Trust in Lee

Lee Grant’s article (“Tech repairs: Who can you trust?”, issue 334, p32) certainly struck a chord. As a self-employed, local computer technician, the transition from primarily hardware to mainly software-based repairs over the past 15 years has been noticeable and significant. I used to arrive at each customer’s door with my extensive tool bag in one hand and a range of spare parts in the boot, ready to spend the next hour crawling around under the desk, wiping dust from my face as I dismantled, repaired and reassembled a heavy desktop PC.

Over the years, the tool bag started to remain in the car and the only tools I would take in would be a handful of flash drives. That has now dwindled to three: one Linux boot drive, one Windows 10 boot drive and a third with a few tools and bits of general software. This change hasn’t just been driven by the improved reliability of hardware, but also by the reduced ability to repair. It’s not uncommon now to open up an ultra-thin laptop and find just a single board – no removable components whatsoever.

Another point raised in the article was both relatable and comforting. I have been taking apart computers since the ZX81 and was entirely self-taught. I had always had a desire to start my own IT support business and, following redundancy about 20 years ago, everything came together to make it happen.

Having no formal qualifications, I decided that I should at least enrol for the Comp TIA A+ course to fill any gaps that may have passed me by. It was useful, but I probably learned more in my first week out on the job than I did doing the course. However, having no qualifications, I did suffer, and still do to some extent, from imposter syndrome. Reading the article helped me realise I’m not alone in being unqualified on paper, and that’s good to know. Gary Mander