I wonder how long it will be before the computer repair industry drops in importance the same way that stereo repair and VCR repair industries did. After all, new stereo components and DVD players are relatively inexpensive, and for most instances, it is cheaper to buy a new component than it is to have one fixed.

Every year, generations of older computers become obsolete as Moore's Law pushes on, and as new technology emerges, last year's latest-and-greatest becomes redundant, and is often relegated to the closet, or given to grandma so that she can play solitaire or Hearts. Even laptops, which will always have a purpose as a word-processor, have limited value when it comes to repairing versus replacing. In one example, I priced out a replacement battery for my Dell laptop, and realized that the $150 cost for a new 9-cell battery could be better served being invested into a new netbook computer, and the laptop can stay plugged-in at my desk. The netbook, priced at $450, was already faster than the laptop, and for $300 more, I picked up a second device instead of dumping money into the older portable device.

Computer repair is still important as it pertains to data recovery, hard-drive replacement, and other important business applications, but as a consumer, one might reconsider spending any sum of money to fix a home PC when a newer, faster machine might be procured at a comparable price.

It will probably be a long time in the future before the computer repair industry goes the way of the dodo (does anyone even know what a dodo is/was?), but if computers become as disposable as radios, VCRs, and DVD players, you might reconsider investing your education in computer repairs, when all the jobs will be in computer manufacturing, sales, or even disposal.