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Traveling Tech
Michael Yalove (above) is a computer techinician with Geeks on Call.
(Jeff Baum)
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Who's Blogging  |
Tuesday, July 12, 2005; 11:40 AM
MICHAEL YALOVE, 34
JOB: Technician for Geeks on Call
SALARY: Base salary ranges from $30,000 to $50,000, plus commissions for equipment sales, contract sales and work conducted weekdays before 9 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Geeks can also earn weekly and quarterly performance bonuses.
EDUCATION: Bachelor's in finance from George Washington University
WHAT HE DOES: Yalove roves the D.C. metro area in his company-issued PT Cruiser, responding to distress calls from individuals and businesses. Fixes can take anywhere from minutes to hours; he might need to rebuild a computer or simply tame some unruly icons. One customer's computer signed off the Internet after sending or receiving every e-mail, so he simply switched off that feature. "I was there for like two minutes," he said. Making housecalls isn't as awkward as it might seem; in fact, folks tend to take care of their geek. One client made him brownies and the next time he went to that house, "they had a sandwich for me." When he's on the clock but has no appointments, Yalove pounds the pavement trying to sell tech-support contracts to businesses or hanging fliers on doorknobs.
WOULD YOU WANT HIS JOB? Dealing with other people's tech messes can try one's patience. If a broken part is still under warranty, he'll call the manufacturer for the customer, but might spend hours discussing his troubleshooting methods before they'll send the part. Fixes can also be hampered by a customer's less-than-total disclosure: "Nobody ever admits that they did this or they did that. They just say it's not working," he said.
HOW YOU CAN GET HIS JOB: Applicants need A+ certification from the Computing Technology Industry Association (comptia.org) and a more advanced certification, such as those offered by Microsoft (microsoft.com/learning) or Cisco Systems (cisco.com/en/US/learning), said local Geeks on Call franchise owner Jeffrey Phelps. A niche specialty, such as Macs or Linux, can also be helpful, said Phelps.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Openings at the company are posted at geeksoncall.com; information on training programs and other job listings can be found at comptia.org.
This article first appeared in the Express on June 13, 2005.
