What is IT Help Desk, Job Description, Certifications and Salary?

Additionally, we will provide sugge­stions on encouraging users to utilize­ self-service tools. Many organizations find that outsourcing Tier 2 support to a manage­d service provider (MSP) offe­rs numerous benefits. The­se include cost savings, optimization of resource­s, and the ability to tap into specialized e­xpertise. With Tier 4 support, organizations can have­ complete IT coverage­ and support, even if they lack inte­rnal resources or face limitations.

Learn more about the 10 qualities help desk technicians should have in this on-demand webinar hosted by ITPro.TV. Another quality every help desk technician should possess is the ability to pay attention to detail. 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. It can be a negative environment as technicians are constantly bombarded with questions and problems.

Prepare for a help desk support role today with Coursera

This popular training course teaches mastery of customer support fundamentals and helpdesk tools. Offered by Axelos, it helps your support agents understand and perfect ITIL best practices. While similarities exist, there are also some differences between help desk engineers and desktop support specialist. An IT help desk assists all users in troubleshooting a number of IT problems and issues. An IT helpdesk engineer can also earn a good salary and IT help desk jobs are always in demand. ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a set of guidelines for managing IT services.

Desktop support specialists tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $53,933. In contrast, help desk engineers make the biggest average salary, $67,498, in the finance industry. Support technicians rely on advanced software in order to offer more efficient customer service. An IT help desk engineer can expect to earn something between $55,000-$65,000 annually.

Help Desk Engineer career paths

Help desk engineers and desk support technicians both require similar skills like “troubleshoot,” “help-desk support,” and “technical support” to carry out their responsibilities. This online course emphasizes the customer service aspect of helpdesk support. Your tech teams must learn these skills if they are transitioning to external support roles. As a help desk engineer, you’re often the first line of defense when it comes to dealing with technical crises.

The­se include improving communication, collaboration, and performance­ monitoring. A help desk is a consolidated platform where customers can reach for any type of queries, requests, or issues. 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. If you want to develop the qualities mentioned above more quickly, there are a couple of help desk skills you’ll need to learn first. Whether you want to stay at the help desk or move on to a new role, you will need to develop all these characteristics.

Help desk engineer vs. Senior infrastructure engineer

Following the activity of industry leaders on social media or YouTube can be an effective way to keep up-to-date. This practice can help you discover in-demand skills employers are currently interested in. 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. Additionally, those who complete this certification course receive an IBM digital badge and access to exclusive job placement resources.

• They want to ensure that you are capable of troubleshooting issues and providing effective support for cloud-based solutions.
• Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact…
• The goal is to create value for clients that will help preserve the company’s reputation and business.
• How will you plan to extend your existing platforms to meet customer expectations?

A help desk system streamlines support requests within a single interface. It includes automation and categorization features to organize customer issues and prevent escalation. This enables help desk agents to cross-reference multiple help desk engineer engagements to quickly provide the best possible solutions to end users. It is also important that a first level support is committed to expanding his or her knowledge through continued training, courses, or certifications.