Andrew writes:
I have been in and out of the repair/networking business as a solo tech for 5 years or so. I realize trends are changing and I e-mailed some of my favorite sources to ask your opinion. I saw an article you wrote on repairing laser printers instead of doing laptops or desk tops and I have also looked into InfoSec as a potential career but, its a mountain of information that at 36 years old I am a bit leery of tackling. I enjoy InfoSec and there’s a bright future……I no longer want to be a jack of all trades and want to specialize in one thing. Also looked at doing more intricate data recovery on hard drives in almost a clean room level environment but, not sure if cloud storage will remove the market in a couple of years. I am not able to work a job for insurance reason so I am going to stay/remain a solo operation. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated? Thanks again for sharing the wealth of knowledge you have accumulated!!
Times change and markets change. When it comes to "fixing PCs", there are many who just don’t want to do it anymore and are looking for other options to make some extra cash.
Other than fixing printers, which I mentioned previously, here are two other things you can do with electronics that require little to no skill and are easy to get started with.
Precious metals recovery
For just about every pawn shop you drive by or visit, there’s usually always a big sign that says "CASH FOR GOLD!" Why? Because it’s stupidly easy to make a buck off that precious metal. It doesn’t matter what condition the gold is in as long as it’s there and can be melted down.
Many PC components use precious metals, and if you get skilled in how to get those metals off components, believe me when I say that it’s a big market, and there are a lot of metals you can recycle for easy money.
Video game console system repair
I guarantee a bunch of you upon reading this will have a smack-on-forehead moment, thinking, "Gee, why did I think of that?!"
All modern video game consoles are PCs, and the best part about them is that any particular model is built universally the same way across the board. The only differences between model to model in the same line are things like hard drive size and not much else.
Just look at what these guys are charging. You could be doing the same.
And yes, you can get training for it – although I would recommend using Google and searching for "nintendo wii repair course" and/or "sony playstation repair course" to see if there’s anything local near you.
Fixing Wii’s and PlayStation’s is kind of like the middle ground between PC’s and laptops. They’re not large like PCs and not super-compact like laptops. Parts are small but not so small that you need a surgeon’s hand to repair them.
Kids love their games, and break their consoles. A lot. Given that the consoles of a particular brand are all built the same way, this is the "vanilla" format that repair guys love to work on, and you can quickly become an expert in repairing them.
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