Geek Squad could potentially be a good start to your career, but probably not the best long term option. It depends on the people in the specific location and how you deal with customers on a regular basis. The interactions of any tech support position can become very frustrating, even for an extroverted NT!
I've held various technical positions for about 15 years now. I found that if you want to focus more on the technical side of your career and spend less time dealing with (often frustrating non-technical) people, you want to be in a lab. In a lab, you are not only more likely to be working with smart people in a more casual environment, but you'll be around a smaller, more consistent group of people you can establish a positive relationship with. I've honestly been surprised how many people have accepted me in all my weird awesomeness in labs. It's much easier to deal with than a constant stream of new customers demanding resolution to their (often trivial and downright pedantic) problems. You'll also find more of your fellow aspies hiding out in these labs, as we tend to excel in these environments -- They allow us to focus, and when we can focus... we are amazing.
The easiest way into a lab is through quality assurance work. As an entry-level QA tester, you'll focus on some pretty dry stuff... following a "test plan" step by step, reporting the results, and if you're lucky, trying to figure out why a problem happens and how to fix it. As you gain experience and work up the ranks into the more senior roles, you'll spend more time investigating and finding "root causes", and working with engineers directly to fix the problems. That, to me, is where the real fun is -- You become a sort of technical detective who gets to play with the newest, unreleased products before the public gets to see them, and you learn a LOT in the process.
Often, the quickest way to get a QA title position on your resume is game testing. Game development companies often hire QA testers to run through their games, looking for defects. These jobs don't pay much, but give you testing experience, and if you like to game... you're getting paid to do something you like. With a little luck and work, you can use that background to land a job testing more technical products, like a hardware vendor's products or a software company's business application. That's where the $$ is. And, with your A+, you very well might just be able to walk into an entry-level technical test role anyways! Get 5 years experience and a few more certifications, and unless you are hoping to be rolling in money, you will not be very worried about your fiscal situation much. A professional tester of technical products with 5+ years experience and at least one relevant cert, at least in my area, easily gets 50k+/yr, which is well above median pay, and way above what the average person without a degree makes. It's not a bad place to be, and certainly will enable a comfortable, independent lifestyle.. Which to me is what a career is really for -- Enabling oneself to live a financially independent life.
Most of all, learn how to interview like a pro! If you can interview well, you'll be way above 90% of the cantidates right away, because simply put, most people just don't do well in interviews. Be confident, prepared, friendly, and above all.. just be your awesome self!
I say this from experience -- I've been working QA roles in labs for about 10 years now, and there's no way I'd go back to customer-facing positions. I have no education (not even a GED) but have years of experience, a few certs, and the ability to interview confidently. Degrees are common... real technical skills and interview skills? not so much.
23 Aug 2012, 3:05 pm
