Fixing Computers to make extra money

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: DPK
Thanks for the link Jeff. You are right, I am currently looking for a job, but even with an Information Science degree from a university and 3-4 years experience, I have yet to find a job that doesn't want to pay an insulting amount and contract me out for 6-9 months. One guy even called me and offerd to pay me $8 an hour and sounded like he was doing me a favor. I figure that one problem call would earn me more money then that job would have paid in an 8 hour day.

I hear ya there. I can make like $50 for doing basic troubleshooting and cleaning ads off of someone's computer - I don't ever state an official payrate; they just give me the check. That for 2hrs of easy work?
And that pay thing? I was offered a job at a college for a sort of work/study thing to service computers. $6.50 an hour. For IT work. On labs of computers. I made more than that when I worked at K-mart for god's sake! No, I did not take the job.

As for the legal stuff, it looks like a well-crafted waiver might be the way to go. Unfortunately, something like that could probably be as long as a Microsoft End User License Agreement. Damn legalese.:|

Other stories I've heard during my temp work at a computer place:
Another temp there was laid off because he said his boss never saw him doing anything during his IT job. Thing is, the network where he worked was almost always operational, because the IT guy had done an excellent job of maintaining the network and preventing downtime. Plus he also said that his boss didn't have any clue about computers and what's involved, so he saw the IT guy as a burden to their profits.

Something else to watch for is that when you get to some customers, they will already have a diagnosis, and they'll be damned if some "professional" is going to tell them otherwise, especially if you're just a "kid" to them (I'm guessing you're in your early 20's like me).

 

[Shelly21]

Originally posted by: DPK
I just graduated college and am currently looking for a job. One possibility that I keep thinking of is to start my own business fixing computers or to get a real job first and fix computers on the side until I could build up a decent reputation. I really don't know where to start though. What do I need to know? For example, what are the going rates for time put into fixing a computer? Should I look into legal issues? I appreciate any input.

I know this one guy who didn't like to work for people...so he got a small business loan, started his own computer support company. End up losing all his investment and declared chapter 11. Now he's working for a credit card company as a tech support. Paying back some of his debts....

 

[UberDave]

is to start my own business


Hope you're good at accounting

 

[T2T III]

Like many others have indicated, going into this type of business is like trying to climb a steep slippery and muddy slope. If you are going to do this because it's something that you love, then go for it. However, if you're doing it because you want to get rich quick, then you're heading into it for the wrong reasons. If I were you, I'd get a position full-time with a company and then do the PC work on the side. I've done some PC work for associates at work. I've never really charged them for the work, but they've provided me with good references when needed. That alone, is worth more than the $40 or $50 that I would have charged them.