A wacky idea.

[SizzlinSean]

After looking through posts here, and other places as well, I've noticed that the job market for specialized programmers, coders, etc. are slim to none. I know that its different for different parts of the country, but it seems to be a growing trend. With that said, I'm thinking seriously about opening some kind of a computer repair (or something) business. I plan on moving to a bigger city where the need for this kind of thing is bigger. My question is: What would I need to do to be able to work on my own. What computer knowledge should I have to be able to do this line of work comfortably? And how successful do you think my crazy idea can be? I'm only a junior in high school, so I feel like the world is my oyster. If you think that this might be a bad idea, what do you think that I should do that could be somewhat related to computer repair, or network stuff? I love computers, and I know that computers is in my future, I just don't quite know what road to go down. I'd love to hear pros and cons of your jobs if you don't mind. I'm open-minded towards all careers. I just don't want to be a cubicle dweller. I'd love to hear your opinions. Thanks.

 

[gab00n]

Well first off, there will always be a job for a good programmer. If you want to start a repair shop i would recommend that you also offer custom pc's. You could ask the customers to give you a list of the things they want and then you can buy and assemble the parts for them. It will be an extra source of income for you. The knowledge you'll require is not that extensive but if you want to be good at what you do then you will have to learn constantly. I would recommend that you become familiar with knoppix, it is a live cd that you can use to repair messed up windows and linux box's.

The most common problem you will encounter is a virus infection, learn how to deal with this problem especially well and also know how to make sure that the person won't have to deal with it again or not . You could install a bunch of anti spyware programs and what not to keep the OS stable. Learn the best method for removing the virus as well.

You should also get familiar with the hardware side because you will definitely encounter many hardware problems and you should be able to identify the source of the problem very efficiently.

I am a student at college and i can't work here in the US yet as i still don't have a social security number so i just code for open source projects. I will probably open a software company oneday because i really enjoy programming. In order to make money you need to be happy and this means you need to enjoy your job. Don't feel pressured to do something just because the market does not look great at the present time. Time changes everything and computers and the software needed to run them aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[bigbmxdave]

Experience is the best teacher.
It would probably be best to actually work for a small computer repair shop first as a sales assistant. this way you could actually learn what is needed to run the business succesfully and if your lucky actually get to help out with the repairing. This way would also allow you to get a small bit of startup capital for your business. and most importantly beer money.

hope this suggestion helps

 

[SizzlinSean]

Thanks for all of your help. I love any and all critisisms. I'm not sure if I'm heading this route, but at least I know more about this route now. If I were to open my own business, what major/minors would I want to take in college? I'm doing lots of research on starting businesses, I just can't forget the schooling side.

I thought about possibly being a programmer, but I figured that at my age, and with my lack of programming experience, I wouldn't survive. I have essentially no programming experience. I'm just proud of the fact that I just now started using Linux. I thought about web design also, but I don't know if I could handle that as a career. I'm learning HTML just so I can design some basic websites. I'm designing a site just so that I can get a feel for running a website, and handling the ups and downs that go along with doing that.

Woe is me.

Oh, and where would I download Knoppix? I've downloaded and used MDK Move 2.0, so I have a slight Linux background. I like it!

 

[gab00n]

Dude you are a junior in High School, that is the perfect time to start learning programming; there is no cut off age. Start now and in a few years you will be good. Don't think negative, there is plenty of time for you to learn. I am constantly learning new things as i progress and it will always be that way.

Knoppix:
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html

The majors/minors depends on what you want to do. If it is computers i would say Math, computer science, maybe electrical engineering if you are in to that. Take different classes as well, especially ones that are writting intensive and programming intensive. Don't forget, get good summer internships in the field you are majoring in, not burger king .

 

[SizzlinSean]

Buger King is for losers... I'd work at McDonalds. XD

Thanks gab00n. I'm normally pretty positive, but when I see 13 year olds that know PHP, its pretty intimidating. Whats a good programming language to start off with, and a good compiler to go with it?

 

[gab00n]

Try python, just go to www.python.org and you can download the compiler there and find some tutorials as well. You could learn PHP in a few weeks, it isn't that difficult to learn.

 

[SizzlinSean]

I downloaded "PHP 5 and MySQL Bible" ebook last night. I'm going to start reading it this weekend. I'm downloading Python right now, and I'm going to look at some tutorials as soon as I install it. Thanks for all your help.

 

[IBMan]

Experience is the best teacher.

well said, I hope to do the same type thing. I know i'll have a bunch of cds/dvds with all my software/utilities on it.

The things I'd say you could use most is the windows XP cd(for formating HDDs fastest) any version of dos (probably 6) Adaware, zonealarm, Firefox, and any other utilities, I'll probably download a lot of the utilities the freeware and utilities list in the OS and software forum. Also, does anyone know would it be illegal if i kept those on a cd, and when i built custom boxes, is it illegal to freely distribute those softwares pre-installed on the boxes? also, is it illegal(since u can change the serial in windows) if i made one XP image with all that software installed using ghost, that i make an image with one serial, then when someone orders it i can restore the image and order a lisence and change the serial to the lisence?, i know thats probably confusing but yea, if anyone knows wat im asking.