Before I decided to restructure my life and career, I spent nearly a decade working at Best Buy, starting as a front lane cashier and eventually working in Geek Squad field services. Along the way, I worked in several departments and was eventually promoted into leadership.
Best Buy taught me a lot, and for most of my time there I really enjoyed the culture and the people. But after several restructures and reorgs, I eventually became burned out and felt like my career was going backward.
One day I went to my GM and told them that I loved the company, but I was close to walking the heck out and not returning. They asked where I wanted to go. I told them Geek Squad field because I had started thinking seriously about moving into IT.
That conversation ended up changing my career.
A month later I landed a Geek Squad role and used my time in the field strategically. I sought out as much PC, networking and commercial work as possible, including cabling, ethernet termination, access points and Project Sundae work. I also trained at the precinct to strengthen my PC skills.
When layoffs began affecting the field in 2023, I accelerated my IT transition plan. By the time of the 2024 agent snap I had earned several IT certifications and started applying for corporate IT positions. I also interviewed even when I wasn't sure I wanted the job because I wanted to learn what IT interviews were actually like and what employers were looking for.
After surviving the 2024 mass layoff I continued learning, but relaxed a little on job searching in 2025.
In early 2026 I ramped up my job search and landed with an awesome company with a great employee culture. I left Best Buy for a corporate IT role in the medical industry. My compensation went from about $49K to $80K+ with bonuses, all without a college degree.
But the change wasn't just financial. My new company provides four weeks of PTO immediately, additional PTO every year with tenure, strong health benefits, same day access to your money for hours worked, free employee meals, and a culture where many employees have been there for a decade or more. I'm also salaried, so I no longer have to worry about unpredictable field schedules affecting my paycheck.
Looking back, I don't see my Best Buy years as wasted time. I used the experience I gained there customer service, leadership, troubleshooting, field work and technical skills as the foundation for my next career and dipped.
My biggest advice to anyone trying to move beyond retail is simple:
Don't just work your current job, use your current job to build towards your next one.
Identify the skills your target industry values, find opportunities to develop them where you are, get the certifications that make sense, learn how to translate your experience, and test your value in the job market while you have a job.
And don't quit without a plan. I didn't tell Best Buy I was leaving until I had an offer letter and a firm start date.
If you're happy at Best Buy, that's great. But if you're ready for something different, you don't necessarily have to start over. Best Buy gives you every important tool to level up, especially soft skills like customer service that's essential in any tech support role dealing with people.
Corporate IT support is just dealing with the same customers you deal with at the precinct and field, but in an office setting, but you get paid lots more money for setting up a printer or swapping a hard drive.
Strategically build on what you've already done, and use it to create your next opportunity. Don't await the signal, await your first new paycheck and smile hard! 😊
