Part Time PC work?

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by Weemez, May 13, 2006.

  1. Weemez

    Weemez Kilobyte Poster

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    No doubt this topic has been covered before as i think i seen it somewhere once upon a time.

    I've just completed a 3 month secondment in the IT dept in the hospital i work in, it was invaluable experience and it looks likely that if new posts do arise there is a fair chance i would get in there full time, being realistic though its the NHS and with money being so tight there's not likely to be to any of them in the near future!!

    My question is.........

    There is a bullitin board on the NHS Highland intranet, in the services section there are various people offering gardening/electrical/fencing services and the like. There are not any services regarding PC repairs/upgrades etc etc.

    I feel confident enough now i think to go and offer my services on this board as when i started my secondment i had loads of people suddenly asking me questions about problems they were having with there PC's at home. I though it could bring a little extra cash through each month (i dont expect too much!) and this would be really good to add to my CV and continue my development. There's just a few things im unclear about and i do apologise for this rather long winded post.

    1) Things like how much to charge a person...

    2) What essentials should i have with me, obviously tool kit and the like but what different types of software should i have at the ready, software that i can use legally.....

    3) What if there's any comebacks after my work is done....

    4) Do i need to initially need to go and register myself as a form of business/taxes etc....

    I realise this is a lot for one person to answer and i know also that a lot of this i need to do off my own back, its just that i know there are some pretty clued up people on this forum and i'd like to get as much info as possible so as i don't look like a cowboy when i go to start this (if its feasible).

    Any help would be fantastic.
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing A+ N+ ICND1
    WIP: ICND2
  2. simongrahamuk
    Honorary Member

    simongrahamuk Hmmmmmmm?

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    Its late (for me) and I've had a few bevvies, but here's my take:

    1) Don't out price yourself. Some people charge £50 p/h. go for something like £30. A flat charge of £30 and then £30 per hour afterwards.

    2) Lots of upto date utilities such as AV, Spybot, CCleaner. A copy of Knoppix or other Bootable OS (BartPE) would be usefull as well. The customer should have copies of their OS on restore disks so you should be ok with that.

    I have found that a working Modem with drivers can come in really usefull aswell. Possibly even an ADSL modem.

    3) Be straight to the point, if they sign off on the work that you have done then there should be no comebacks. Its no good them saying two months later that you broke their PC, simply say that they were happy enough when you left their site / home.

    4) Legally advisable. :wink:
     
  3. Boycie
    Honorary Member

    Boycie Senior Beer Tester

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    yeah, go for it :thumbleft Best of luck
     
    Certifications: MCSA 2003, MCDST, A+, N+, CTT+, MCT
  4. Modey

    Modey Terabyte Poster

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    Keep the whole thing on a strictly professional basis, if you don't then there could be potentially bad ramifications, especially for your current position.

    If the people you are likely to do this for know you, or know of you via work and something goes pear shaped while you are trying to repair their PC, well it could get ugly is all I'm saying.

    I could do this kind of thing in my current position and would have had golden opportunities to make money out of it in my last position but I just stayed clear of it completely. It could have been far more trouble than the potential financial reward would have been (in my opinion in the scenario I describe).

    Don't want to sound too negative, but have a good think through of the potential pitfalls before you go ahead.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+, MCP, MCDST, MCSA 2K3, MCTS, MOS, MTA, MCT, MCITP:EDST7, MCSA W7, Citrix CCA, ITIL Foundation
    WIP: Nada
  5. Weemez

    Weemez Kilobyte Poster

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    Thank you Simon, Boyce, Modey.

    My main aim for doing this is for the experience so i feel i need to give it a go for experience reasons, i don't want to hang around to long waiting for a job to come up us time passes so quickly and i really need more experience.

    Modey i've taken on board what you are saying though and its a very good point, the comebacks could be to my disadvantage but i hope that if i go about this in a professional manner and give the people i may be doing the work for respect then i hope i will be fortunate enough to turn this into a possitive step.

    Thanks guys for your advice and encouragment. :thumbleft
     
    Certifications: HNC Computing A+ N+ ICND1
    WIP: ICND2

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