If someone had asked me how I would like to spend a particular Thursday afternoon, I do not think passing two hours watching a computer genius fix an undergrad's computer would be my response. In fact, I highly doubt it would be anyone's. But despite these preconceptions, it turned out to be pretty cool and insightful in ways I had not imagined.
About one week ago, that was exactly what I was doing. What prompted me to go on this excursion, you may ask? The answer was a keen interest in the live dynamics of the student led computer repair company Net Nerds.
UW-Madison senior and Net Nerd staffer Aaron Huser escorted me to a customer's apartment, where he proceeded to manipulate the girl's computer for two hours. While I watched, Huser simultaneously kept me engaged in conversation, since watching someone continuously press buttons on the keyboard is not exactly mentally stimulating.
I imagined myself in his shoes, walking into a stranger's home and tapping into her computer, a prized entity that contains some of people's most personal affairs. I would be terrified. But Huser was not, which is a characteristic I know I would want in the guy fixing my computer.
Although he was nervous about his first couple of house calls, he told me that he is now completely confident on all of his endeavors.
'I can't tell you what I'm looking for, but you know when you see it?? I will always find it,' he said.
Even though I did not know what Huser was doing, it was apparent that he did. Thoroughly impressed with his competence, I asked where he acquired his clearly extensive computer knowledge. It turns out that Huser's computer education dates back to his early childhood when he and his best friend would 'futz' around on the latter's computer.
'He'd always have problems on his computer so we'd always try to fix them. And when we were younger we'd just start deleting files and stuff,' Huser said, 'I sort of got it from there and picked things up along the way.'
In fact, Huser claimed most of his co-workers are also self-taught, saying 'There's no class you take; it's just doing it and putting in the time and knowing where to look for things.'
In addition to his independent beginnings, Huser held an internship fixing computers for three and a half years in Stevens Point and also worked at the DoIt Center for a year and a half.
As I got to know the Net Nerds I found another surprising aspect of the job'the social side. Their work allows for the employees to meet and interact with an eclectic group of people, grouped together solely by their computer frustrations.
According to Huser, sometimes people will sit next to you and talk to you the entire time (sort of what I was doing) and other times they leave you alone to do your work. The solo scenario could be potentially the most amusing because according to Huser, 'sometimes you hear the weirdest conversations in the other room.'
Due to this high level of human interaction that the Net Nerds encounter, the Nerds must be equipped not only with computer expertise but also with social confidence.
Owner and founder UW-Madison senior Kristen Berman said that these two components are precisely what she and co-owner UW-Madison senior Mike Kreemer look for when hiring employees.
'You can't go knocking on someone's door and then stand there and be awkward and uncomfortable,' Berman said.
Kreemer agreed, 'While they are called nerds, they are really not that nerdy,' he said. The Net Nerds, however, are 'proud to be nerds.'
'[The term nerds] lost a little bit of the societal meaning and taken on more of what Net Nerds means to us,' Berman said.
Whether they are nerds or suave socialites does not seem to matter so much. If they can fix my computer, I know that is good enough for me.
By helping fellow students, the entire Net Nerds endeavor supports student functionality and unity. We may not be students forever, but somewhere along the line we will have to help each other out. The Net Nerds have just jumped the gun on the rest of us.
