Firedog or Geeksquad!

Quentin_T · 11-14-2007, 09:43 PM

I was wondering if there were people on the forum who worked for either of these? How do you like either one? A general idea on the payscale?

I just figured it would be a good place to start, and something for the resume. Any additional comments would be great! Even other good places to start would be helpful.

Thanks,

Randy

tlarkin · 11-14-2007, 09:50 PM

Onsite service is a pain. I used to sub contract and I was the competition for Geek squad and Firedog. Cleaned up a lot of their messes as well. Now, I recommend you get a job at a Comp USA, Microcenter, Frys, or a local mom and pop shop as a PC tech. They generally pay for all certifications and it is a good place to start. That or help desk.

You are trying to get experience in the IT field or is there a specific career path you are going for?

The_Beast · 11-14-2007, 09:55 PM

don't get a job at Geek Squad, I've heard that they aren't helpful to the customer and they treat there employees like crap

I don't know about firedog

Quentin_T · 11-14-2007, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlarkin

Onsite service is a pain. I used to sub contract and I was the competition for Geek squad and Firedog. Cleaned up a lot of their messes as well. Now, I recommend you get a job at a Comp USA, Microcenter, Frys, or a local mom and pop shop as a PC tech. They generally pay for all certifications and it is a good place to start. That or help desk.

You are trying to get experience in the IT field or is there a specific career path you are going for?

Haha, I worked at Microcenter back in 99 when i was going to school in Boston. Not exactly sure what career path I'm looking for, just looking to get something on my resume to get my foot in the door with an IT company. I have done some Cisco work, and found that I do like it, I guess I'm not sure what I want to do.

The reason I mentioned Geek squad and Firedog is that I have both very close to me, not sure what other PC places are around (Just moved here).

tlarkin · 11-14-2007, 10:10 PM

I worked at a Microcenter way back in the day. Moved up to a few jobs here and there, kept my certifications current, and always tried to get the most hands on experience. If I listed everything I have done, known, or gotten my hands on at work my resume would be a small novel.

Right now I am employed by an educational system as a Macintosh Admin and technology worker. I do everything from troubleshooting, repair, deployment (of hardware and software), server side work, directory services, imaging, user policy, scripting, support, etc. I don't configure switches or APs we have a cisco guy that does all of that, but I do work with them. I would use his image on the managed switches since he has everything already managed with VLANs, port fast, spanning tree, the whole 9 yards. I will be implementing the mac technology with the novell side of the network one of these days. I want to run groupwise client and iprint on the macs.

We just deployed over 6,000 macs, most of them are macbooks (over 5,500) the rest are desktops, and I have 17 xserves with some casper share points that are also acting as file servers at the local buildings.

Today at work I made the first test run on the netboot imaging solution with Casper and it works so I will be helping the others deploy it out to the buildings.

b3rt_d4ni3l · 11-14-2007, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tlarkin

I worked at a Microcenter way back in the day. Moved up to a few jobs here and there, kept my certifications current, and always tried to get the most hands on experience. If I listed everything I have done, known, or gotten my hands on at work my resume would be a small novel.

Right now I am employed by an educational system as a Macintosh Admin and technology worker. I do everything from troubleshooting, repair, deployment (of hardware and software), server side work, directory services, imaging, user policy, scripting, support, etc. I don't configure switches or APs we have a cisco guy that does all of that, but I do work with them. I would use his image on the managed switches since he has everything already managed with VLANs, port fast, spanning tree, the whole 9 yards. I will be implementing the mac technology with the novell side of the network one of these days. I want to run groupwise client and iprint on the macs.

We just deployed over 6,000 macs, most of them are macbooks (over 5,500) the rest are desktops, and I have 17 xserves with some casper share points that are also acting as file servers at the local buildings.

Today at work I made the first test run on the netboot imaging solution with Casper and it works so I will be helping the others deploy it out to the buildings.

Where do you get all this certifications? Do you attend a class or something?

ukulele_ninja · 11-14-2007, 11:22 PM

I was hired by geek squad prior to getting my job at the radio station but actually found out the week before I was supposed to start that the radio station would hire me so I ditched geek squad for the better paying job, lol.

I can tell you im glad I did not go to work for them though. A few monthes ago I was in Best Buy looking for a laptop for my sister and they (GS) tried to tell me that Vista would not let you make a recovery cd and that I would have to pay an extra $30 to get one made...very wrong... came home and made it myself.

Also during the interview process I found out they only do very very minor things in store (upgrading memory, installing new hardware, virus and spyware removal) any big issues get contracted out to a larger company which is a big joke. They are a big buyer beware!

INTELCRAZY · 11-15-2007, 12:03 AM

I do a little bit of freelance stuff, small business networks, basic repair, etc.

If you can get your name out there as a freelance technician, then you can really make some money in consulting. I setup a small business' new office with a few new PC's running Vista Business, a WRT54G router, and a Lacie network drive, took me around 5 hours to do this. I got a $300 payment

It might take a week for a student to make that working for 'FireDumb' or 'JerkSquad', lol.

11-14-2007, 09:43 PM	#1 (permalink)
Quentin_T Gold Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: NH Age: 27 Posts: 268	Firedog or Geeksquad! I was wondering if there were people on the forum who worked for either of these? How do you like either one? A general idea on the payscale? I just figured it would be a good place to start, and something for the resume. Any additional comments would be great! Even other good places to start would be helpful. Thanks, Randy __________________ Main PC.....................\HTPC......................\Server.................. Intel Core 2 Duo 6700\AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+\AMD Athlon 3000+ Asus P5B-Deluxe WiFi\Biostar TF7050-M2\Asus A7N8X-Deluxe Rev2 2GB Kingston DDR2 800\2 GB Crucial DDR2 800\1GB Crucial DDR 400 WD 36GB Raptor + WD 500GB\250GB\320GB\500GB\160GB\2x 500GB BFG 8600 GTS 256MB\XFX 8500 GT 512MB\ATI X700 256MB O/C'd Sony HS95P(19"+17")\Sharp Aquos 42" LCD\Absolutely Nothing!!!! Boredom led me to do this...

11-14-2007, 09:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
The_Beast Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wisconsin Age: 17 Posts: 3,300	don't get a job at Geek Squad, I've heard that they aren't helpful to the customer and they treat there employees like crap I don't know about firedog __________________ Rendering Machine - Gigabyte DS3L P35 - - C2D E6550 - - Corsair XMS2 2Gb - Seagate 'Cuda 320Gb - Sapphire 2600 XT 256mb - - Antec Earthwatt 430 watt - - Antec New Solution Series Case - - Hp w1907 monitor - Check Out My Custom Clock Picture 1/\Picture 2

11-14-2007, 11:22 PM	#7 (permalink)
ukulele_ninja Diamond Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,351	I was hired by geek squad prior to getting my job at the radio station but actually found out the week before I was supposed to start that the radio station would hire me so I ditched geek squad for the better paying job, lol. I can tell you im glad I did not go to work for them though. A few monthes ago I was in Best Buy looking for a laptop for my sister and they (GS) tried to tell me that Vista would not let you make a recovery cd and that I would have to pay an extra $30 to get one made...very wrong... came home and made it myself. Also during the interview process I found out they only do very very minor things in store (upgrading memory, installing new hardware, virus and spyware removal) any big issues get contracted out to a larger company which is a big joke. They are a big buyer beware! __________________ Do you remember when the tigers broke free? CF COD4: CF\|UkuleleNinja

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11-14-2007, 09:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
tlarkin VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 6,239	Onsite service is a pain. I used to sub contract and I was the competition for Geek squad and Firedog. Cleaned up a lot of their messes as well. Now, I recommend you get a job at a Comp USA, Microcenter, Frys, or a local mom and pop shop as a PC tech. They generally pay for all certifications and it is a good place to start. That or help desk. You are trying to get experience in the IT field or is there a specific career path you are going for?

11-14-2007, 10:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
tlarkin VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 6,239	I worked at a Microcenter way back in the day. Moved up to a few jobs here and there, kept my certifications current, and always tried to get the most hands on experience. If I listed everything I have done, known, or gotten my hands on at work my resume would be a small novel. Right now I am employed by an educational system as a Macintosh Admin and technology worker. I do everything from troubleshooting, repair, deployment (of hardware and software), server side work, directory services, imaging, user policy, scripting, support, etc. I don't configure switches or APs we have a cisco guy that does all of that, but I do work with them. I would use his image on the managed switches since he has everything already managed with VLANs, port fast, spanning tree, the whole 9 yards. I will be implementing the mac technology with the novell side of the network one of these days. I want to run groupwise client and iprint on the macs. We just deployed over 6,000 macs, most of them are macbooks (over 5,500) the rest are desktops, and I have 17 xserves with some casper share points that are also acting as file servers at the local buildings. Today at work I made the first test run on the netboot imaging solution with Casper and it works so I will be helping the others deploy it out to the buildings.

11-15-2007, 12:03 AM	#8 (permalink)
INTELCRAZY banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 6,060	I do a little bit of freelance stuff, small business networks, basic repair, etc. If you can get your name out there as a freelance technician, then you can really make some money in consulting. I setup a small business' new office with a few new PC's running Vista Business, a WRT54G router, and a Lacie network drive, took me around 5 hours to do this. I got a $300 payment It might take a week for a student to make that working for 'FireDumb' or 'JerkSquad', lol.