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One day, you're helping worried parents retrieve lost digital photos. The next, you're working behind the scenes at a Madonna concert.
That's the geek life -- one, in this case, who works at one of a number of nationwide services providing one-on-one technical support for individuals and small businesses.
"On any given day, I could do four or five jobs, and each one would be totally different," says Cyrus Tavadia, a special agent for the Geek Squad (now part of retailer Best Buy), whose assignments range from run-of-the-mill Wi-Fi installations to gigs at a Madonna concert and for "The Apprentice.
Tech House Calls
Life as a techie with the Geek Squad and Geeks on Call, a company offering similar services, is a far cry from the world of phone support or in-house corporate help desks. Rather than being tied down to an office, techies who work for these services respond to calls for technical assistance at homes and offices. Typical assignments include removing viruses and troubleshooting networks, but the job also involves teaching people about their PCs and helping them expand their machines' capabilities. And then there are the perks, like driving cool cars that serve as roving billboards: black-and-white VW bugs for Geek Squad or Geeks on Call's PT Cruisers.
"If you're a tech-support person for a big corporation, you kind of become faceless," says Matt Nelson, communications manager of Geeks on Call, which operates as a franchise. "With a company like ours, you're making a difference in people's lives.
An Answer for Customers ‘Fed Up' with Outsourcing
The popularity of Wi-Fi networks, the spyware epidemic and the challenges of managing PCs as both business tools and entertainment centers all drive frustrated users to seek technical help from both local independent technicians and emerging national brands like Geek Squad and Geeks on Call.
"There is just a surging demand for these services," says Nelson. Many people simply don't want to deal with an anonymous techie over the phone. "People are fed up with the outsourcing of computer help," he says. "A lot of people just want someone to come in and fix it for them.
The work presents particular rewards -- and challenges -- for techies. "Half of it is technology, and half of it is people skills," says Tavadia. Rather than diving straight in to fix a problem, you need to talk to the customer, discuss the issues and convey the sense that the problem can be solved. "You have to be the calm within the storm," he says. "You have to be able not only to get that stuff back but get the person breathing again.
Geek Pedigree Required
And what does it take to land a job as a geek? Qualifications vary, but key ingredients are experience in tech support, people skills and certifications such as the A+ and MCSE.
"Our techs currently have an average of 10 years' experience, as I rarely hire someone right out of school," says Jeffrey A. Phelps, owner of Geeks on Call territories in the Washington, DC, area and Texas. "We look for techs that have hands-on experience dealing with complicated computer or network issues while dealing directly with customers in a help desk-type environment.
Sales experience can help, too, says Phelps, and it's crucial to be "upbeat and comfortable talking about technology with a nontechnical customer.
In the case of Geeks on Call, entrepreneurial techies might also want to consider the company's franchise opportunities. Some franchise owners, like Phelps, own upwards of 20 or 30 territories in a region, but others own just one, functioning as an owner-operator -- as both the business owner and the technician.
Whatever the case, you need to have a true geek pedigree to work as a technician for companies like these. "Most of our agents are geeks in the real world, too," says Tavadia, meaning they play computer games, have wireless networks in their homes and see technology as a fun and creative pursuit. "It's a nice culture to be part of.
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