being given a verbal warning), "office assistant"/junior analyst at an SEO firm (fired when they realized they needed someone who actually knew SEO), and whatever menial office jobs the temp agencies could scrounge up. August of 2014: My parents laid out the money for ads in a local paper for my computer repair business, and since then we've sunk something like $2,500 into print ads, a website, placement at a local car wash, business cards, etc.. My skill set is the sort of stuff what SH/SC would call "computer janitor" work; I'm studying for an A+ certification which I'm hoping will help establish my legitimacy. But I still can't loving get any work, at least not consistently. I made $2,300 in August, but only $800 in September, and my car payment, student loans and rent cost me something like $700 a month. Present day: I have no plan for the future. My print ads are getting diminishing returns, I can't figure out how to market online to a demographic that isn't proficient with computers, and my parents are getting more irritated by the day (I'm a goon so of course I still live with them). I have a skill set and there are certainly people here who can benefit from it, but if I don't figure out how to connect the dots I'll be living on a street corner this time next year. -What can I do to get more work for PC Whisperer without spending too much money? -Should I apply for a seasonal part-time job to pay the bills? -Can I feasibly make a career out of my business, or will I have to go and get a real job someday?
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Oct 13, 2015 19:30
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I remember you! You were the E/N precursor to Benny! Did you manage to get ahold of your anger issues? IIRC you broke a TV when you got really mad back when you were living with a roommate, right? edit: Have you tried asking for advice in the IT jobs thread? http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3653857 Cicero fucked around with this message at 20:19 on Oct 13, 2015 |
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Oct 13, 2015 20:17
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Haha, probably shouldn't be surprised people still remember that thread, or its sequel. I'm better mentally but I'd be happier if I could get work consistently. This self employment thing seems to help but I want to reach independence sooner rather than later. Haven't checked the IT jobs thread, I'll take a look. E: iirc, someone in one of those threads told me to join the loving navy 
Captain Walker fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Oct 13, 2015 |
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Oct 13, 2015 20:42
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Are you unwilling to work helpdesk? I haven't seen one yet that won't hire seemingly anyone with a pulse and a tenuous grasp on the English language. Even being autistic or malodorous (unless it's truly offensive) doesn't appear to be disqualification.
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Oct 13, 2015 22:37
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AreWeDrunkYet posted:Are you unwilling to work helpdesk? I haven't seen one yet that won't hire seemingly anyone with a pulse and a tenuous grasp on the English language. Even being autistic or malodorous (unless it's truly offensive) doesn't appear to be disqualification. Utterly willing, but where do I look for those? Indeed was useless last time I did a job hunt. Also looking at managed service providers in my area, they might be hiring and I've never really investigated that side of things. It's basically what I do now but finding the work would be someone else's responsiblity.
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Oct 13, 2015 22:49
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Won't it be a lot easier to get a helpdesk/low-level IT position once you have your A+ cert? If I was in your position I think I'd focus on getting that as quickly as possible. If you have no other commitments, how long will it take you to get it?
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Oct 13, 2015 22:53
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Cicero posted:Won't it be a lot easier to get a helpdesk/low-level IT position once you have your A+ cert? If I was in your position I think I'd focus on getting that as quickly as possible. If you have no other commitments, how long will it take you to get it? I have the study materials, and I've been going over them for a few months now, but I'm terrified to actually schedule a test...but now that I have no commitments, what the hell, I should give it a try. I just don't want to bomb it and waste the money.
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Oct 13, 2015 22:54
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Captain Walker posted:Utterly willing, but where do I look for those? Indeed was useless last time I did a job hunt. Indeed, Dice, and LinkedIn are all good options. Also call up recruiters in your area, they will almost always at least take your resume and speak with you briefly. If you're truly getting desperate, a place like Robert Half can pretty much always place you on a 3 month contract somewhere.
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Oct 13, 2015 22:56
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Captain Walker posted:I have the study materials, and I've been going over them for a few months now, but I'm terrified to actually schedule a test...but now that I have no commitments, what the hell, I should give it a try. I just don't want to bomb it and waste the money. fake edit: yes? http://www.examcompass.com/comptia/a-plus-certification/free-a-plus-practice-tests
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Oct 13, 2015 23:13
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Cicero posted:Aren't there practice tests you can take to make sure you've got it down? Did pretty well on the sample questions, gonna try this.
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Oct 14, 2015 00:04
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Captain Walker posted:Background: I graduated from college in 2012 with an utterly useless degree and spent the following two years trying to find employment in Southern California. Work history includes a summer at a theme park (fired because I'm autistic and didn't understand that I was being given a verbal warning), "office assistant"/junior analyst at an SEO firm (fired when they realized they needed someone who actually knew SEO), and whatever menial office jobs the temp agencies could scrounge up. You should definitely apply for part time work to keep your head above water. If someone googles 'computer repair' are you showing up on google? Do you have any presence on yelp? Are you advertising on craigslist? Do you collect email addresses of your customers? Do you regularly market to your current customers via email? Have you looked into groupon sorts of stuff? Have you joined your local chamber of commerce? Have you looked into small business mentoring programs that probably exist locally? Have you marketed your services to businesses? This is probably where the money really is. Do you offer a monthly service contract? Ex: $500/month buys you 10 hours of support (and hope they don't use all 10 every month). Have you written PRs and sent them to the local papers? We have a local business paper that loves doing stories about new small businesses, and it can drive a surprising amount of business. edit: If you're really autistic to the point where it effects the sort of work you can get, look into getting disability.
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Oct 14, 2015 15:33
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Yeah man, do whatever crap thing you have to do as long as you can still study for certs. I languished for years with depression and anxiety until I got medicated and counseling, and finally got up the gumption to just go out and get certified. I don't even have an IT degree. I went to school for TV work and quit that because that's for nut jobs. Now I've got a low level support job but I'm learning like crazy and I've made more money than I've ever made (still not much though). Transcription pulled me through the tough times. Have you looked at the Legit Online Moneymaking thread? It's basically the Transcription thread. Edit: My advice on the self-employed-as-a-goal thing would be to get knowledge and experience with a regular job for a few years before striking out on your own. Zapf Dingbat fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Oct 14, 2015 |
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Oct 14, 2015 21:58
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I'm marketing on groupon and local deal sites, and I'm probably a month away from taking and passing the A+, tops. I'm looking for a holiday part-time job but I'm not sure what I can reasonably handle; all I've applied to so far is Costco. Also, there's the fact that my resume is pretty sparse except for one five-month office position and my current venture.
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Oct 15, 2015 18:35
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Why does a cert matter when doing home computer Janitor stuff?
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Oct 15, 2015 19:43
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n8r posted:Why does a cert matter when doing home computer Janitor stuff? Marketing, especially to small businesses, for one thing, and having a way to quantify the scope of my knowledge for another.
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Oct 15, 2015 19:52
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Why not just say you have them? Nobody every checks that sort of stuff. SA now deems thee to have an A+ cert. Edit: Source: http://www.techexams.net/blogs/jdmurray/80-how-do-i-verify-someone-really-certified.html n8r fucked around with this message at 08:36 on Oct 16, 2015 |
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Oct 16, 2015 08:32
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If you have communciation issues I'd think trying to find a help desk job is going to be a better route than trying to be out there hustling every day for your own independent business.
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Oct 17, 2015 05:21
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:If you have communciation issues I'd think trying to find a help desk job is going to be a better route than trying to be out there hustling every day for your own independent business. There is much truth in this, but these same communication issues have long hindered my efforts to land and keep a nine to five. I've just applied for Costco, of all things. Is there some trick to getting in the door there?
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Oct 20, 2015 18:07
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Update for the three or four of you who give a poo poo, I guess? I've registered for the A+ exam; I'm taking the 801 in early December. Long term, the goal is probably to get an MSP or helpdesk job, but to do that I really want the A+ to help me stand out, and in the meantime I'll be hustling my own thing, I guess. I do have a half dozen or so really good clients that pay bank when they need me, and plenty of computer-illiterate retirees that have my number. It's just that the work isn't always there. I also started a Groupon deal, and I'll be featured on a local deal site right after Christmas which is about the best time to run a computer janitor service. So there's that.
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Nov 2, 2015 19:19
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I'm not in the consumer CJ business, is it still a feasible line of work at all? It seems that more and more repairable computers are replaced with disposable phones, tablets or even laptops that can barely be opened at all, and spyware poo poo isn't as bad as in the XP days either. Maybe emphasize iphone screen replacement or something like this? Everyone breaks theirs.
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Nov 10, 2015 17:24
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Yeah, I'm getting that impression myself. But beyond software work or RAM replacement I really don't have the expertise to work on Apple hardware (read: I couldn't get a job at the Apple Store, either). I just don't know enough besides what's common to all PCs that I'm learning from the A+.
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Nov 10, 2015 17:34
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Dont sweat the A+. Think of it as your pass to get past the HR types that dont have a clue about anything related to IT. You just need to land any sort of grunt work computer janitor/help desk job you can. Then stay 6 months to a year and when you have experience jump ship to a better job. After you have some time in you'll know enough to start finding a niche and you can really make bank.
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Nov 10, 2015 17:58
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Captain Walker posted:Yeah, I'm getting that impression myself. But beyond software work or RAM replacement I really don't have the expertise to work on Apple hardware (read: I couldn't get a job at the Apple Store, either). I just don't know enough besides what's common to all PCs that I'm learning from the A+. I found his videos to be helpful for A+ :http://www.professormesser.com/free-a-plus-training/free-a-plus/ Slowly working on a similar IT career path myself and living in a expensive city is a pain.
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Nov 21, 2015 17:34
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To be honest man just lie about the A+. The material is outdated anyway and doesn't actually transfer into a real skill. Work on your resume. Gather references from all of your successful jobs. If you really want the A+, stop thinking about it and just get it out of the way. Running your own business is ALL about marketing and hustle, so if you aren't willing to work 7 days a week meeting people and getting your name out there, you're probably better off working for someone else.
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Dec 9, 2015 21:18
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Jecht posted:To be honest man just lie about the A+. The material is outdated anyway and doesn't actually transfer into a real skill. Work on your resume. Gather references from all of your successful jobs. If you really want the A+, stop thinking about it and just get it out of the way. Running your own business is ALL about marketing and hustle, so if you aren't willing to work 7 days a week meeting people and getting your name out there, you're probably better off working for someone else. In no particular order: I just passed the 801 and I'm on my way to the 802; I have never held a job other than this one for more than five months; I am completely willing to do the hustle and flow, I just don't know how yet. I've tried print ads and I'm starting to send out email blasts as well.
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Dec 9, 2015 21:23
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