IT certifications in support can vary between college courses and apprenticeships. Support engineers often learn on the job and cater services to specific businesses, software, and hardware. An IT help desk engineer can expect to earn something between $55,000-$65,000 annually. Depending on the company, IT help desk engineers can also work per hour.

Even during something as simple as a shift handover, help desk technicians collaborate with their coworkers. Collaboration helps them deliver value and shouldn’t be underestimated. To become more patient, remember that your end users are not as technically skilled as you are. You can gain the qualifications you need to become a help desk technician with the following walkthrough.

Help desk engineer skills and personality traits

1. This means customers are given automated ticketing to ensure their query is directed to the right help desk support engineer.
2. Service desk teams are typically organized to provide fast, effective resolutions for the most simple requests, with higher levels of escalation when a request needs the input of someone with a higher skill set.
3. You will diagnose and troubleshoot software and hardware problems and help our customers install applications and programs.

An IT project manager should have extensive knowledge of technology set realistic expectations for projects. 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. Also, being confident in both technical and non-technical skills will increase your ability to work well under pressure.

Understanding how IT systems work from the inside out is the foundational knowledge you need to successfully continue along the IT infrastructure pathway. But even along this more traditional path, there are some interesting options that may interest you. Whether you want to stay at the help desk or move on to a new role, you will need to develop all these characteristics. Learn more about the 10 qualities help desk technicians should have in this on-demand webinar hosted by ITPro.TV. When IT pros choose to be patient with themselves as well as with others, they are better able to quickly get to the bottom of issues and find solutions. Growing in your willingness to learn will help you move beyond the help desk if that is your goal.

Help desk engineer vs. Desktop support specialist

ITIL 4 defines the Service Desk as an entry and single point of contact for all users, where demand for incident resolution and service requests are received by the service provider. And while self-service portals and AI-powered chatbots are all the rage in handling user issues nowadays, there is still room for the human touch—particularly where empathy is required and complexity is encountered. According to Lightcast, the annual average salary in the US for this role is $57,657 2. CompTIA Linux+ validates the competencies required of an early-career IT pro supporting Linux systems. This credential is the only job-focused Linux certification that covers the foundational skills that hiring managers demand. Placing an emphasis on Linux skills can win you a job as a Linux administrator, systems administrator, network administrator or web administrator.

Salaries and job titles: service desk analysts

To boost your skill level and help desk engineer confidence, take one or two soft skills courses per year, as well as any technical courses relevant to your job role. Being able to technically analyze a situation is key to solving end user problems and shining in the role of help desk technician. To effectively analyze an end user’s issue, you must ask targeted questions about what they are experiencing. Help desk technician is the first job role many IT pros find themselves in and is often a steppingstone to other job roles. A strong start on the help desk can set individuals up for a successful career in IT.

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. They will rely on you to provide timely and accurate solutions to their technical problems. Did you know that nearly every US industry has seen an increase in AI-related job postings 1? Learn to apply AI in your field productively and responsibly by enrolling in Google’s IT Support Professional Certificate, recently updated to include practical AI training. If you enjoy working with people and technology, this position could be a great fit for you.

A service desk analyst is an IT professional who serves as the first point of contact between an end user and the company, working in a service desk or help desk environment. One of the challenges of managing a service desk organization is coordinating the right response to a user as quickly and as smoothly as possible. Handing over a user issue from one level to the next and on up can create a negative customer experience. Shift left approaches aim to reduce the number of layers a user must navigate, and swarming is a way to apply teamwork to resolve issues quickly. Google has two Professional Certificates designed to help beginners learn more about the IT field and gain the necessary skills to enter a related profession, like service desk analyst. While many existing roles are unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates, there are also newly-created positions that have been developed to meet the needs of new and emerging technologies.