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Is computer repair a viable profession right now?

ascendant

ascendant

Senior member
Wasn't sure of the best place to post this, so here goes... I'm 34, and looking to change professions. Long story as to why, but the health and fitness industry I have worked with over the past 15 years is completely dead due to the economy. It is only a small part of why I'm changing professions, but nonetheless, has been a contributing factor.

So anyway, I'm headed back to school, and trying to figure out something I can do part-time which will be flexible hours that I can revolve around a primary focus on college.

Since I have worked with computers since the Commodore 64 existed, I thought I might create a computer repair website and try to do that locally. However, I'm not really sure how competitive the industry is and whether or not it would be worth my time.

Since I moved recently, I had to start from scratch again in my industry. I spent countless hours putting together a website for freelance personal training, and after about 6 weeks, I've managed to get it to the first page of local searches. However, it has still not pulled me in anything because of how bad the economy impacted us (and how competitive the industry is now because of it). I just don't want to waste any more time on it.

But anyway, I was wondering for those who opened a personal business in their areas, how competitive is it? How hard was it to get yourself to the top of the local searches? Is it something where you can develop a good website and draw people in, or is it like personal training, where you have to constantly aggressively market and sell to pull in any business? Any info you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated, because I really don't want to develop another web page and spend weeks upon weeks all for no return again.
 
no it's not, PCs are rapidly depreciating commodity items and a dying market, there is no money in fixing them
 
OS said:
no it's not, PCs are rapidly depreciating commodity items and a dying market, there is no money in fixing them
Click to expand...

This....

Seems to me the only people who can charge big money anymore are data retrieval companies and one would assume looking at the prices involved that most of their cashflow must come from businesses.
 
I would probably get into networking instead of PC repair. With the ever growing amount of devices that connect to the internet it safe to bet that network administrators will be in high demand for the near future. What do others think of this?
 
There is no shortage of people willing to blow $500 on a new 14 oz computer when an old 14 lb one would work just fine, once repaired. But evenso, those older machines wont go away completely. Mainly because not everyone is braindead. Most yes, but not all. The Applesauce-Brain Syndrome™ hasnt gotten everyone yet.

The biggest problem is finding a reputable location to work from. If your business does not have a reputable consumer-friendly bla bla storefront, you just wont get the volume you need to make good money. And then you gotta offer a hook.

For example: "Control your HTPC with your phone, for FREE. Stop in to find out how."

But still, you're not going to get many repeat customers in the computer repair business. It is very difficult to make money when you only get a repeat customer if something breaks, AND that something is not something you fixed previously.
 
PlastikSpork said:
I would probably get into networking instead of PC repair. With the ever growing amount of devices that connect to the internet it safe to bet that network administrators will be in high demand for the near future. What do others think of this?
Click to expand...

Lol, of course that is one of the very few things I don't have a whole lot of experience in. I was looking to focus more on home networking, computer clean-up, virus removal, preventative care, troubleshooting, hardware repair, and things along those lines.
 
sm625 said:
The biggest problem is finding a reputable location to work from. If your business does not have a reputable consumer-friendly bla bla storefront, you just wont get the volume you need to make good money. And then you gotta offer a hook.
Click to expand...

So, I'm assuming from your statements here, it would be very difficult and competitive to open an online repair shop that works out-of-home and does house calls? I figured it might be difficult, considering if they need you, they probably don't have internet access on their computer at that time, lol.
 
VirtualLarry said:
And then you've got to deal with the flakes. And the deadbeats. Not worth it, IMHO.
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Well, that was a concern of mine as well. Since I'd be running my own business, I would be the one to have to take the brunt of deadbeats, bounced checks, etc. I figure I could try to push more drop-offs than in-house, so that way if they don't pay, they don't get the computer back (with a waiver granting me that right of course). However, if the demand just isn't there, or if there is just too much competition to make it a viable profession, it doesn't seem like it's worth the time.
 
Well thanks for the feedback everyone. After doing more research, along with feedback I've gotten from this and another forum, I've decided it's just not going to be worth the effort.

When I saw that there was only one local website for computer repair in my area, I thought it might be worth it. But then, I noticed that there are well over two dozen local business listings on google local, yellow pages, etc. Just seems like it's way too competitive for me to be able to succeed without some seriously aggressive marketing, which I just don't have time for.
 
I do PC repair but if that was all I did I would be in trouble. It is NOT something I would recommend jumping into without a backup plan. There is competition galore from people who will come to your house for $20. Since 95% of PC repairs are virus/malware/spyware removal most people can do it.
 
Portable computers are send to depot for repair these day. Onsite repair for Desktop computers are sub contract out. If you planing on making money doing out of warranty repair, that is not going to be easy. People are noting going to spend $200-300 fixing a broken out of warranty computer when they can buy a new one for not much more.
 
PlastikSpork said:
I would probably get into networking instead of PC repair. With the ever growing amount of devices that connect to the internet it safe to bet that network administrators will be in high demand for the near future. What do others think of this?
Click to expand...

I would agree totally. I had an acquaintance at my last position that got into a very good job with the Veteran's Administration installing computers, networking, and installing software.
He was in a dead end field, and went back and got a 2 year technical degree I believe. I have a 4 year degree and many years of experience in research, but I am sure he could find a job almost immediately if needed, while it took me a year to find my current position.

I think these positions will only grow with the increased emphasis on security and data protection, which basically make it impossible for the end user to install updates or even add a printer because all of that requires administrative level access.
 
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