What is an IT Technical Support Officer?
IT Technical Support Officers monitor, manage and offer technical support for an organisation’s information technology systems. They also provide assistance to system users via remote desktop software, email, and telephone.
IT Technical Support Officers are often referred to as IT operations support analysts, IT support technicians, or Help Desk Officers.
There are numerous IT technical support types, some of them are:
- Desktop support – offering direct user help
- Computer networks – building, configuring, and maintaining computers in large organisations
- Suppliers of managed hosting- assuring the availability of clients’ websites and apps, as well as providing technical assistance.
- Contract hardware maintenance – working for a company that has maintenance and repair contracts for computer hardware
- Software for vertical markets- working for a software application provider in a particular industry, such as retail, travel, or medicines
If you like IT, customer service positions, and working as part of a team while taking responsibility for your own workload, a career in IT Support may be worth pursuing.
Responsibilities
As an IT Support Officer, you could be working in a team or in a management role. On a daily basis you could be:
- Helping users to solve problems or providing training (face-to-face or online)
- Finding and fixing IT related faults
- Assessing issues and prioritising them for action
- Network maintenance, monitoring and other administration
- Determining hardware and software requirements and carrying out installations
- Implementing computer networks, designing and maintaining websites, online forms and other apps
- Carrying out repairs or replacement of equipment
- Following diagrams and written instructions to repair a fault or set up a system
- Setting up new users’ accounts and profiles, and resolving password issues
- Responding to call-outs within agreed-upon time frames
- Supporting the roll-out of new applications
Salary
Salaries for this position will vary according to your experience level and geographic location.
UK salaries for IT Technical Support Officers range from £18,000 to £35,000. In comparison; IT technical Support Officers in London earn an average of £29,413, with salaries ranging from £22,000 to £40,000.
Working hours and work location
Most IT Technical Support Officers work full-time, 35-40 hours per week. Because of the nature of the job, you may be asked to work shifts or be on call, and you may be required to work additional hours to complete a task.
Due to our reliance on technology, IT Support Officers are required in practically every industry. Precise work environment may influence your job title and obligations to some extent. You may work as a help desk technician for a computer manufacturer or software firm, offering support services to product users. You can also provide support and technical help to employees or businesses in the government, commercial, or public sectors. Depending on the position and employer, you may work in an office or be needed to go to client companies or households to give on-site service.
Part-time work is uncommon due to long working hours, although it may be achievable in certain smaller businesses. Career breaks are uncommon as the IT Technical Support Officer has to stay current with ever-changing software and operating systems.
What to expect
As an IT Technical Support Officer, you will assist computer users with computer setup, maintenance, troubleshooting, and any IT related difficulties. You’ll frequently give both in-person and remote technical assistance to customers, typically by phone or e-mail. You might provide support services just for a certain technical product, such as a software application or a specific hardware accessory, or you could assist people with any computer-related issue. Viruses, data loss, non-functioning software packages, difficult hardware setup, and poor Internet connections are all potential challenges that an IT Technical Support Officer can face.
As an IT Technical Support Officer you must be a great communicator and problem solver . A large portion of your usual workday might be spent discussing computer problems and operations with people who know far less about technology than you do. You must be able to communicate difficult technical concerns into layman’s language.
To successfully troubleshoot computer problems, you must be able to grasp end users’ explanations of their computer difficulties, especially if you are providing assistance over the telephone. When dealing with distressed or irritated computer users, you must remain calm and patient. Depending on the size of the company you work for, an IT Technical Support Officer will cover one or more areas of competence. A technical IT support team is commonly separated into first- and second-line support, with the second-line support workers answering more specialised enquiries that the first-line support staff couldn’t handle.
Qualifications
Although a formal certification in information technology or digital media is not required to work as an IT Technical Support Officer, possessing those skills may open up additional career prospects and help you to advance more quickly. A bachelor’s degree is preferred by many businesses, and if you’re searching for more technical roles, you’ll almost certainly require a degree in computer science, engineering, or information technology.
If you don’t have any official credentials, you may still work as an IT Technical Support Officer. You’ll need to demonstrate your considerable expertise with a strong résumé or portfolio, as well as several professional recommendations.
Skills
Some of the skills that you should possess or acquire in order to be successful as an IT Technical Support Officer include:
- Strong client focus and genuine desire to assist
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities
- Persistence and patience
- Excellent communication skills, particularly the ability to explain technical concerns in simple terms
- Extensive understanding of computer operating systems, hardware, and software
- Ability to work effectively in a team
- Adaptability and capability of dealing with change
- Commitment to always improving your knowledge
Work experience
If you're in highschool and want to see if an IT Technical Support Officer profession is suited for you, there are a few things you can do right now:
- Learn appropriate technological skills.
- Look for opportunities to gain job experience and develop your resume.
- Build a network to uncover current and future possibilities.
Gaining as much practical job experience as possible while studying is tremendously useful, and summer placements or internships are strongly advised. The Find an apprenticeship service can help you with your search, send alerts when new apprenticeships become available and have advice on how to apply. You could also check with your university’s career services or apply speculatively to nearby firms for local placements.
Try the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience for international job placements (IAESTE). When applying for a job, you should learn about the programs and apps that the business uses, as they would certainly prefer individuals with the necessary experience. As a result, if your experience includes, say, Linux or Cisco technologies, you should only apply for employment where the business employs the same technologies. There are additional postgraduate qualifications available, such as Microsoft, Linux, Cisco, or Unix certifications, which can considerably improve your employment and earnings.
Career prospects
As organisations modernise their computer equipment and software, more support services will be required. Computer support personnel will be required to react to the installation and maintenance needs of more complicated computer hardware and software.
Large corporations with considerable technical infrastructure may have several teams dealing with various aspects of their operations. With expertise, it is feasible to advance to a speciality field working with more difficult technological conditions. Another possibility is to become a team or section leader. This includes directing the work of a support team, arranging regular maintenance plans, and eventually managing the entire operational support for the firm.
Self-employment as a contractor to major corporations is a possibility, but it’s not an easy path because it requires you to stay current in so many different areas of IT. Alternatively, you may desire to advance to other IT positions such as software engineer or network engineer.
The SFIA Foundation (Skills Framework for the Information Age) has created a reference model of the variety of professional skills required by those working in IT, which may assist you in planning your career development. Career prospects for IT Technical Support Officers are numerous. For example, if you begin as a Systems Administrator, you may eventually advance to a position such as Information Technology Manager. Later in your career, you may be promoted to the position of Information
Related Courses
The University of the West of Scotland teaches this program at their London Campus, so you’ll be studying at the heart of the UK’s VFX industry. This one-year, full-time curriculum is for students who have no prior expertise with computers or information technology. The course will help you learn much-needed IT expertise to help you prepare for a job as an IT Technical Support Officer.
FAQ Summary
IT Technical Support Officers monitor, manage and offer technical support for an organisation’s information technology systems. They also provide assistance to system users via remote desktop software, email, and telephone.
Salaries for this position will vary according to your experience level and geographic location. UK salaries for IT Technical Support Officers range from £18,000 to £35,000. In comparison, IT Technical Support Officers in London earn an average of £29,413, with salaries ranging from £22,000 to £40,000.
Although a formal certification in information technology or digital media is not required to work as an IT Technical Support Officer, possessing those skills may open up additional career prospects and help you to advance more quickly.
