i may be becoming an arcade technician!

[phreak97]

i have submitted my resume to an arcade supplier. im hoping to get a place as an apprentice arcade technician. :D
thisll be the most awesome thing that's ever happened to me if it goes through :D :D
working on arcade games, in a store filled with arcade machines ^^

[atari_wizard]

this is definitely a dream come true. i would jump on a job like this too! don't get caught playing games on the clock. :) i wish you luck.

[phreak97]

well you have to test the games after you work on them 8-)

im still waiting on the president of the company to get back to me, he said he would take my resume to their next meeting and get back to me either way, so i think i have to be patient..

[phreak97]

well.... i dont think i got that job:P but i did get another one the same, not an apprenticeship though, which is almost better. but the business was crap, so i quit there and am now working as a full time technician in the state's largest arcade/entertainment complex. and general game testing is part of my job, i was told a have to go through playing games if im not busy and it's quiet. but you'd be suprised how lame it can be to play the same games that much. all in all, pretty cool job.

[Three-P]

Sounds like good work, if you can get it.

[Technosis]

i was told a have to go through playing games if im not busy and it's quiet.

Like any of us would need to be told. Does this mean your pay raises will be tied to your gaming ability? j/k LOL

Back in the 90's a community college near here used to offer a night course on coin-op repair. It was aimed at the operators and such. However, I don't think the demand is there anymore for this sort of thing as the number of coin-ops out there has really dropped off.

[carlcarlson]

yeah, I wouldn't think there would be much demand for this time of career. are you able to get steady work?

[Flack]

I can tell you that one local arcade near me is looking for a tech; starting pay is less than $10/hour.

[phreak97]

i always have something to do, theres no shortage of work. and the pay isnt awesome, but i'd rather get paid less and do something i like. if i was offered $25 an hour to work in a restaurant for example i wouldnt do it. i get ~AU$860 per two weeks after tax. i do 40 hours (full time) per week and get holiday pay and sick leave. and i was 19 last pay, 20 now so we'll see what happens to my pay.
im pretty sure there are no courses here for coin op repairs.. it's pretty easy anyway once someone shows you what youre doing initially. there are courses for working with pokies, but theyre a bit different. most new arcade games have a regular pc inside them with an extra board plugged in via usb to run all the controls and lights plus any movement etc. so all you really need is pc knowledge and a bit of electronics. also new arcades are going with card swipe credit systems instead of coin mechanisms, so you no longer have to know how to clean or program coin mechs.. though if you had the manual for the programmer that's pretty easy too.. all you need is the programmer and a bunch of coins to calibrate to. really if youre into it and do some pc work and electronics you can get into the industry pretty easily. knowing how to fix a crt monitor helps, but i dont really know that much about those, so obviously you dont really need it.

[shawnbo42]

I can tell you that one local arcade near me is looking for a tech; starting pay is less than $10/hour.

Entailing what exactly, though? If their idea of a "tech" is a guy who can unjam a couple of coins from a mech, then under $10/hr is fair money, I would think. If you are talking someone who will re-wire/convert cabinets, replace monitors/picture tubes, and some board work, then that kind of money is more or less a slap in the face. I've ben working in the industry for 7 or 8 years now, and I can tell you from experience, I've seen stuff roll through my place that we've bought that other "techs" worked on......I'm sure some of the other guys here know where I'm coming from. The other popular misconception I get is, "Wow, dude, you get paid to play games all day!". Try spending all day (9 or 10 hours) in the middle of July (with no A/C) working on a Wacky Gator, then play it 50 times, then tell me how exciting it is to play it again. Folks seem to miss the "tech" part of the title "game technician".
I am no shooting it down by any means. Being a game tech is what I love to do. I woudn't voluntarily choose to do something else, but I think a lot of people have some serious misconceptions about what the job is all about. (BTW, Flack, might want to check out that local job offer. Pick it up P/T, good experience in game repair, you'll work with a lot of different machines besides the ones you own. Just a thought)

[Peale]

ShawnBo42: I see you're in New England. Me too! I worked as a tech for a couple years in NH. Quit a couple months ago to be a stay-at-home-dad and started fixing stuff on the side.

Where are you at?