The Complete Guide to Becoming A Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairer

Chapter 1: What Does a Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairer Actually Do?

Let's start by clearing away the title. "Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairer" is a mouthful, and it doesn't really tell you what a Tuesday looks like. It's the official Department of Labor job title for a person who keeps the machines of the modern office world alive — and, just as importantly, keeps them from killing anyone's productivity. You'll fix cash-dispensing ATMs that eat debit cards. You'll coax a stubborn multifunction printer back to life two hours before a board meeting. You'll run diagnostics on a desktop computer that's been slowly dying for weeks, and you'll figure out that the problem was a $2 fan that cost the office two days of downtime.

But before you imagine yourself in a clean white shirt with a set of fine-tipped screwdrivers, let's get one thing straight: this is not a desk job. It is a hands-on, often-on-your-feet, often-in-your-car, sometimes-under-a-desk job. The core of the work is simple to state and complicated to execute. You arrive at a machine that isn't doing its job, you figure out why, you fix it, and you make sure it stays fixed. That’s the whole ballgame. Everything else — the paperwork, the parts ordering, the customer conversations — orbits around that one task.

The machines you'll work on vary wildly in complexity, and so do the repairs. On the lower end of the difficulty scale, you might be replacing a printer's