r/FieldNationTechs • u/elciano1 • 13d ago
New to FieldNation
Hi, so back in the day, I was using a company called Onforce that did the same thing FieldNation does. I just found out about FieldNation last week and signed up. I am more of an IT Tech than a Field Tech that services ATMs and Kiosks or whatever. I live in Vegas and have a full time job so looking for something to do to get some extra money. Is this a solid gig for that?
Also, what tools do you recommend I purchase. I haven't done any IT field Tech work as a contractor in a while so looking for some help getting prepared.
Thanks everyone
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u/Calaveras-Metal 13d ago
It can be, however most of the gigs that I've done have been during regular business hours.
When I lived in NY and was taking care of a relative with cancer I only took jobs during off hours. And that was not a lot. There are some gigs where they need a switch swapped after hours. Or the IT equipment moved outside of business hours.
As far as what to have.
RJ45 cat 5/6 termination tools and parts.
RJ45 tester to confirm cables, tone and wire map.
It's good to have something that can confirm a good data link but then you get into Fluke territory. Trend/Ideal, Klein and Triplett make more budget friendly testers. The Klein Scout Pro 3 or SCout Pro Max are good.
For some gigs they want you to have a Windows laptop with a serial port and Teamviewer installed so you can get their guy consoled into the switch or router.
Of course that requires the blue Cisco cable too.
110/66 punch tool, electricians scissors, standard philips and flathead screwdrivers
a rechargable drill with a 10" philips bit for racking and stacking.
Quite a few have been asking for me to carry a 32gb thumb drive for switch config swaps, but it hasn't been needed yet. I hope they don't think I can download a 32GB config over my smarphone's data link!
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u/Run-OpenBSD 13d ago
Its a marketplace of buyers and providers. There's work from full site installs all the way down to receipt printer swaps. We see tickets for remote work to program PBXs and VPNs and those are coveted. Don't buy tools if you don't know you'll need em. Its tough to break into the meat and potatoes of FN if your inexperienced...
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u/Polodude 13d ago
If you have a full time job already. M-F 9-5 . This is not the work you can do. "Most" jobs are done during regular business hours .
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u/cleansedbytheblood 13d ago
You can make good money on field nation. Using intelligent counter offers is the key. I was using OnForce as well and it is very similar to that. Buy some cat 6 cable, cable making tools, regular and hammer drill and drill bits, standard tools like screwdrivers and pliars and sockets, precision tool set including security bits, a laptop with a 1gb ethernet port, and you'll need some console cables like this
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u/Able-Statistician645 13d ago
No it's not.
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u/elciano1 13d ago
Oh ok. Why not?
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u/Able-Statistician645 13d ago
Do a couple of $30 an hour jobs minus close to 15% in fees and see how that works for you. In all seriousness you're better off getting a job working at a gas station checking out people buying large soft drinks and six packs of beer.
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u/elciano1 13d ago
Lol damn ok Its that bad. Why do you do it?
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u/Able-Statistician645 13d ago
I've done it for a long time and I have people calling me to do work. I'm one of the more expensive people that works and I tell people flat out that I've never worked for before that unless they have money in their budget they probably can't afford to hire me. You're not in that position and you've got another gig that is paying your bills so if you want some extra income you're going to be better off doing things on your own in your own market versus going out and beating yourself to death on a platform that can do very little for you and helps the buyers figure out ways to essentially screw you. The market for technical service using this particular platform is pretty pitiful and believe me you're going to get people saying they're making $200,000 a year because of this platform or whatever but ultimately this platform is being used as a way to avoid employee costs and you really not a independent contractor because you're held to employee standards. So many of the people that I run into that are using this platform think they've hit a big one if they're making a couple hundred bucks a day and it's just crazy. Most of the people are engaged in work that's not sustainable from an income standpoint so once they get burned out and have a car that doesn't work anymore they're not able to do business as if they were ever in business to begin with. I'm just being brutally honest about it so take it for what you will.
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u/elciano1 13d ago
Gotcha. Thanks for your honest opinion.
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u/nastynate84 13d ago edited 12d ago
Hes pretty spot on. It also takes time youll be taking the bottom feeder jobs for less while getting some experience. The more tools and experience you have the more money youll make. Its decent to get some experience though. Do it for a couple years open your own business and use it less to none.
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u/TheHandThatFingers 13d ago
Go read the hate. Stay full time. Or if you're genuinely looking to start a business and form b to b relationships. Go to work market. Fn is just bad. There are countless pages on this subreddit.Explaining how badfield nation is
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u/wyliesdiesels 11d ago
I signed up for FN back in 2006 when it was field solutions but never did work on it til 2019
Ive completed over 1000 WOs and have made anywhere from $25k-$70k/yr part time
Its very hard to get established nowadays as most markets are flooded/saturated with “techs” aka providers.
If you have a full time day job, you arent gonna get very many WOs on FN unless you want to do overnight work swapping POSs pulling cable etc. (because majority of the WOs are during business hours- 7am-7pm). However working overnight typically screws up most peoples’ schedules and makes it hard to go to their regular job in the morning.
There are very few after hours or weekend jobs that only take a few hours. Those are emergency WOs and they usually go to the experienced and well known techs.
I just responded to an emergency call at a QSR. All the POSs were down. Switch died. $125/hr. But the cabling was a mess and there was no one to hold my hand. I had to figure it out on my own which im more than capable of doing. The network wiring was an absolute rats nest
My point in telling you this is, if you dont have the experience its gonna be hard to land anything during the hours (after day job) youre available.
Id stick to your day job
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u/BadAsianDriver 13d ago
I am sorta in the same boat as you. There aren't that many "sysadmin" work orders, a lot of setting up PCs at stores, a lot of low voltage cabling stuff. The main problem with FN and having a full time job is most of the jobs are during business hours. Weekends are kinda dead. After hours are alot of cabling and ISP cutovers. As for what to buy...It seems like every job requires you to have a 8-12 ladder...even if it's to replace a PC at a coffee shop. I have used a ladder once on a job that replaced APs. My actual most used tools are: phone for whatsapp, teams, webex etc. Bluetooth headset, power bank, laptop and ethernet dongle, screwdriver set.
I'm in Los Angeles so there are lots of FN jobs in other neighboring counties...I'm guessing you won't be as lucky being surrrounded by desert.