What Makes A Great Help Desk Technician? Questions

Help Desk Engineers make the most in New Hampshire with an average salary of $95,382. Whereas in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, they would average $94,438 and $91,598, respectively. While Help Desk Engineers would only make an average of $89,966 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

How to become a Help Desk Engineer

Computer technicians enjoy a comfortable, indoor work environment. Many positions require that you report to the same office location every day. Other technicians may be able to provide support remotely and work from the comfort of their own home. In some positions, support technicians may need to travel to a client’s location to resolve a complex problem. I’m currently back in school to finish my bachelor’s degree but I still am unable to break through. When I do interview, I don’t have the “right” kind of networking experience. I have worked as a 1099 IT contractor, replacing networking equipment, running cables and troubleshooting.

How Bryan Became A Gold Star Help Desk Technician

This IT help desk technician job description template includes the list of most important IT help desk technician’s duties and responsibilities. Use it to save time, attract qualified candidates and hire best employees. Watch this free, on-demand webinar featuring a panel discussion on cloud careers, including insights from the ACG challenge that helped dozens get their first cloud job. From there, Thad tapped into his network and sought referrals and threw his hat in the ring for a few random jobs. His soon-to-be employer put him through a series of three interviews, including character assessments and technical interviews to gauge familiarity with the tools used by the team. Help desk jobs can be found at nearly every company with staff using computers, in many sectors of the economy. The Security 5 certification is a common certification for understanding the basics of troubleshooting and networking, as well as computing basics.

Throughout the course, students will see the actual tools that they’ll use every single day while working as help desk technicians. Whether one is completely new or has had some exposure to IT, this program is highly recommended to get started in the field of technology. It also serves as an excellent option for those in need of retraining. Learn about human resource-related issues in the customer support world. Learn how to act assertively when dealing with customers while retaining a professional demeanor.

In fact, there are a variety of short-term tech training programs that last less than a year. At Southern Careers Institute, our Computer Support Specialist program can be completed in as little as seven months. Networks are very complex, often involving several technologies and having a ton of devices Data processing connected to them. Since traditional IT education focuses on just one area at a time, companies are having to hire someone to manage each area. Here’s what you need to do to avoid getting stuck at your entry-level role and move up the industry faster than what most people would say is possible.

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Before obtaining any of these certifications, it’s important to find out what’s most helpful for your particular career path of interest. Help Desk Engineers provide technical help to non-IT computer users. They may work with the users in person or remotely by phone or video.

How to become a Help Desk Engineer

The skills taught in this class are so very applicable to what I do. Take the advice they offer here, network, volunteer, create a network for testing at home, and don’t give up. I left policing for this 2 years ago and it has been the best career decision I’ve ever made. The two main takeaways that I hope every entry level person reading this post walks away with are have a plan build a network of people.

Hiring It Help Desk Technician Job Description

Virtual Lab provides hands-on, real-world practice using your newly gained skills on projects defined by industry experts, adding practical experience to your resume. Labs, periodic Master Classes, and access to an Online Professional Community allow you to solidify your technical expertise. IT managers will need plenty of experience, credentials, and certifications. But if leadership is in your sights, you’ll also need strong business acumen.

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Sure, some people choose to stay in entry-level roles (that’s what they claim, but secretly daydream about moving up) for most or all of their career –nothing wrong with that. But, there are also people who skyrocket through the industry like if they were cruising through outer space. However, many people get stuck in entry-level positions for years! They spend their time helping with little things instead of working on stuff that can directly translate into big time promotions. The truth is, most entry-level positions are pretty much the same in this sense.

A college degree is not typically required for entry-level help desk positions, however it may help you get the interview and job faster – and at a higher pay grade – than candidates with no degree. For those who pursue a formal education, degree programs in computer information systems , help desk administration, technical support, and network administration all provide a solid base for the help desk technician career path. If you want a college education, but not the time and expense of a 2- or 4-year degree program, consider a specialized certificate in PC repair or IT/help desk support. They should be able to understand users’ questions, provide technical support, and assist all staff remotely on technology problems. Owing to the nature of this occupation, aspirants for these jobs must have excellent communication skills and technical knowledge about various technologies and solutions. Help desk specialists provide help desk solutions, customer service, troubleshooting, and company representation during business hours.

It Level 1 Help Desk Career Prep With Certifications

Learning how to adapt and overcome those challenges then becomes crucial. In fact, many companies will hire entry-level technicians as part of their IT support team but then train them to become full managers or directors in charge of managing those same technicians who were once training them. Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Help Desk Engineer. The best states for people in this position are New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

  • When I do interview, I don’t have the “right” kind of networking experience.
  • MTI College in Sacramento offers a certification program in information technology – training that prepares you to become a help desk specialist, a technical support specialist, a customer support specialist or an IT support specialist.
  • This often includes answering questions about company products and using remote access tools to fix computer problems for customer employees.
  • Other technicians may be able to provide support remotely and work from the comfort of their own home.
  • In this course, you will learn how to deploy, implement, manage and maintain the industry’s leading VM platforms.

You want to move up the industry and eventually hold a top IT position. You’re always looking to get an edge on everybody else, or hunting for the next trend so you can jump on it before everyone else. Sure, it’s great if you’re just starting out and need to get some experience but, expecting to have a lucrative and fulfilling career in it is delusional. If you’re excited to be part of a winning team, XYZ Inc. is a perfect place to get ahead.

This course will prepare you to become a Certified Support Performance Tier-1 Support Specialist (SPC-T1SS). If you’ve ever had an issue with your smartphone, tablet or computer and have had to call a technical support number for help solving your issue, then you have likely spoken to a help desk specialist. In this day and age, we rely on our electronic devices a lot, and the help desk specialist can come to your rescue when you need help with hardware or software issues. They should be knowledgeable about networking and WAN technology. If they have certifications from CompTIA in A+ or Network+, it would be beneficial. They must have had hardware troubleshooting experience and be conversant with networking protocols and ITIL. Although it is being expected that service desk help will be automated with the entry of chatbots to provide service 24/7 to customers in the near future, human intervention would continue to be an essential element of customer services.

There are certain skills that you will need to have if you want to be a successful IT service desk agent. It’s also a great place to get to know the company you work for and the products they offer. You don’t just see them, you get right down into the depths of them – learning what they are and how they work. This will put you in great stead for internal promotions, as well as giving you transferable skills to take elsewhere when you’re ready to leave. All help desk personnel need excellent problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills, along with patience, a customer-friendly attitude and the ability to work in a team environment. People who work at a help desk enjoy their jobs because they know they are fulfilling a very important role in technology.

Pros And Cons Of A Help Desk Analyst Career

As a student in SCI’s program, you’ll learn what every help desk tech should know. You’ll graduate with the expertise and knowledge needed to launch your career. To save money and time, companies are now looking to hire people who understand the full stack of networking technologies, also known as full stack network engineers.

He developed seminars and course materials for the first industry-accredited help desk certification. Svendsen is the author of several books, including Presentation Skills and Accelerated Learning Techniques for Computer Trainers and he regularly contributes to industry publications like Support Solutions magazine and LifeRaft magazine. More recently, he contributed to A Guide to Computer User Support for Help Desk and Support Specialists, Third Edition.

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Learn how to best approach incident management, problem management, and change management, as well as how to assess and improve your current program. Move up in IT Career with one of these top +free IT, Technical Support, Help Desk & Customer Service courses, certifications, trainings and classes available online. The BLS also found that the demand for IT user support roles is projected to grow by 12% over the next five years.

  • Even if you have to take a pay cut initially, the experience you’ll get will be well worth it in the near future.
  • An Interview Coach prepares you for that crucial interaction with targeted employers—your booster rocket above the competition.
  • For many people, Technical support and help desk positions are the traditional points of entry into IT.
  • He has authored several popular bestselling PC books and videos, and has taught over 2 million people including U.S. senators, U.S.

Unless a client is huge (i.e. Walmart or the Department of Defense), they partner with a VAR to sell their products to customers. Within two years you should expect to go from helpdesk to desktop support and from desktop support to junior administration.

– This is an important step because it helps the technician know how much the client will be able to assist in resolving the issue from their end. A few days ago, he helped a client by walking them through a sticky problem with their Office 365 software. In the end, the client was so pleased that he made a point of giving Bryan high praise in our call follow up email survey. As How to become a Help Desk Engineer the company’s first employee, Sarah has remained the vital link between SysAid Technologies and its customers since 2003. You’re in charge of your college education—but you’re never alone. By submitting this form, I agree that Southern Careers Institute may contact me via email, text message or telephone, including the use of autodialers, regarding its programs and offers.

How to become a Help Desk Engineer

You can also take courses to understand the basic structure of both wired and wireless networks and their protocols. There also have Microsoft Digital Literacy courses that can teach you the risks and threats to computer security and privacy, and more. This customer service training course teaches proven techniques that both resolve issues and increase customer satisfaction. This IT support training is geared towards beginners, so no prior experience is required. It is suitable for fresh graduates entering IT support career or current IT help desk technicians looking to expand their knowledge. This IT help desk certification course helps learners to build an IT career path from a solid ground by teaching them the foundational skills needed to lead a successful career in IT.

Understand The Big Picture Of The It Industry

This IT training course is structured starting from the most basic knowledge required, i.e. installing operating systems like Windows on machines. The second section talks about networking, including discussions on DHCP & DNS, troubleshooting network related issues, and mastering the most useful & needed commands in CMD to troubleshoot connectivity problems. After that the course moves to discussion on hardware and mainly printers; types, terminologies, drivers’ installation etc. The forth section covers Active Directory, how to manage users there, and settings folder permissions based on Active Directory users. Next, students are shown tools and websites that will help them complete some tasks faster, easier, and more professionally.