Help Desk Technicians provide technical support for IT end-users.

 it support technician salaries

Help desk technicians are vital to the IT workforce, as they keep the technologies that organizations rely on to do business up-to-date and running smoothly.

IT help desk technicians provide technical support and troubleshooting services to end-users who need assistance with their computer hardware or software. There are two chief types of help desk technician: In-house and Remote. Remote help desk technicians support technology customers via phone, online and occasionally on-site. In-house technicians only provide support for internal employees.

Help desk technicians need a deep understanding of computer hardware and software. Strong communication skills are also essential, as help desk specialists must effectively communicate solutions to both technical and non-technical individuals. The IT help desk career path is ideal for methodical problem-solvers with an aptitude for learning and quickly adapting new skills. Patience, resourcefulness and a desire to help others are desirable virtues in technical support and help desk roles.

Many IT pros begin their career as help desk technicians because of the low experience and education requirements, then as they're exposed to new IT disciplines and technologies they discover their niche and branch out into other IT careers, such as network administrator, DBA or IT security specialist. Other technicians will remain at the help desk and leverage their experience to become a help desk technician manager.

a.k.a. Desktop Support Technician | Technical Support Specialist | Computer Support Engineer | IT Support Specialist | Field Service Technician | Desktop Support Analyst.

Help Desk Skills & Responsibilities

Typical day-to-day duties and in-demand skill sets for IT help desk technicians include the following. Help desk technicians:

• Diagnose computer errors and provide technical support.
• Troubleshoot software, hardware and network issues.
• Train end-users how to setup and use new technologies.
• Backup and restore an organization's data files and systems.
• Install, configure and upgrade PC software and operating systems.
• Clean and repair computer hardware, such as keyboards and printers.
• Remote IT help desk technicians provide technical support over the phone or Web.
• Remote help desk technicians often use specialized help desk support software to take control of end-users' computers to troubleshoot, diagnose and resolve complex issues.