Where would be a good college to study at for..

Where would be a good Commuity College / Institution to study at for..

Basically, I'm trying to find a community college or something similar in southwest louisiana.

Unfortunately geeksquad whom I would like to work with some pretty steep requirements:

The closest thing that I've found where I live is this

http://www.sowela.edu/comp_networking.asp

I'm still looking for more choices in courses however before I choose sowela. Anyone have further recommendations? I'm not looking for colleges that cost like $10,000+

 

If you are looking at a community college to further your education, most public ones offer a good value on tuition. If you want to see what the classes are like before committing to enrollment, many will let you "audit" (sit in on) a class for a few bucks to see if it is a good fit before you enroll.

Do NOT spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on classes and/or certification solely on a dream of working at Best Buy! I know many ex-Geek Squad agents. Here are a few of the things Best Buy fails to mention up front:

* The pay is (at best) marginal. If you're working in-store, you'll be lucky to make $11-$12 per hour in an area such as Lake Charles/Baton Rouge. If part-time, you could end up with as few as 8-12 hours per week depending on the store volume and traffic. Keep this in mind if you'll be paying off student loans.

* Other than basic stuff (power supplies, hard drives and virus removal), other complex repairs are shipped to a regional repair center. If you're applying for a position at a regional repair center, keep the pay and hours versus what it costs to take the classes in mind.

* I spent over a decade combined in sales and management at chains including (the now defunct) Campo, Circuit City and Fry's. Big box retailers like these measure your "success" based on how many add-ons, extended warranties and store credit card applications you cram down customer's throats! If you have no conscience and love bending customers over, you'll make far more money selling used cars.

You might want to read this:

http://consumerist.com/2011/06/9-confessions-of-a-former-geek-squad-geek.html

I'm not trying to talk you out of getting an education. Just don't get one solely for the sake of Best Buy.

 

LOL gman, good article. Reminds me of a recent thread where the GS guy sold the person a power supply and told him don't worry about the 4-pin EATX 12V connector when he complained there was no 4-pin connector on the PSU side, it's not needed. Of course the machine wouldn't boot. Lot's of other horror stories in here. They may ask for all these certificates but this guy seems like he hasn't seen current mobo's and has no clue.

 

Well at any rate even if GS isn't the best option, I'm still on the look for more educational options that will allow me to take on the role of pc repair.

Also auggie, I've done my fair share of swapping hard drives, psu's & installing ram on my own rigs. (small simple stuff like that) But mostly what I do lately is light vbulletin coding such as this

 

I'm sure that you're qualified enough already as home builders can generally diagnose their own machines, not the fact that it's pretty easy to build a machine, just parts choice is somewhat more difficult. I would get bored to tears very quickly just swapping out stuff day in/day out, but it's better than having rice and beans everyday with a roof over your head than nothing. I read that IT hiring is rising this year.

 

Also yeah it's too bad that the GS guy he mentioned didn't know his stuff :-D

 

Since you already have basic PC knowledge, here are a few other free or low cost options to consider:

* Check with independent PC shops in your area and look for part-time or contract labor positions. When it comes to IT, you'll learn as much or more by doing hands-on work in an apprentice-type position versus sitting in a classroom (and possibly make money in the process).

* There are many books on the market covering both general and specific areas of computing, software and networking. Although the title of the "for Dummies" series seems condescending, most are actually pretty decent. To find the best books on the topics that interest you, search topics and check reader reviews on amazon.com.

* If you are comfortable with basic repairs and virus removal, consider moonlighting by promoting your services to friends, in local want ads, etc. If you're good at what you do, you'll end up with word-of-mouth referrals from customers.

* Get a study guide for the A+ exam (again, check reviews on Amazon). Although taking the A+ exam itself costs several hundred dollars, studying and knowing the skills will put you at an advantage during interviews. Some employers will even reimburse part or all of the A+ exam fees if you pass.

Hope these tips help.

 

I highly second this. I was in the same boat as you( you seem to be more technically inclined than I am though.) I work on friend's rigs and try to teach them what, why, how in the process. I'm currently going to school for Net. Admin. I love my IT classes, but I do have to agree with the first bold section. The A+ Exam would be a good place to start, I'll be taking it maybe next year. Good Luck in your endeavors and adventures in IT.