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Job description: Technical Support/Helpdesk
As a technical support/helpdesk professional you're on the front line when it comes to supporting clients and employees who are having technical issues.
This could be a problem with software, like a forgotten password, a virus or email issues, or it could be a problem with the equipment itself.
You could work for a software or equipment supplier providing after-sales support. You could work for a company that specialises in providing IT maintenance and support or you might work in-house supporting the business directly.
Thanks to advances in technology, more and more of your work will be completed from your desk.
Using web-based technologies you can follow the problems a user is experiencing on-screen and talk them through the solution on the phone or send a 'fix' directly to their PC via the internet.
If it's a problem with the equipment you'll need to get an engineer in to sort it or go and fix it yourself.
Your daily to do list will probably look something like this:
- Working with customers/employees to identify computer problems and advising on the solution
- Logging and keeping records of customer/employee queries
- Analysing call logs so you can spot common trends and underlying problems
- Updating self-help documents so customers/employees can try to fix problems themselves
- Working with field engineers to visit customers/employees if the problem is more serious
- Testing and fixing faulty equipment
Hours and environment
Your basic scheduled hours will be 37 to 40 hours a week, but the days and times might vary if you work for a company which runs shifts to make sure the helpdesk is open for business 24/7.
It's a desk based job and you'll spend most of your day on the phone or emailing customers/employees.
Sometimes there will be lifting involved in the job, carrying round PC boxes etc, so smart casual dress is usually the norm for people in technical support.
Skills and interests
You'll need to be good with technology but also good at explaining it to people in a clear way.
The skills that will help you most in the job are:
- An ability to assess each customer/employees IT knowledge levels
- Being good with difficult callers
- An ability to think logically
- Good analytical and problem-solving skills
- Up to date IT and helpdesk skills
- An in-depth understanding of the software and equipment your customers/employees are using
- Good interpersonal and customer care skills
- Good accurate records keeping
Entry
You can start training straight from school provided you have good GCSE grades in English, maths and IT or science.
It's important to show you are interested in computers and understand a bit about software. It might therefore help your chances of finding work if you take a computer support qualification.
Popular courses include: BTEC (Edexcel) National Certificate and Diploma IT Practitioners, City & Guilds (E-Quals) IT Practitioners Certificate and Advanced Diploma and OCR (iPRO) Certificate for IT Practitioners.
If you have a degree and are looking for your career break in this field then it's worth looking around for a suitable graduate trainee scheme to join as you'll get a great standard of training and will likely progress quicker.
You can move into technical support from another profession, provided you have some computer knowledge or have taken a professional qualification. Any career where you have developed good customer care skills will be looked at positively.
Training
You'll certainly benefit from a good, solid ongoing training programme. The industry knows it's important to keep your IT and communications skills top-notch and up to date.
There are some specialist courses, run by the Helpdesk Institute which your employer might send you on.
These include: Customer Support Specialist (CSS) for new entrants; Help Desk Analyst (HDA) for professionals with 9-18 months' experience; and a Help Desk Manager's qualification for those with 3-5 years' experience.
You can add to your existing qualifications by taking work-based awards such as: NVQ Practitioners levels 1 to 4, City & Guilds Higher Professional Diploma for IT Practitioners and the OCR Higher Level award IT Professionals.
Opportunities
The natural progression route would see you promoted into more senior positions, to team leader, section leader or departmental leader.
You can also use your role as a helpdesk professional as a stepping stone to another career in IT. It's common to move on to roles in programming, IT training, technical sales or systems administration.
Annual income
As one of the few positions in IT that doesn't always require qualifications it's not one of the highest paid. It does however open doors to bigger and better things.
The typical range of starting salaries is £15,000 to £21,000. A technical support manager with 10 to 15 years experience has the potential to earn up to £47,000.
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