I believe this industry is due for a shake up very soon. Nationals come in, underbid us, then try to contract the same work to us for less than what we were billing before direct.

Think about it. That’s crazy. And we allow it to happen. We resign ourselves to the reality that it is inevitable and outside our control. To a point it is, because we allow ourselves to be herded into that reality. In other words, it is only true because we collectively let it be.

Unfortunately, unlike most other service industries there is no real set of standards that dictate our professional value.

Plumbers can charge more because they have a skill set that most laymen do not aspire to meet. Electricians can charge more because there are local, state and federal standards that must be followed and there is a level of hazard that places it beyond the capabilites of the average self-trained tech to practice. Auto mechanics can charge more because they have a nationally recognized and respected certification. It is not one that can be easily obtained by wannabes who cram for a simple test.

Unfortunately, our business, as respected as it once was and should be, is too accessible by hobbyists, students and the average layman who, with no tools or special knowledge at all, can simply turn the computer on and off, open the case (screwless), and plug and unplug things inside. Of course, there is more to IT than that, but there is also Google, which is just as easily accessible to the layman as it is to the tech. Certifications, such as they are, can be passed with no real technical experience. There are too many of them and they represent too many different aspects of the field. They are also, with few exceptions, vendor specific, which waters down their value further.

You can walk a layperson through a repair on the phone. Once they’ve done it, the fear and uncertainty of the device is diminished. They could do it again on their own. They don’t need us. If they do it enough, they embolden themselves to become us.

The truth is, unlike plumbing, electrical work and auto repair, the inside of a computer is too easily accessible to the layperson and, with a few exceptions, is neither overly dangerous, dirty or messy work.

This is why salesmen dressed in black can pass themselves off as “geeks” and why the local high school kid can advertise on craigslist. It is also why there is little or no respect for technicians or their wages by national IT service companies and why they can dictate contracts according to their terms, not ours.

This is why OnForce exists.

We are not a profession, we are a commodity.

Unless we set the standards, it is going to get worse.

©2007 Rick Savoia