Pros
> Simple, straightforward work > No licenses or certifications required, just be ready to learn > Good starting point for young people looking to get their foot in the door for future trade work > Very light tool investment. Couple hundred bucks, tops. Non-reusable supplies such as nails, screws, tape, wire terminals, etc are provided. > The other techs who I worked with were friendly overall, and liked to teach/ help the younger guys. > The Operations Manager, Frank, has to give people a hard time sometimes to keep them in line, but is actually a nice guy and doesn't generally want to resort to punitive measures. If you don't make his job harder, he generally won't make yours harder.
Cons
> Little to no advancement available, other than very slow raises which cap out very low. This isn't a career company. It's a good job to put on your resume as experience if you're looking to move into further trade work, or just to pay your bills while you pursue some sort of education, side business, or certification. For some, this is a positive. > Final installations and service calls (about a third of a technician's work schedule, on average) often turn into a mess because of miscommunication or lack of communication between the sales department, the service department, and the customer. I often installed systems for customers who didn't fully understand what they had been sold or how it worked. Sometimes, we arrived to install a different theater system than the customer thought they bought. Typical antagonistic relationship between the salesmen and the people who have to install what they sell . > New systems and equipment are sometimes introduced without properly training the technicians who are supposed to install it. It's a "figure it out" situation. Luckily, there's usually an experienced technician around who can "figure it out," but less experienced technicians can find themselves in an awkward spot.