Genius Bar Question 3
Well, I've been getting some more questions, so I thought I'd get to them today. Here's a good one.
"If you work at the Genius Bar do you get sent to Cupertino"?
If you want to become a Genius for Apple, you first need to have some technical skills. If you come in with a background in IT or computer repair, you're way ahead of the curve. If you have some skills with computers and are good with people, you could get to be a Genius. It will also help set your pay rate higher. But you don't necessarily need to have that background. People have come into the Genius roll from working on the floor selling, but they were technically capable. That helps a lot.
If you get hired by Apple as a Genius, you will have to work at the bar for a period doing low-level work until they are either ready to send you for formal training or you prove you're capable of doing the role. This can take anything from a few months to much longer. You will not be allowed to do any major work or repairs until you've gotten your certification, though. So that means you could be an iPod/iPhone person for a while. You could work as a Genius Admin, doing paperwork and keeping track of parts.
Once a slot opens up, you're manager will let you know about your training dates and what you'll need to do. Typically, there's a week of home study, where you prepare and get to know all the technical details of working with Macs and iPhones/iPods, etc... Then, there's anything from 2-3 weeks of classroom training. So here's the thing. Training may or may not take place in Cupertino, CA. For those of you who have been brain-dead for a while, Cupertino, California is the home of Apple Inc.
Your training may take place in any of 3-4 cities around the US (sorry, I haven't a clue where you go for training if you're outside the US). It depends on a lot of different factors such as, number of slots, time of year, location, and/or availability. Typically, you could be sent to Cupertino, but I've heard about folks being sent to Chicago or NYC.
And not just Geniuses get sent to training, Creatives get certified, too. But here's the difference. Geniuses have to pass a test EVERY YEAR on Hardware, Network, Systems and Policy, while Creatives only have to certify once.
Most of this can be found on Apple's website. But just remember that getting hired by Apple is pretty competitive, not everyone gets the opportunity to work there. It is a great experience, so I highly recommend applying if you can.