Getting started as a help desk professional can be as easy as earning a foundational IT certification. Take a few minutes to learn more about how to become a help desk technician, and check out the CompTIA A+ certification, your gateway into an entry-level IT position. Moving up levels typically requires more experience and possible certifications specified by your employer or even advanced education such as a master’s degree.
The most common skills required to be a help desk engineer are troubleshoot, help-desk support, and technical support. As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you’ve taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a help desk engineer can determine their career goals through the career progression.
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Take lots of notes and do your best to gain an expert level understanding of how the organization architected their infrastructure and also why they did. Time spent as a system or network administrator will be where you gain the bulk of your experience and knowledge of IT, and it will help you advance to more technically challenging roles later on in your career. Expect to spend a good chunk of your career in systems administration, starting as a junior sys admin and working your way to a senior admin before moving on. A help desk engineer provides technical support to end-users, both remotely or in-person. They are responsible for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues related to hardware, software, and network systems. Help desk engineers work in a variety of industries, including IT, healthcare, finance, and government.
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- You might start to pick up some data center experience with virtualization technologies and various storage technologies.
- Desktop support specialists tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $53,933.
- You can learn to successfully protect a computer network and gain useful skills in risk management, cybersecurity, and cryptography with Alison’s free online Network and Security courses.
- He researches and writes student-focused articles on a variety of topics for Rasmussen University.
You can also join relevant communities and forums to connect with other professionals in your industry. Completing a Professional Certificate or other types of education can be worthwhile. For example, IBM offen IT Support Professional Certificate that you can use to gain vital IT skills and experience.
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So those who successfully complete this program have a direct route to get their info into the hands of these employers. In contrast, someone who is technically proficient but without experience in customer service should focus on building their communication skills. You can work on both simultaneously with a foundational online course like Google’s Technical Support Fundamentals.
Google IT Automation with Python is a 6-course certification program offered by Google on Coursera. You can complete the course in six months to master your Python coding skills, along with polishing your version control and problem-solving skills through the best practices illustrated in the course. It is a beginner-level course with flexible assignment deadlines that eases the task of learning.
Help desk engineer vs. Desktop support specialist
And as much as people on here probably like to crap on them, I think they’re fantastic for people going in with a bit of programming knowledge already that want to cram as much info as fast as possible. CS50 took me about 9 months to complete, as I worked from 9-5 in my helpdesk job during the day, and would stay back at the office between 2-4 hours each evening to code and study. This being during the pandemic for sure helped too as I didn’t really have anything else to do in my evenings during lockdown anyway. He researches and writes student-focused articles on a variety of topics for Rasmussen University. He is passionate about learning and enjoys writing engaging content to help current and future students on their path to a rewarding education. That’s why we connected with IT professionals to find out just how valuable this experience is.
I know y’all won’t care but I’m legit feeling like a failure cause I really want out where I’m currently at and don’t want to do help desk at another company another two years to move up the ladder. Current job doesn’t have lateral move for me to move up the corporate ladder. If you help desk engineer would rather work in person or have a combination of in-office and at-home days, a hybrid role might be the best match for you. In this case, you might consider adding “near me” to your search query. Zippia aggregates all the information that a job seeker needs into one site.
Prepare for a help desk support role today with Coursera
Mike Meyers, the Industry’s leading authority on CompTIA Certifications has created a series of 2 courses on Udemy to help learners pass the CompTIA A+ Certification. Mike has been involved in the computer and network repair industry since 1987 as a technician, instructor, author, consultant, and speaker. He has authored several popular bestselling PC books and videos, and has taught over 2 million people including U.S. senators, U.S. Supreme Court Justices, members of the United Nation, every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, many branches of the Department of Justice, hundreds of corporate clients and academic students at every level.
To calm them down and earn their trust and confidence, you’ll need to adopt a patient attitude. More than anyone else, a help desk technician has the power to give employees across all departments a positive view of IT since they are usually the first IT pro that an employee encounters. Because of this, it’s critical that help desk technicians possess specific qualities.
