Want to try your hand at fixing computers in your spare time, but don’t have the time or resources to find customers yourself?  The answer you’re looking for may be to become a service provider.

About a year ago, I signed up with the website ComputerAssistant.com.  According to their website, they are…

“…the Internet site dedicated to providing FULL SERVICE staffing for our clients nationwide with local providers of on-site computer support, repair, service and training.”

In other words, as a computer geek, you can sign up with ComputerAssistant.com to become a member of their nation-wide army of service providers and they will do all the messy work of finding the customers.

Basically, it’s a staffing company right?  Well, not quite.   Years ago, after I finished my service in the US Army, I signed up with various staffing and temping services looking for some kind of office job.  With most popular staffing companies, you are required to take a series of tests and fill out mountains of paper work before you are presented to various companies needing temporary help, and you’re rarely given the job you’re hoping for or for which you’re most qualified.  ComputerAssistant.com is very different. I was able to sign up as a Service Provider in a matter of minutes.  You create a profile which includes your available hours, your skills, education, and you have the option of uploading your resume.  All of this information is then visible to customers who go to ComputerAssisstant.com seeking help with their computer problems.  Customers range from home PC users, small business owners, all the way to major corporations looking for a quick fix that their full-time IT staff are unavailable to perform.  They can choose a particular service provider, or let ComputerAssisstant.com do it for them.

I have enjoyed working with ComputerAssistant.com immensely.  It’s such a low-pressure selection process.  When a customer in your area contacts ComputerAssistant.com for help, they send an email to you (along with all other techs signed-up in your area) that basically says “We have a job in x city to do y for client z.  Please respond with your hourly bid if interested”.  So, if you’re not available, don’t have the specific expertise needed for that particular job, or just don’t feel like taking the job….easy, just don’t reply to the email.  If you’re interested then simply reply to the email.  This is so much more of a pain-free process compared to similar computer services that contract their work out to local service providers; all the others that I have attempted to sign up with required some sort of formal hiring process, or signing of a contract.  No contracts are involved with ComputerAssisstant.com.

I’ve completed a good amount of repair jobs using this website and I’m very impressed with the ease of use mixed with the professionalism that this service offers.

To me, this is a great way to “test the waters” and see if you have what it takes to be an on-site computer repair technician.  It is not ideal for someone looking for full-time workbecause you don’t get the full cut of the profits made from your service (they do, however, give you the full amount of whatever you bid, but keep in mind they usually go with the lowest qualified bidder) and the work comes very sporadically and unevenly, but it’s been prefect for someone like me who is looking to make my own business out of this.  It’s available in every state in the US and I highly recommend it both to computer techs looking for some extra work, and to PC users looking for an easy way to tap into a talent pool of local geeks.  I’ve gained valuable experience as a service tech for ComputerAssistant.com and I plan to continue working for them for as long as I can.

Please note this is NOT a paid endorsement…this is just me recommending a good service based on the experience I’ve had with it.