From Hobby to Freelance
My Initial Hobby
Studying Information Technology in college and working in technology sales in retail had initially introduced me to consumer electronics and it soon led to an unsatiable knack to tear electronics apart to further understand mainboards and processors. After building my first computer in 2018, I only became more interested in learning home networking and media servers. Others I know began to catch wind of my hobby and asked for my help with multiple home computing solutions. These first few experiences helping others out honed my skills in understanding what different types of computers and networking solutions work well in different situations.
With varying budgets, every job is unique.
From Hobby to Freelance
After my first few computer builds I noticed a common demand for either an upgraded computer or introductory computer for a family's graduation, general use or upcoming college. Essentially, my plan was to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, since everyone had to either find new hobbies online or begin remote school/work online 😷. Advertising my abilities to most everyone I know, I began to build multiple computers each month starting in mid 2020 saving everyone hundreds of dollars over buying pre-made computers from large retailers and paying exorbitant amounts of money for simple repairs or upgrades. The isolation the pandemic required netted me a massive opportunity to spread around the services I provide to help everyone get online and have fun doing so. After a year of around 60 jobs, by 2021 I had my first home networking project request where I installed a network-attached storage (NAS) for a family to enjoy a media server that can host entertainment and family memory content from anywhere in the house! A select few of these projects are enthusiast level - meaning they are made by and built for fans of technology.
Below are some of my favorite enthusiast-level projects :)
Some of my Favorite Enthusiast Projects!!!
Increasing Complexity
By the end of 2022 I had installed 5 whole home networking solutions and built or upgraded over 100 computers for various professions. Everything from gamers and streamers to artists and audiophiles all over San Diego county. Most of my enthusiast project above fall into my later years of client builds, when I became increasingly comfortable and capable to produce near-perfect results. With this experience mounting I became familiar with more complex topics like computer architecture, virtualization, device drivers, network protocols & security, and relational databases through SQL.
Simple and fairly inexpensive solutions to problems only surfaced after dozens of clients, and this CPU mounting solution is a good example. ➡️
Installation of a custom CPU mounting solution that prevents warping of the motherboard and improves heat transfer.
It has been great that I am able to save everyone plenty of money for those that want to get into computing and home networking, many individuals overestimate what hardware is required for epic media setups or workstation machines. In addition, many large companies have been increasingly anti-consumer when it comes to almost all home computing solutions. I strive to help my customers combat the planned obsolescence most technology companies want for modern computing. Everything from loading the computer with sponsored software before you buy it, bloating up the pc, to unrated power supplies that could potentially put other components at risk down the line. Shameless.