Is there such a thing as a part time installer?
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Based on some of the threads I've read, it seems that a lot of them are part timers.
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It is like baseball, a game that is played without a time clock. The jobs are sorted and routed by people who cannot know how long they will take. With experience you can become more efficient. But the way things roll, if yu are working for an HSP (Home Service Provider), you will find yourself working six or seven days most weeks until you just quit.
To work less you have to sell & install your own work. The selling has gotten harder because DTV will close any deal that comes in through their system.
Fulfillment installations can be ok IF you don't mind doing a few jobs for free from time to time due to lost paperwork, etc.
Part time, like a forty hour week, and home by five......nah!
Joe
To work less you have to sell & install your own work. The selling has gotten harder because DTV will close any deal that comes in through their system.
Fulfillment installations can be ok IF you don't mind doing a few jobs for free from time to time due to lost paperwork, etc.
Part time, like a forty hour week, and home by five......nah!
Joe
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lol, full time is 40 hrs! I would be more interested if you could work on weekends or certain days only, etc.
Seems like the industry (at least on the Directv side) is flooded with tons of firms wanting to get your business (just look in the paper, internet, fliers, etc. that all have different companies trying to sell you Directv).
Is Dish more organized with the installers? They seem to keep it much closer at home, they provide the truck, gear, etc., and it seems like have a closer handle on things.
Seems like the industry (at least on the Directv side) is flooded with tons of firms wanting to get your business (just look in the paper, internet, fliers, etc. that all have different companies trying to sell you Directv).
Is Dish more organized with the installers? They seem to keep it much closer at home, they provide the truck, gear, etc., and it seems like have a closer handle on things.
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I wish, a slow week is usually 50Grentz said:
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Funny.
With the number days and hours they force upon us, I actually work a full and part time job. Some days its two full time jobs.
Thankfully, they got multiple class actions suits against them at both the state and federal level. Should be fun to watch.
With the number days and hours they force upon us, I actually work a full and part time job. Some days its two full time jobs.
Thankfully, they got multiple class actions suits against them at both the state and federal level. Should be fun to watch.
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109 Posts
Its possible if you can find a sub who will let you do it...but you'd have to start out full time and scale back. If I wanted, I can scale back to whatever I want. Had one guy who was only working PM, 5 days a week. He quit because he really wasnt making any money. I work 5 days even though the inhouse guys are forced to 6 says including sundays. I'll probably go to 4 days once the dead of winter hits. On the flip side, I will take up a really difficult job on my day off from time to time to keep from tipping the boat too much.
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I started out part-time w/ an E* sub, since I wanted to keep my day job. I worked weekend. They wanted me to come over full time but in all honesty, installing dishes would be a step backwards for me, so I got out of it. Its not easy work and you generally dont get any helper. I used to do commercial audio/video/data systems but am now doing 'home automation' and wanted the extra $$. I still on occasion install a Slimline, but for my 'day job' employer. But I do soo much more than just satelite.
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The realities of the job are that only a very few could "make it" as a part-time guy. The costs of the tools, supplies, etc., the time keeping up with the latest tech, equipment, and issues, paperwork, and so forth takes a lot of time.
Also, consider this: in virtually every system I'm aware of, you, the tech, is responsible for any problems with any job you've been to for a period of time (90 days is typical). Let's say you work Sat & Sun. Six weeks ago, you did an install, and now it's Tuesday, the customer isn't getting signal, and wants a tech right away. A service call is set up for Wed or Thurs, but you don't work those days. What is going to happen is that another tech is going to be assigned that call, and if it was anything but an equipment failure, YOU are going to be charged back to pay for the other tech's truck roll. Chargebacks can eat through your pay quickly if you can't handle your repeat service calls yourself.
Also, expect your customers to call you at all hours of the day or night, because they changed the TV off of "HDMI-2" and now they have a blue screen, or because they've come home from their swing-shift job and American Idol didn't record for them.
IMO, if you're going to try part-time, you'd want to work for an independent shop. The only issue there is that the one's you'd want to work for want people with a lot of experience, not only with satellite, but with all aspects of home theater or commercial work too.
Also, consider this: in virtually every system I'm aware of, you, the tech, is responsible for any problems with any job you've been to for a period of time (90 days is typical). Let's say you work Sat & Sun. Six weeks ago, you did an install, and now it's Tuesday, the customer isn't getting signal, and wants a tech right away. A service call is set up for Wed or Thurs, but you don't work those days. What is going to happen is that another tech is going to be assigned that call, and if it was anything but an equipment failure, YOU are going to be charged back to pay for the other tech's truck roll. Chargebacks can eat through your pay quickly if you can't handle your repeat service calls yourself.
Also, expect your customers to call you at all hours of the day or night, because they changed the TV off of "HDMI-2" and now they have a blue screen, or because they've come home from their swing-shift job and American Idol didn't record for them.
IMO, if you're going to try part-time, you'd want to work for an independent shop. The only issue there is that the one's you'd want to work for want people with a lot of experience, not only with satellite, but with all aspects of home theater or commercial work too.
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Good points, thanks for the info guys. Seems like there really is no official part time employment option.
I actually have more experience in home theater than satellite (besides directv). I know the Directv system very well, but not other systems (like FTA or Dish) even though I am sure many concepts are similar. Home Theater though I know quite well along with data and voice networks too.
I was more just overall curious, Dish seems nicer to work for with them covering the truck, tools, etc. + they seem a bit more organized (maybe that is wrong though?). Directv would be who I would be interested in though cause I know the system so well and a lot of the technical details, where as dish I know pretty much nothing about besides being a user
That would be no problem at allIIP said:
I actually have more experience in home theater than satellite (besides directv). I know the Directv system very well, but not other systems (like FTA or Dish) even though I am sure many concepts are similar. Home Theater though I know quite well along with data and voice networks too.
I was more just overall curious, Dish seems nicer to work for with them covering the truck, tools, etc. + they seem a bit more organized (maybe that is wrong though?). Directv would be who I would be interested in though cause I know the system so well and a lot of the technical details, where as dish I know pretty much nothing about besides being a user
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Dish has both in-house techs (who drive the Dish vans) and contractors. The difference is that both in-house and contractors work directly for Dish/Echostar. With DirecTV, you work for the HSP, who works for DirecTV. This lets DirecTV keep the installation business at arm's length, and causes all kinds of other problems. This may be changing, but so far, even for the HSPs that DirecTV has bought out, not much has changed at the installer level, including pay. My guess is that it will take a year or more for DirecTV to even figure out how to run/handle installation, as they've never dealt with it directly before.Grentz said:
Dish *is* more organized because they've been directly involved with installation for much longer, and have had the time to smooth out most of the wrinkles. They also don't get into your business as much if you're a contractor. On the other hand, a contractor has to pay for everything upfront, including dishes, switches, receivers, etc., so that helps to weed out a lot of the hacks.
The problem with Dish is that they market to the bottom end of the market, and that market is both shrinking AND has a lot more competition lately from the phone companies. Dish's volumes are very low right now (in the 2Q, Dish actually had a net LOSS of customers; the first quarter that's ever happened in the history of DBS satellite), and very few of their new customers have any brand loyalty. They are getting Dish based strictly on price, so there are lots of complainers and lots of cancelations.
Then again, DirecTV is slower than normal right now too, though they're still adding customers at a good rate.
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