Why are computer tech jobs paying so low?

[0roo0roo]

Supply and demand. Every kid knows computer support these days. Then about 1/2 are socialize and out of them 1/2 employable. So that still leaves you with bunches of people that can do the work.

not really, back in the day just to get a game going you have to do some trouble shooting, now, it is so plug and play many kids don't know jack about what is in their machine, or care.

 

[Bateluer]

not really, back in the day just to get a game going you have to do some trouble shooting, now, it is so plug and play many kids don't know jack about what is in their machine, or care.

This. I know quite a few people who claim to enjoy modern FPS . . .who think that RAM quantity is the only spec that matters on their video card. Another detrimental side-effect of console-oriented gaming.

 

[HumblePie]

WTH?
What Programmer have you ever met who makes 30K a year? You pulled that one deep deep out of your ass.

No, I can tell you for sure since I've been doing this for 11 years, my father is the CIO of the company Carenet and was the VP or CIO for a few other companies. I know what many companies around here pay for programmers.


Now if we are talking a place with a really high cost of living than the amount I listed above would be relative to that area. But the AVERAGE and you can go to Salary.com to view this for Applications System Analyst 1 or Software Developer 1 (which is entry level) is going to be about 30K-50K a year in the majority of the US with no experience.

I know that the last company I worked for started all the kids coming out of A&M at around 30K-35K a year and they had a recruiters right in the school doing so and hiring them up all the time.


But if you are living in California or some other place with ridiculous living costs the base pay wage for even entry level positions is going to be much higher.

 

[Modelworks]

not really, back in the day just to get a game going you have to do some trouble shooting, now, it is so plug and play many kids don't know jack about what is in their machine, or care.

The same thing goes for overclocking. Now people boast about overclocking speeds like they did something special. I think to myself, wow you changed some settings in a menu, so what. It isn't like when us old timers did it, when you had to solder the boards, replace clock crystals, use pencils to short jumpers on the chip surface, and even drill the cpu pins out to overclock. That is when it was something to marvel at.

 

[HumblePie]

The same thing goes for overclocking. Now people boast about overclocking speeds like they did something special. I think to myself, wow you changed some settings in a menu, so what. It isn't like when us old timers did it, when you had to solder the boards, replace clock crystals, use pencils to short jumpers on the chip surface, and even drill the cpu pins out to overclock. That is when it was something to marvel at.

I remember soldering motherboards with variable pots to get the voltages I needed to overclock. Fun stuff.

 

[alkemyst]

$30k is a typical starting salary here. Don't know why ppl take that as programmers ESP when it's one of the five or so titles where overtime pay is not required.

 

[ibex333]

Because repairing PCs IS easy. I am speaking from experience as well. I still repair PC's and I know plenty of people are really dumb about it. PC's and Macs actually.

Repairing a PC is nothing to say writing a 3D software simulation program using Delta3d, including the proper physics for all the vertices so that actors and players in the simulation match up correctly. Do you know the kinematic math I needed to do to get all that working? I have to take relative vectors of everything, matrix transforms of the global x, y, z coordinates, redo everything back into relative x,y,z coords. That is all done 60 times a second, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Or coding new features for a Sharepoint site based on really vague requirements. Sorry PC tech is just that, entry level. It does take more than "average" high school brains that are all that are required for burger flipping. Of that there is no doubt. But it doesn't take much more than that I can assure you.

Your comparison doesn't make any sense. By the same token, I can be comparing your job to that of a nuclear physicist or a rocket scientist and say it's easy in comparison.

Oh, and btw, I met many high level coders that cant tell the difference between a hard drive and RAM, cant overclock a CPU, and panic when their PC is not turning on. These people actually buy Dell and HP PCs instead of building their own...

I mean.. A C++ Programmer who gets paid much more than me should be smarter/more educated, in every way right? So why am I the one repairing his computer?

 

[Wyndru]

$30k is a typical starting salary here. Don't know why ppl take that as programmers ESP when it's one of the five or so titles where overtime pay is not required.

30k is normal starting pay for entry programmers here in upstate NY too. You can say the same things about programmers that you do about technician jobs though. The field is over saturated and the job has gotten much easier now that the software practically shows you all of your errors on the fly. Debugging sw makes things a lot easier these days also. The logic involved in being an entry level programmer isn't that difficult, most of what you do is find/replace coding (at least that's all I was doing out of college in my first dev job maybe it has changed now).

 

[Regs]

More likely, other people have taken their responsibilities under their wing or got rolled under one job description. The guys making 12/hr are just hired hands to do all the grunt work like pushing the parts around and doing physical inventories.

It is different everywhere in terms of how they want to develop their work force. One company treats it as a entry level position where you really have to earn your way, or one place trains you and empowers for a larger set of responsibilities. Wages, if you think about it, are more judged on what you are expected to do more so than what you actually do.

 

[sourceninja]

Your comparison doesn't make any sense. By the same token, I can be comparing your job to that of a nuclear physicist or a rocket scientist and say it's easy in comparison.

Oh, and btw, I met many high level coders that cant tell the difference between a hard drive and RAM, cant overclock a CPU, and panic when their PC is not turning on. These people actually buy Dell and HP PCs instead of building their own...

I mean.. A C++ Programmer who gets paid much more than me should be smarter/more educated, in every way right? So why am I the one repairing his computer?

I worked years in tech support and pc repair. I don't build my own computers anymore. I also don't fix my own computers. My company pays people to do that for me.

My father has been a mechanic for almost 40 years. He doesn't change his own oil either.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Hard to believe there are still so many people out there that think troubleshooting computers makes them special. Your parents and grandparents might still think that you are some kind of computer genius because you can resolve a driver conflict, but in reality those days have passed. What gets me is the "techs" that have to occasionally come do some menial task on our development machines. Even though we are senior software engineers that have all moved beyond the computer "enthusiast" phase we all went though as kids, these guys still act all high and mighty around us, even though they make a fraction of what we do.

 

[Mxylplyx]

I mean.. A C++ Programmer who gets paid much more than me should be smarter/more educated, in every way right? So why am I the one repairing his computer?

Because his time is considerably more valuable than yours, and his bosses dont want it wasted on basic pc troubleshooting and repair. Doctors also dont change bed pans in a hospital.

 

[alkemyst]

In reality, good PC techs are hard to find and worth their money. Just because someone can install a Crossfire setup <> a troubleshooter.

Supporting a fortune 500+ company puts those skills to the test a lot of times. While it wasn't my total job, many would bring in their home PC's after the local 'kids' took a crack at them and gave the 'full reinstall' verdict. I'd get them back up and running with about 15-20mins of driving time. $100-200 here and there was easy money.

 

[Regs]

Hard to believe there are still so many people out there that think troubleshooting computers makes them special. Your parents and grandparents might still think that you are some kind of computer genius because you can resolve a driver conflict, but in reality those days have passed. What gets me is the "techs" that have to occasionally come do some menial task on our development machines. Even though we are senior software engineers that have all moved beyond the computer "enthusiast" phase we all went though as kids, these guys still act all high and mighty around us, even though they make a fraction of what we do.

I think you're stereotyping and grouping people with certain skill sets. Working in a professional setting, solving real problems, and being proactive is different than your everyday hardware/software enthusiasts. Who knows, maybe some of them could do your job with a certain amount of practice or training? What makes you any different than any other guy in the unemployment line? There does not have to be justification for every persons position or status in the labor force. Fuck, we voted in George Bush Jr. didn't we? And he graduated from Yale.

 

[fire400]

schooling.

anyone can do comp tech in less than a year.

if it was more complex of a job and the demand was much higher, of course pay would be more.

look at CS and CE's. more schooling, more demanding than compared to comp techs? simple as that.

 

[SparkyJJO]

In reality, good PC techs are hard to find and worth their money. Just because someone can install a Crossfire setup <> a troubleshooter.

This is so true. I don't want to sound snobbish, but it is amazing how many things I've walked into at work with a new client that their previous 'tech' did that are utter disasters. I and my coworkers are still cleaning up the previous guy's mess at this one place, it's amazing the place even ran this long D:

 

[Farmer]

This is so true. I don't want to sound snobbish, but it is amazing how many things I've walked into at work with a new client that their previous 'tech' did that are utter disasters. I and my coworkers are still cleaning up the previous guy's mess at this one place, it's amazing the place even ran this long D:

Incompetence: it is prevalent.

 

[Wyndru]

Good techs do still get paid a lot though. All of the jobs I've applied for are 40k plus with benefits, and require a BS in a computer related degree. I think a lot of people confuse the geek squad with what techs in the corporate, state or federal level do. It's simply not the case, there is way more responsibility than just swapping out hardware.

 

[Joseph F]

...

 

[Rifter]

This is why i consider getting my A+, and MCSE/MCSA a total waste of time and money and went into another field altogether. You just cant make money being a tech anymore like you could 10-15 years ago.

 

[sourceninja]

This is so true. I don't want to sound snobbish, but it is amazing how many things I've walked into at work with a new client that their previous 'tech' did that are utter disasters. I and my coworkers are still cleaning up the previous guy's mess at this one place, it's amazing the place even ran this long D:

And chances are that after you leave, the guy who takes over will think the same thing. It's a common IT rule.

 

[Dulanic]

This is why i consider getting my A+, and MCSE/MCSA a total waste of time and money and went into another field altogether. You just cant make money being a tech anymore like you could 10-15 years ago.

I consider it a complete waste myself. I was kind of laughing about the person who said they ended up having to go to Circuit City and CompUSA for a long time due to lack of jobs. I was like.... thats me! I had the same scenario. I got my certs and ended up doing nothing at all with them. It is a lot of low paying useless jobs.

Unfortunately, I never had the choice to go to school after all of this due to health issues and not able to not be working at a company and have my insurance lapse. So I fought on and through a friend got into the financial sector. It is a good place to be, now I am a number monkey and mostly deal with excel, access, sharepoint and other little things like that to help manage a section of the business.

Things rarely go as you plan, but don't turn away from other options if you see them. I never expected to be doing what I am doing. But the upside is, I am a quick learner. Anything that needs to be done, I research on how to do it if I don't know how. So now I have a job I enjoy and I can even work remotely. I am happy with it and I wish I had the money back from my certs.

 

[bas1c]

Because repairing PCs IS easy. I am speaking from experience as well. I still repair PC's and I know plenty of people are really dumb about it. PC's and Macs actually.

Repairing a PC is nothing to say writing a 3D software simulation program using Delta3d, including the proper physics for all the vertices so that actors and players in the simulation match up correctly. Do you know the kinematic math I needed to do to get all that working? I have to take relative vectors of everything, matrix transforms of the global x, y, z coordinates, redo everything back into relative x,y,z coords. That is all done 60 times a second, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Or coding new features for a Sharepoint site based on really vague requirements. Sorry PC tech is just that, entry level. It does take more than "average" high school brains that are all that are required for burger flipping. Of that there is no doubt. But it doesn't take much more than that I can assure you.

Jesus Christ, you done jerking yourself off yet? There are plenty of developers here, you aren't special.

 

[Elbryn]

This is why i consider getting my A+, and MCSE/MCSA a total waste of time and money and went into another field altogether. You just cant make money being a tech anymore like you could 10-15 years ago.

most certs (all the ones based on a computerized multiple choice test) are not shining beacons of proof that you know what you're doing. given any subject material test that's tested on that particular method with some prep time, i'll be able to pass it.

all those certs do is test your memory and test taking abilities.
most have some 50-60%+ correct marker to be considered a pass (adaptives as well with a different scoring algorithm) you figure you studied the material and can answer 40% of the questions outright. the other 60% you rule out the 1 stupid answer and use the info you know to rule out an additional 1 or two answers. figure with 5 choices, you can rule down to 4 immediately, and get down to 2 or 3. average it out to a 50% guess right percentage and you're "score" is already at the 65% right level which will pass the majority of cert exams. you throw in the exam prep and cert killer type prep questions, it's almost a gimmie.

certs do have their place in hr world though. hr loves them.. just match it up with experience/hands on knowledge for when you get to the interview.

 

[Joemonkey]

Um let's see.
SNIP

I will state this: "Certs mean NOTHING." They are worthless unless you are looking for entry level only. Even then a college degree >>>>>> any amount of certs you may get.

SNIP

As you can tell by other people's reaction to your douche-ness in this thread, you're a borderline idiot. I pointed out this in particular because you "state" it as fact. I have no degree, only certs, started my IT career as a "PC Tech" and have been recruited by 2 different companies in 4 years and am knocking on a 6 figure salary in Kentucky.