Greg Bowen, Geek Squad, Duluth

What I do: Greg Bowen doesn’t mind the term “geek.” He is one.

As deputy field marshal for the Geek Squad based out of the Best Buy store in Duluth, Bowen, 39, oversees a team of experts who install home theater and audio systems. Other Geek Squads at the store install and repair home computers.

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Karl Ritzler / AJC Special

Greg Bowen oversees the Geek Squad at Best Buy. ‘It’s cool that someone will pay me for something I have fun doing,’ he said.

“The units are designed after the mission specialists at NASA,” Bowen said of the company, which was founded in 1994 and later bought by Best Buy. The computer people are called agents, while the home theater division pros are installers.

The agents get to drive the distinctive Volkswagen Beetle “Geekmobiles,” Bowen said, while the home theater installers get vans.

Once a customer buys a home theater system, it’s Bowen’s job to get it installed, whether it’s just mounting a flat screen television on a wall or equipping a whole room with video and audio systems.

For a fee, Bowen’s team also will come into a home for a pre-purchase consultation.

A team member sits with the customer, looks at the house, discusses the type of system and what they can get out of it, he said. “Then, we put together a detailed proposal.”

He added, “We’re the informed expert. We translate the jargon into what the customer can understand. … After the installation, we speak with the customer to follow up.”

Now, Bowen said, the Geek Squad is testing a home automation system that can remotely control the lights, audio, security system and thermostat in a house.

Bowen also works with the 23 Best Buy stores in the Atlanta area.

What got me interested in this: “I was always drawn to computers, gadgets and gizmos — things you can turn up really loud,” Bowen said. “It’s cool that someone will pay me for something I have fun doing.”

Bowen said a good home theater system is never finished. There’s always a new piece of technology, the latest TiVo or remote control to add.

He said he’s just added audio to his own home’s patio and installed a system that alerts him via BlackBerry when his children come home and turn on the television.

Best part of my job: “Getting to do what I love most,” Bowen said.

“When we wow a customer, they let me know they’ve had a phenomenal experience.”

Most challenging part: “Atlanta is such a large market,” he said. “We go from Newnan to Gainesville.”

That makes it a challenge to stay in touch with his crews and the stores.

He also noted that technology is “infinitely fast-paced. Technology on the home theater side is growing faster than on the personal computer side. Your TV is a computer. We can tweak and option that TV.”

What people don’t know about my job: When people see a Geek Squad vehicle, “they think I’m there just to fix a computer,” Bowen said. “We also work with home theater and car audio. We can install a TV.”

While the Geek Squad started strictly as computer repair, “we grew from there,” he said.

What keeps me going: “It’s never the same day twice,” he said. “There is no status quo.”

Preparation needed for this job: “Experience,” he said. “A management degree is good, but not required. It adds to the experience you can provide,” Bowen added.

“You have to keep up on the latest technology. You can’t lose touch,” he said. “And we work with a huge variety of people. You have to be open-minded.”

A person also has to be “enthusiastic and knowledgeable about technology, no matter what area,” he said.

Bowen has been with Geek Squad for about three and a half years, working his way up to the home theater field manager position. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Berry College.

He has held various sales jobs and has been a sales manager, so he understands sales presentations. He has had technological training for installation and the products he deals with.

Karl W. Ritzler For the AJC