Let me start off with a brief introduction; apprise you of my qualification for posting this read.
I have been working in cell phone repair for the last 25 years.
What started as a side, high school fling to earn some extra bucks eventually morphed into something more concrete.
A surprisingly stable career plan without the rollercoaster upsets the field stereotypes would have you believe. Something of a reliable currency-puller that enabled me, over the years, to do the things normally reserved in our culture for only the top elites!
My public advice, then, which follows from this good experience, is based on proven standing:
More so than a vocation, electronics repair is a life-saver. Guaranteed to keep you comfortable down the line – with enough lure for passion to chase any incumbent boredom away.
And this analysis comes without any recourse to cell phone repair shop software. Automation, after all, is the enemy of ingenuity – seeing as it forces creatives to relinquish much thought.
The Main Incentive: a Top-Dollar Vocation
The argument of ‘hefty monies’, as I’ve stated here, is the top reason why I’d never consider shifting. My other motivations for sticking it out are detailed below. But it would suffice it to say, at this point, that these propositions have to do with an enabling of my USP. The unique skill set I bring to the equation. A kind of ‘ego fulfillment’ that both sustains me and keeps me hooked.
But I’d also like to be real in this piece – and not shy away from relating its many pitfalls. The bulk of which arise from the uphill nature of its ascent.
There isn’t, for instance, any certifying, centralized body to teach repairs in the US or elsewhere. Sure – there are consortiums of experts willing to dish on its intricacies for a fee. These individuals, however, differ with regard to their operational approach.
Some prefer the macro orientation, where a broken device is analyzed for its failings holistically. The other inspection vantage focuses on the narrow details in isolation.
Needless to say, but paying experiential fealty to one approach naturally provokes conflict with the adherents of the other. This is where scuffles arise between different repair vendors; who keep on shuttling vexed customers from one outlet to another.
But I think I’ll stop before I get ahead of myself. List the positives of the trade – what I really want to get at.
Ok – so here goes.
4 Reasons Why?
Before I drone on further about the niceties of the field, a disclaimer.
These takes are subjective – they may not be relatable for every repair tech out there.
ONE: It Keeps You On Your Toes
Trust me when I say – there’s never a dull moment in cell phone repair. The domain doesn’t allow for much redundancy in scope.
As I’ve learned over the years, mobile manufacturers are incredibly inventive. They’re constantly engaged in making their devices more resilient to the onslaught of the elements. This tendency to innovate by way of securing greater market entrenchment compels repair techs to upgrade their approach.
The same rounds of ‘fixing’, for instance, may not work well with the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy outings. Techs may require more specialized, turnkey equipment for their salvage runs. Or an entirely new type of repairs routine that proceeds differently from what went before. A course that cell phone repair shop software, for all its adaptive dexterity, is unable to put up with.
Continual upskilling, then, is the name of the game; and the field largely proves unwelcoming for techs who don’t fall in line with this prescription.
TWO: It Allows for the Rebel’s Escape
Cell phone repair, being a guilded affair, has a kind of Robin-Hood feel to it. A sort of vigilantism against the manufacturer-built corporate status quo. Culminating, for the practitioner, in a desirable ego stoke; the serotonin burst that keeps them coming back for more.
The fact that cell phone repair is a gilded affair certainly helps things – keep the field’s workings a province of the selected few (who are jealous of their craft). As a result of this orientation, repair workers don’t reveal their tricks much. Several professional repair shop software applications help embolden this trend; making the domain operate in an even more restricted manner.
THREE: It Imbibes a Sense of Family
On account of its significant barriers to entry (described above), the few people who do make up the field gravitate towards what I call a ‘familial centralization’. These individuals, even if they’re separated by geographical spans or borders, generally know each other. They understand their peers’ marks on salvaged devices; discernible by way of their unique manners of assembly.
Using cell phone repair shop software, it isn’t uncommon to find them engaged in long-distance correspondence; which is often not of the professional sort.
Being the members of a disparate family also means that these workers have each others’ back when the going gets tough.
Over the years, I’ve been lucky to be involved in several grassroots unions geared toward the rights of repair techs and their kin. And I would be negligent if I didn’t state how much they’ve helped me weather the storm on one too many occasions of personal unrest.
FOUR: It Keeps the Committed Tech on the Corporate Radar
Ever since the Right to Repair movement gained the center legislative stage in Western (and especially US) politics, all repair techs worth their salt have remained on the corporate radar. The reasons for this curiously maintained visibility are a little perplexing.
Repair techs, it is said, are seen as both potential competitors and allies by these commercial entities. On the former front, they are likened to rival brands that provide customers with an inexpensive alternative to the branded, warranty-controlled, repair route.
At the same time, and particularly by the affiliates of repair ticket management software service companies, they are considered prospective recruits. Skilled, experienced workers who can advance corporate interests further by becoming a part of their service fold.
So there you have it.
My four pointers on why I wouldn’t trade my spot in cell phone repair for anything.
If you’re a budding or experienced field practitioner, I’d love to read your take on the issue.
Feel free to dish in the comments below!