For anybody that has done any repairs to their own computers then a job as a PC maintenance technician may appear to be an enjoyable career to pursue. This article focuses on what the job actually involves, finding the right companies to work for and the training that is needed.

This job can actually cover a lot of roles and have a lot of flexibility. Some individuals choose to work as bench technicians in computer repair shops doing computer repair and maintenance for customers. Others choose field technician roles working on client sites (short/long term) in order to support office systems. And the ultimate goal for many is to start up their own business providing PC repair services to local individuals or businesses.

The number of technologies can also be quite broad as the job can include regular computer repairs, upgrading components, virus removal, data recovery services and several other more specialized skills.

To get the best start in this career it is beneficial to become a qualified computer service technician (from the Computing Technology Industry Association), gain some experience and start specializing in specific areas (e.g. data recovery). Finding jobs follows all the usual channels (online job websites, contacting companies directly, etc.) but it is important to note that these roles can potentially be filled quite rapidly so never make it to online sites – so you should be targeting companies you’d wish to work for with your resume.

Salary bands can have huge deviances due to experience, qualifications, location and areas of specialization. The current trend is for data recovery and data backup of all manner of PC storage devices (disk drives, memory cards, tape drives, etc.). No matter which are you focus on as a PC maintenance technician there will always be an expectation to receive ongoing training in order to stay current with the latest technologies.