I’m an IT Support Technician. I work for a large chain which sells building materials to tradespeople. Almost every business these days, large or small, needs support technicians.
When I left college, I got a job through an agency
Working for a company which provided online support to local businesses and individuals. I was on their help desk. That meant taking calls and providing advice on all sorts of problems. It’s a job where you need not just technical skills but also good’ soft skills’. That means people-handling skills. You need to be able to understand how the caller feels as well as trying to solve their IT problems. You have to keep calm when you’ re under pressure. People may be pretty frustrated by the time they phone you, and they expect you to fix their problem right away. It’s a demanding job because you have to cope sometimes with angry people, get all the information you need to help them with their problem, work out how to solve it technically, and then explain in a clear, simple way what they can do to put things right.
A help desk is a good place to start. You learn to think quickly and how to handle people but I wouldn’t advise doing it for long. It’s not the best paid job. In my present job I get to work with people face-to-face. The work is more interesting It’s not all trouble-shooting. I also get to install software, maintain servers, and advise on the best choice of new hardware. The money is better too. I find the best way to find information on problems is to use the Internet. Most of the manufacturers have sites which provide information. There are also newsgroups for sharing information. I’m planning to get Microsoft certification. My company is prepared to pay for them as it means I can do more and it’s good for my future.