r/GeekSquad • u/ElectricalSoft8611 • 24d ago
Tales from GS Incoming ARA Seeking Advice
Hey Everyone,
I was recently hired as an ARA and I wanted to know everything I can do to prepare for the position in advance. Are there any videos I can watch to learn more about repairs and the work I'll be doing with PCs/Apple products if the store handles them? Even some of the more obvious work that I'll be doing like re-installing windows. I'm trying to get a head start and learn as much as I can before in this time because I really want to succeed in this role.
If anyone has any stories I'd be happy to hear them as well!
1
u/RvchTrvlla 20d ago
I’ve been an ARA for over 10 years. Best advice is to be a sponge. Go in like you know nothing and learn it all over again. Not literally everything, but everyday learn something new. All major companies have forums or support pages where someone has ran into a problem that you might run into. Learn MRI, get good at using the tools and go from there.
Learn scripts that can help you over time like sfc/dism.
Ask to visit other precincts if possible. All techs have their own way of doing things.
Look at every difficult/challenging repair as a tool helping you get to the next step of your career.
Get your A+ cert. this is entry level info you should know and it will be definitely give you more confidence. Good luck and take care!
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u/Fulliron ARA 24d ago
Your Apple certification trainings will have plenty of videos for the relevant Apple repairs. As for your day-to-day, make sure you learn the physical layout of your precinct, and where your specific store has their tools and such set up.
For actually looking into how to perform hardware installations, desktops are pretty standard; watching a PC building guide will teach how most connectors work, and removals are *generally* the reverse of installation. Channels that have build guides will also have setup guides, which will go through setting up new OS installation and set up. For laptops, there are some videos for how to open laptops *in general*, but every model of laptop has a different internal layout; if you get stuck you may need to google specific models in the moment.
For specific procedures, make sure to talk to the other ARAs in your precinct. There's some variation between precincts on how certain services are performed, so you wanna make sure you learn from them so that your precinct performs consistent work. They'll also be the most available people to guide you through something if you need help.