6-figures, here I come, baby

I'm coming to get ya! *bum bum beyowh bum bum beyowh* Foxy Lady!

Jimi Hendrix rocks.

Anyway, I can't wait for my stuff to get here. You see, I've ordered some books, and a laptop. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

A few weeks ago, I overheard Ben talking to Marisa (the assistant Dean) about a new position. It would be for a Mac tech, although preferably the person hired would be proficient with PCs as well. This was my chance.

About a week passed, and the opportunity arose. Ben was telling me about the position. We need a Mac expert (which I'm pretty damn far from, as of this writing), as about 10% of the University uses Macs. The position would be 9 months out of 12 (summers off) and be re-evaluated every year. Ben mentioned that the only reason the Provost was persuaded into providing the money for this position was because we have no one who can support Macs.

At this point, I said something like, "He couldn't be persuaded to pay for another PC person, huh?" To which Ben replied that if that was the case, he would have just hired me. Excellent. I had suspected that, but here was proof.

So anyway, I went on to say that it would be too late for this year, but perhaps I could do my Mac homework, and be able to take on that duty next year. Ben said that was a great idea.

So I bought a book called "Switching to Mac," since it's specifically geared towards PC users who want to learn Macs. I also bought an iBook for which to hone my craft.

But that's not all. I've been talking to Josh about certifications, and we both want to get certified. He holds an A+ (which covers basic hardware and tech support), but I've got enough experience that it would basically be a waste of time and money for me to go for. He suggested I get a Network+ (all about networking), and that we both get our MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) in Windows XP. Starting pay for holders of that particular certification is 40-50k. Experienced MCSEs haul in 6-figures.

Needless to say, I ordered some cram manuals for those exams. I'm gonna study my ass off, because when I get certified, it's on.

EDIT (10/10/2005): Or not. I've since decided that PC/Mac support just isn't for me. It was fun while I was doing it, and I learned a lot I wouldn't have on my own, but I'm an economist, with a degree in economics and a minor in business. I simply don't have the qualifications to do high-level tech support, and don't really want to.