Smart Wired

Smart Wired
Are you wired for tech work? Then you may already be halfway qualified for a well-paid career
By Phil Parent

 

If you can hook up your Playstation 3, connect 5.1 speakers to your iPod and then check your Facebook site from your internet-enabled television, congratulations! You have more skills and tech-savvy than 99% of Kiwis over the age of 25.

 

How many times has Mum called you (she can't text, of course) to ask how to change the television channel because she pushed the wrong button on the remote? How many times has Dad growled because you've upgraded the home network and now he can't log on? If this happened more than once, you have a secure future as a home-networking consultant.

 

Or better yet, how about a teenage billionaire? Mark Zuckerberg, the 23-year-old founder of Facebook, is reportedly worth more than US$1 Billion. How cool is that? Our own Sam Morgan, the young dude who started Trade Me (and how many minutes is it since you checked out the latest bids?), sold his business for a $225 million chunk of the profits. He started by delivering flyers for his new service on his push bike. And Microsoft's Bill Gates had made his first billion by the time he was 25. He's now one of the richest guys on the planet.

 

Could you be the next Sam or Bill? Maybe. Can you be a skilled, successful and satisfied home-networking professional? Absolutely. The opportunities for wiring (or unwiring, as the case might be) homes and small businesses are zooming along. And this is one job where being young is a distinct advantage. One company that is taking advantage of the skills that are second nature to tech-minded school leavers is Hamilton's Smart-Wired Home and Business.

 

"People will go out and drop many thousands of dollars on a big screen LCD television, speakers, DVD recorders etcetera and not have the slightest idea how to hook them all together," says Tony Bekx, boss of the company.

 

"That's where we come in. We help people not just hook everything up but we help them get the most out of the systems that they have." And to help Tony get the job done, he has a team of young �digital natives' who have the tech skills - as well as the people skills - to install and operate the most radical home networks.

 

"Most young people today are what I call digital natives," says Tony. "You've grown up with the technology. You can text, upload, download, reconfigure, log on, chat and more, typically all at the same time and usually while doing something else. These are rock-solid skills and worth money in the workforce."

 

But hard technical skills aren't the only things you need to become a home networking pro. "You have to be able to combine your digital native skills with a business-like attitude," says Tony. "The flip side of having a responsible, well-paying job is that you have to be responsible. If you're going into people's homes and performing services that they are paying a lot of money for, you have to be able to look and act the part. It's a big change from the atmosphere of college, or helping your mates install ear-splitting speakers in their cars, to running cables in an office. You'll be dealing with people of all ages, cultures and values. You have to be able to go in, do the job quickly and unobtrusively, and not leave a mess. Not a tall order, but one that does take some adjusting to." Tony finds that the people who have clear goals have the best chance of success.

 

"If you can identify and write down your goals," he says, "you are well on your way to achieving them. Don't dwell on the how - that will sort itself out if you are realistic - just focus on the what. That way you can always track how well you are doing."

 

Can you become a zillionaire installing wireless access points? Not likely. But it is a good place to start. The next Sam Morgan is probably out there right now, beavering away at a job that is providing the skills and the work ethic that will pay off big time when that person - male or female - makes the leap from valued employee to entrepreneur.

 

 

"I love what I do," says Ihaia Greensill, installation technician at Smart-Wired.

 

"Not only is the work fun and challenging, but I get to travel to different places and towns. I'd hate to be stuck behind a desk or in an office. In my job, I'm never bored."

 

Ihaia picked up his love of electronics at school. "I did some class work on electronics and really enjoyed it," he says. "I followed up with two years at WINTEC [Waikato Institute of Technology] and then was fortunate enough to hire on with Tony and the guys. Right now, I'm about halfway through a formal apprenticeship."

 

Running his own business is one of Ihaia's goals. "I still need to learn a lot more," he concludes. "But, with the great training I'm getting, I can see it down the road. My advice to anyone getting into the trade is �don't be scared, you'll love it'."

 

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