How much does a full-time PC technician make?
 

I'm thinking about going back to school an either getting an AAS degree in Information Technology Support or a BBA in Information System. I already have many years of PC-related experience, A+ certification, and a BBA in Marketing. I haven't had luck getting a job as a PC technician even with my experience and certification but I don't know if it is worth it for me to go back to school for one of these degrees. How much does a full-time PC technician make? Do they get paid only a commission per a customer's computer regardless of how many hours they are on duty or do they get paid for the time they are clocked in?

So you're having issues getting a job in a computer store building and fixing computers? http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo.../confused1.gif

I'm not sure why you need any special qualifications for the job. Other than not becoming suicidal after the fist customer.

I did it fulltime (40hrs/week) as a summer job when I was still @ Uni, and they payed 1600€ per month which was about 1100€ after tax. Thats not much but for a student it was alot. I loved the job.

Btw, it was for a large insurance company, so there was no direct customer support, only with employees of the company.

Are we talking a bench technician (load Windows, clean up viruses & spyware) or a service technician that does on-site work as well as network installations, troubleshooting etc?

Your basic bench tech makes squat. Anywhere from minimum wage to about $11/hr is normal. A service technician will make more and some work on commission. The service techs I know make anywhere from $13 to $20/hr depending on their skill set.

Edit: Btw, this is in Michigan, but I imagine it's similar in Texas with a little more being made in the City.

Do these service technicians get paid for travel time to perform on-site work?

Some do some don't. Personally I didn't but travel expenses were tax deductible at least.

Nowhere near as much as I should do.

The ones I know, yes. They are regular hourly workers with some on-call time.

When I was a service tech I was paid by the hour, including travel time, plus I used my own vehicle so I was paid mileage. It was nice not being stuck in an office all the time.

Same for me. I'm an IT tech for a Probation Office so I travel around to all the offices we have (in 5 states) and I get paid mileage and reimbursed for any equipment or material I need. My company even just bought me a new personal Laptop because my old one got damaged.


But I find it funny how people compare their earnings without consideration for Cost of Living. My normal salary atm is around 37k not including some other incomes. But I live in Georgia where the cost of living is lower. Equivalently I make probably over 50k if I was in some of the northern states.

Was the income stable? What happens when nobody in the company has a computer problem that day? Do you still get paid?

Well unless he was casual and they told him to buzz off home when there was no work then you still get paid if you're working full time. However because of this reason casual rates typically pay higher than normal wages.