What is an IT Support Technician?
An IT support technician is an IT professional who monitors and maintains the computer systems and networks of an organisation and ensures the whole company’s system is running smoothly by providing technical assistance and support to employees.
How to become an IT Support Technician?
You could get started as a trainee technician and do qualifications while you work. You’ll need some IT skills to get a trainee job. It would also be helpful for you to have experience of working in a large organisation.
You can get this job through a college course in computing or IT support, like:
- Level 2 Certificate in ICT Systems Support
- Level 3 Diploma in ICT Professional Competence
- T level for IT Solutions Technicians
IT support duties
IT support duties are diverse and depend on the employer and specialty, but some responsibilities are common to most:
- Resolve technical issues in a timely manner using available resources within the company
- Install and configure computer hardware, software, systems, networks, printers, and scanners
- Respond in a timely manner to service issues and requests
- Test and evaluate new technology
- Rapidly establish a good working relationship with customers and other professionals, such as software developers
- Troubleshoot system and network problems, diagnosing and solving hardware or software faults
- Resolve issues for staff via phone, in person, or electronically
IT support skills
To be an effective IT support, you’ll need certain skills and competencies. The following are often cited in job vacancies:
- Ability to quickly establish good working relationships with clients
- Troubleshooting common IT problems
- Teamwork and collaboration skills
- Having a working knowledge of common information technologies and systems
- Willingness to sometimes work unsociable hours
- Ability to think logically
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Attention to detail
- Good work ethic
- Adaptability skills
How to find an IT support job
These jobs are advertised online, in local newspapers and at your local jobcentre. To find all the IT support jobs near you, you need to:
- Search for IT support jobs on popular job websites such as; Indeed, Total Jobs and CV Library
- Use the DWP’s Find A Job Service
- Check local newspapers and local Facebook groups, especially groups dedicated to local jobs
What does an IT support do?
The day-to-day tasks of an IT support include;
- Take details from customers about their IT problems
- Find and fix faults
- Track work in progress and record issues and solutions
- Update online knowledge banks
- Service equipment like printers, projectors and IT networks
- Set up new equipment and upgrade existing systems
- Train people on new systems, face-to-face and online