7 Online Trades & Careers Courses Available

For better or for worse, PCs are woven into the fabric of many modern lives. Whether you use yours primarily for word processing and email, or for more advanced applications like gaming and video editing, your PC will surely stump you once in a while: For example, the "blue screen... of death," or a sudden viral assault after you click a seemingly innocent banner;. or a busted motherboard (also known as "mobo"), or other hardware issues that lives up to Office Space's most comical example of peripheral woes: The inscrutable "PC Load Letter" printer.

These examples of how PCs can go wrong all point to the need for a good PC repair person. Since Murphy's Law may seem to dictate that your PC suffer ailments right before a deadline, PC repair technicians are often hailed as heroes — by employers in IT companies and electronic retail stores, as well as at-home clients.

Though hands-on hobbyist tinkering will teach you many things about the ins and outs of a PC system, employers may frequently prefer to hire those with education credentials. Whether you are a beginner or have been playing with PCs for years, there are many one- and two-year online PC repair programs that are designed to enrich your subject knowledge with the latest techniques. Most of these programs teach students how to troubleshoot common PC problems and cover advanced issues in electronics, software applications, networks, servers, and the overall computer industry. As a result, many graduates may find themselves more likely to be ready for a variety of careers, as PC repair technicians, computer support specialists, or in retail consumer electronics.

Online certificate programs in computer repair are designed to give self-motivated students the knowledge to troubleshoot and repair the various PC and network components. Coursework often covers topics such as motherboards, chips, memory and power supplies, hard drives, CD and DVD drives, operating systems and software applications, computer network hardware, and peripherals such as modems and monitors. Also, some programs are designed to prepare you for your certification exam by covering specialized topics like operating systems, Windows installation, maintenance and optimization, as well as networking and security essentials. Students may choose to specialize and pursue certification to work with specific platforms and programs.

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