So let’s say you are really good at fixing PC problems and enjoy helping people. Or maybe you just enjoy helping people and want to learn how computers work. So you consider starting a career in the information technology industry as a support professional?
Great, you are on the right track. However, knowing how to build and troubleshoot PC problems is just the beginning. You must have experience supporting users in a corporate environment.
There are 3 key elements that make up a good support professional. People skills, Technical skills and experience. Having these 3 elements will make you a solid candidate for good paying corporate support positions.
1. People Skills. In order to be a successful support professional you must have the desire to help people and are capable of working with all types of people and personalities. You must be patient and have the right attitude to succeed in difficult situations.
In the corporate business environment there are many critical elements that must be functional at all times such as computer networks, PC programs, and hardware, etc. There are also time constraints and deadlines on projects and other business elements. When one or more elements fail to function properly it begins to build pressure on a situation and stress levels will begin to rise.
People handle stress in different ways. Stress can make some people very difficult to deal with. Having the skills to maintain a positive attitude, thinking critically and adjusting yourself to the user’s needs are the keys to dealing with difficult people. Having the ability to handle difficult situations makes you very valuable to a company.
There are many people who have very little technical knowledge. They may have a hard time understanding technology or simply don’t care to learn about it. Many people just want things to work as they are supposed to without problems. Keep in mind that it is these people who enable your job to exist. You also must be able to communicate technical issues to non-technical people.
2. Technical Skills. You may already know how to troubleshoot technical issues or you are really interested in learning. Either way you should have some sort of formal education to prove it. Having a degree or the right certification can make the difference in getting your foot in the door at many great companies.
You should get either a degree or a certification of some kind. For example, an A+ certification proves knowledge of PCs and operating systems. You could also get a degree in computer science or networking. Research the institutions in your area. Be sure and talk to career counselor’s. Tell them exactly what you want to do and they can help you to make a decision on the right degree or certification to go after.
There are many different types of hardware and software, and each company will use different vendors. Knowing the concepts is what you should try to learn. Also, there are many different hardware and software that provide the same function but may be different.
For example, Ultra VNC and Timbuktu are programs that enable you to support a PC remotely they are just slightly different. Or one company may use Xerox printers while another uses HP. Knowing the concept of printing would enable you to adjust easily to the unfamiliar printer.
Further more you need to learn how to be resourceful. You will not always have the answers to all the problems and should always know what steps to take or help to get to find the answer.
3. Experience. In order to be considered a corporate level support professional you must have corporate experience. Experience is the most valuable aspect of your career. You learn a great deal more when actually performing a job than going to school for it. Also, you will get paid more as you move to different positions.
Fresh out of college you are considered “entry level”. Unfortunately, some companies will not consider entry level candidates in corporate support roles. If you are having difficulty finding a job after obtaining your education you may want to consider working in some lower paying and possibly less desirable positions first.
Of course there are companies out there that may hire an entry level person but it all depends. Diligent research will help in this case and I listed some good entry level positions you might want to start in:
In-house or field service Technician jobs. You can try working for Geek Squad or other smaller PC repair business as a PC Technician for a year or so. You will at least get your feet wet and will have experience supporting people in a dynamic environment.
Technical Support jobs. Many companies have technical support positions. These positions usually deal with helping customers over the phone with the products they purchase. Learning how to walk people though problems over the phone is a useful skill. Keep in mind that many companies have started outsourcing these roles to other countries but they are still out there.
Helpdesk jobs. Some companies have help desk support roles and might accept entry level technicians. These roles are usually a combination of over the phone and remote support. A companies Helpdesk usually is the centralized place that handles all support related issues via ticketing software. This means you can get a wide range of knowledge and experience about of the companies overall IT infrastructure.
Obviously getting as much knowledge and experience as you can should be your main goal. If possible you should try to get one of these jobs while you are going to school to save time.
Conclusion
Being a support professional can be a valuable and rewarding career choice. You can get a lot of praise from users and often feel accomplished. Becoming a proven problem solver is what you want to achieve. With enough experience or by continuing your education you will eventually be able to get higher paying jobs such as It manager, It director and even Chief Information Officer.
August 28th, 2010 by 12oclock in Help Desk Articles | No Comments