Anyone actually like being a tech?

[Shadow1]

yep. try riding around at 10:00PM on a machine sweeping parking lots.

Try doing that with a broom. Not that I have - just sayin' it can always get worse.

[KenB]

I recently started a new job at a different dealership. I thought a lack of a raise these last few years was my reason for looking. Actually, my former employer was getting a little carried away with cost-saving measures. No raises devolved to no trunk stock, then no parts in-house, then not even overnighting parts for down machines. My job went from always getting what I needed to keep my customers happy, to sheepishly returning a week or more after the original call date. And I just loved having to strip a lease return for feed rollers. Fine in an emergency, but stop gaps are not repairs, long term. Customers started asking "What happened to your company ?". If you loved this job, but now can't face it; perhaps a new venue is all you need. When I interviewed for my new job, I made sure to get a nice tour of the facilities. Clean and Organized. Smiling faces. New decor. Trophy Case. Candy Dishes everywhere, not for my sweet-tooth, to see if folks are nice and generous to each other. Nice cars in employee parking lot. Hugh parts department. Recessions over. Make a new resume'. Or go become a bartender. My summer bartender gig keeps me happy, in shape, and laid. Or consider volunteering just a few hours every other week or so. Helping those less fortunate with your time always lifts the spirits.

Yep, I guess a bartender would get to lift (and pour) a LOT of spirits.

[Hemlock]

Try doing that with a broom.

I see you've met my ex.

[lolicar]

I like to fix things, but this work is really shit. You need to study all your life to earn the same salary as a janitor, concerns, problems, dissatisfied customers, no recognition ...
besides, it´s late at night and instead of beers ... I'm thinking of copiers
I am a asshole.

[Ricoh_Suave]

I came here for something else, but couldn't resist putting in my 2 cents on this one. When I was a printer tech, I really enjoyed it for the first few years, then, by the end of the 6th year (like you) it made me physically ill thinking about how much I hated my job. While I enjoyed the diagnostics and sense of accomplishment in a repair, I hated that my company would continually add more and more lines of printers for only a handful of techs to service, without any consideration for how diluted our experience pool was becoming as we had to work across more and more manufacturers, Rather than focusing on, making real partnerships, and truly understanding all the nuances of a couple brands.

Additional, I didn't like that the job was being dumbed down. I'd isolate the problem down to a fan with a low RPM, and rather than replace the fan, we'd have to replace a $400 board that the fan sat on. Rather than replace a $12 motor, we HAD to replace a $250 service station. I didn't like it at all.

These days I'm a sys admin instead, much less stressful, and much more rewarding.

[jonezy999]

Said it before, will say it again. This is the best job I have ever had.

Try working 14-18 hrs a day, 13 days a fortnight, 4-5am starts just to go shovel 20 ton of pilchards to the bloody tuna farms.
Or leaving for sea at the start of summer, which is today here as a matter of fact, not to return until the end of March. Being a diesel engineer, a diver, a deckhand, a kitchen bitch, a toilet scrubber, a yes man to the Captain and anything else in between. It gets better, no phone service in the Great Australian Bight, so you don't speak to the missus (can be a good thing sometimes) or anyone else at home. Weeks on end without even seeing fish, let alone catching them, bad weather, bad company.
Yeh I think I'll stay here, in the nice clean offices, with the ladies who offer coffee and smell sweet, not like a decky who hasn't had a shower for a week, home most nights of the month, paid what I deserve and even get a holiday thrown in once a year.

Yours truly,
One Proud land lubber

[Ricoh_Suave]

jonezy,

I agree, there's much worse work (and I used to say the same thing you're saying to my coworkers when they'd complain about the job), but to me, this isn't a question of job quality, it's job satisfaction. If you're just a guy, floating from job to job or career to career, working on printers ain't all that bad. Sadly, that seems to be the mentality of most of the people I'd met in the industry. Even the documentation, and the help that comes from the manufacturers "helpdesk" is geared towards a transient employee with little more knowledge about the print industry than their knowledge of the plumbing or landscaping industry. There are very few print Engineers anymore, without a doubt, it's a Technician field now, just like changing oil or doing brake jobs. There is little time or reason to think beyond the 10 steps in the service manual. If you're rating working on printers as a career, for a person who really loves doing technical work, and seeking out technical challenges - is it a good job? Heck no.

[BillyCarpenter]

I didn't read every post but I read the majority. I'm surprised at how many dislike being a copier tech. Most of it seems to stem from the boss/employer. That can be hell.


As far as any job that I've ever had, it was always fun when I was learning a new job. Once I became proficient at the job, it became boring and monotonous. But I never hated being a copier tech. When I got our of high school, I did a lot of back-breaking manual labor out in the elements. Now, I HATED that.

Try doing some roofing or sand blasting and painting. You'll love being a copier tech.

[blackcat4866]

Yup. Being warm, dry, and yelled at can be a major improvement over wet, stinky, and cold. One thing that you learn in this line of work, is how to isolate out that 'emotional' element of the problem, and focus on the part that you can fix. Don't get me wrong, I never loved being yelled at, but I learned the art of smiling, and letting that part slide right off my back.

There happens to be one thing better than both of those choices though: retirement. =^..^=

[copier addict]

I worked retail for many years before becoming a copier tech. It was awesome going from stupid shifts and working weekends to 8-5 and no weekends. It's also great working in a job where almost all the customers are happy to see you. In fact, the clients are the best part of the job in my opinion.