Should I take a job making house calls?

[MadPeriot]

$9/hour is too low. The guy probably charges $60-$75 an hour for your service. Do your self a favor and negotiate to at least $15/hour.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: deathkoba

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: deathkoba
Yea but they won't give a flyin fvck if you screw up just a little bit. You're talking about people's computers and data here. You think that's only worth 2x more than someone's burger? Come on this isn't any sweatshop kind of job you know. I've done the same job for years for $40 an hour and I thought that wasn't quite enough.

$40 an hour doing it privately? That I could understand. But if that's from an employer, WOW. Unless you were doing stuff more involved than just general troubleshooting and upgrades.

Well it was sort of an 'all around' kind of job. Jobs ranged anywhere from regular troubleshooting, upgrades etc. to small business network planning and maintenance on both Macs and PCs. I'm a certified jack of all trades though.

Nice money either way. :thumbsup:

I'm thinking no about the job. True, I could ask for $11/hour or so, and maybe he'd pay it, but he said they typically go out in the evenings, and I'd hate working evenings all summer long, plus dealing with old people who know nothing about computers = :thumbsdown:.

Then again, maybe it'd be tolerable if I could negotiate a good pay.

 

[thirdlegstump]

I'm thinking no about the job. True, I could ask for $11/hour or so, and maybe he'd pay it, but he said they typically go out in the evenings, and I'd hate working evenings all summer long, plus dealing with old people who know nothing about computers = :thumbsdown:.

This is exactly why you should charge more : )

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: deathkoba

I'm thinking no about the job. True, I could ask for $11/hour or so, and maybe he'd pay it, but he said they typically go out in the evenings, and I'd hate working evenings all summer long, plus dealing with old people who know nothing about computers = :thumbsdown:.

This is exactly why you should charge more : )

Yes 😀, or not do it at all.

Well, he just said to email my resume and my phone number and what I wanted as a base wage. So I guess I'll do that, he might not even reply back.

 

[archcommus]

Alright, I decided not to pursue that one.

A computer shop would be great but they're all very small operations that never need any extra help.

I'm going to want to get out of retail and get another job by the summer but I have no idea what to look for. Need at least $8/hour, and most small places aren't hiring.

Ideas?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Alright, I decided not to pursue that one.

A computer shop would be great but they're all very small operations that never need any extra help.

I'm going to want to get out of retail and get another job by the summer but I have no idea what to look for. Need at least $8/hour, and most small places aren't hiring.

Ideas?

To be honest, the whole thing is a raquet. I worked really hard to pick jobs that distanced me from end users. It's best if you work for a company or for a school. If you're working for individuals, they will try to blame their performance issues on your work. "my computer has been running twice as slow since you touched it."....etc.

Try meeting people in companies in your area and see if any need summer help. You might be able to get on in a small office and setup labs or something... I found one of these jobs and did that when I was starting out. It's great for a resume if you want to work in the computer industry...I used that to spring into a corporate job and then back to Higher Ed... Just start cold-calling companies and see if they need any summer help now...before the jobs are gone.

 

[archcommus]

Can you give some ideas of some types of companies?

I've become extremely discouraged by the cold-calling technique (how I've been contacting computer shops). I just always get "Uh, well, umm, I don't think we're hiring now, but you can always send in your resume!"

That's why I've been limited to really only considering places that I know exist and that I see, because other places, for example one that I would just find in the phone book, I expect to get that kind of response when I call.

 

[archcommus]

What do you guys think of Radio Shack or Circuit City? Would I enjoy a commission-based job or hate it?

 

[BHeemsoth]

During high school I worked at Staples, and also ran my own in home repair/consulting business.

I made about $10/hr from staples and $40-50/hr from my own company.

 

[archcommus]

Kudos on having your own thing going while in high school, but I've personally never had the time to do something like that.

Repair...computers? Who did you consult on what kind of things? Just curious. 🙂

$10/hour at Staples? I ruled them out because I figured it wouldn't pay any more than Sears does ($6.20). What did you do at Staples?

 

[BHeemsoth]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Kudos on having your own thing going while in high school, but I've personally never had the time to do something like that.

Repair...computers? Who did you consult on what kind of things? Just curious. 🙂

$10/hour at Staples? I ruled them out because I figured it wouldn't pay any more than Sears does ($6.20). What did you do at Staples?

Computer sales. I live in Cape Cod, Mass, a rather upperclass area.

Even the grocery stores pay $8-9 starting.