Career Profile: Computer Equipment Repairer	Home	Español
		Informal perspective of what an occupation might be like.

What I Do: My job title is self-explanatory: I repair computers. That may sound simple, but the work I do is actually complex. I'm employed by a company that sells computer systems to businesses. We sell everything from giant mainframes to desk-top PC's. When a customer calls our company complaining of a computer malfunction, I'm the one who has to solve the problem. I run tests to locate the source of the trouble, to find out whether it's caused by the hardware or the software. Then I figure out how to make it work again. I have to know our company's products inside and out to do my job.

Best and Hardest Parts of My Job: The toughest part of my job is being on call most weekends, just like doctors. You can never predict when a computer will go down, and I've worked many a Saturday repairing a malfunctioning computer. Customers get pretty hot when they start to lose business because their system is down! Dealing with irate customers is no fun. But they're always appreciative when I solve the problem and bring the system up again. 

How I Got Started: Ever since I was a kid, I've always liked figuring out how things work. Now, I figure out why computers don't work and fix them so they do. I went to a technical school after I finished high school. When my company hired me for this job, they trained me on their products. I know so much about our computers that I'm the one other repairers come to when they get stuck solving a problem!