Micro Center and Drexel become difficult to separate as both lead to supersaturation into a digital world and both were an education.
What I learned about computing at Micro Center was completely different than what I learned about computing at Drexel but they were NOT mutually exclusive. What I learned in Micro Center, I applied at Drexel and what I learned in Drexel, I applied at Micro Center. As Unisys used to advertise, "I was literally breathing, eating, drinking, sleeping, studying, and recreating this stuff 24/7." I wasn't showering with it though because water and electronics don't play nicely together.
Micro Center was a huge training center in every respect. We had software training classes for learning how to use software programs. These were full training course where employers could send their employees to learn the complexities of Microsoft Excel, Word, and other programs in training boot camps. These classes were only open to us if it was our day off and if the classes weren't filled with paying customers.
Specific training only available to employees was morning training held before store opening and led by software or hardware vendors who taught us about their products capabilities and incompatibilities. We had a bookstore that was filled with the highest levels of books one could find, especially mathematics. We learned from each other. We were provided handsome discounts from the vendors to purchase their software and hardware products. We had self-paced training provided by tech support that got down to the most minute level of the hardware in extremely detailed explanations that I was not getting at Drexel.
Above all else, what was unique was the sales training and teamwork. We had monthly sales training after our two week boot camp to keep us sharp on the floor. We absorbed and committed to memory the 7 step selling cycle and the 4 step mission with its sub-steps and had to write it out for wrote at the drop of a hat.
Not only did I learn hard core commission sales, I learned how to work with some of the most irate people under some of the most trying situations. Practically every consumer at St. Davids was either a CEO, a CIO, a Doctor, a lawyer, or a self-proclaimed "Computer Guru." The trick was to study online two hours every evening by visiting computer vendor websites and absorbing all the information one could because people would go out of their way to test your knowledge on products and concepts.
In some ways Drexel was easier because we were only tested about every three weeks (Drexel had 10 week quarters versus most universities 15 week semesters.) while at Micro Center we were being tested daily if not by a customer then by a manager relentlessly. Daily really isn't true, every 20 minutes was more likely as that was the average time a customer would grab you for. Not only was our knowledge being tested but also our patients and our social skills. You had to be like a duck and let everything roll off your back because if the customer didn't stick it in your face, when they left, a manager or several managers would stick it in your back. Don't believe me? Go read the employee reviews about Micro Center on