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IT CAREER TRACKS:

Help Desk Support Analyst

help desk training; help desk support; help-desk; call center trainingA Help Desk Support Analyst, also known as a technical support analyst, user support specialist, or help desk technician, is an IT professional who mentors and improves the efficiency of computer users in an organization. This role requires having an in depth knowledge of one or more applications and systems so as to be able to quickly and effectively help users, whether internal (users) or external (customer), with their problems.


DUTIES

Duties of a help desk support analyst include providing answers to computer users’ problems, supplying training and feedback to those users to lessen the occurrence of future problems, troubleshooting difficult or unusual situations, and suggesting workflow improvements to management. Help desk support is generally an introductory technical role. A good understanding of PCs, operating systems, networking and applications, whether in-house or shrink-wrapped, is necessary. Equally important, however, are strong interpersonal skills such as effective listening, empathy, patience, and the ability to careful walk a user through problem resolution steps either remotely or in person. In terms of remote support, the capacity to visualize what’s taking place on the user’s desktop is hugely beneficial.


PREREQUISITES

A person may consider entering this field after attaining a non-technical university degree or a one or two year computer diploma from a local technical institute. However, a person with a Computer Science or Computer Engineering university degree won’t regret the solid hands on experience that a help desk support job will provide at the start of a technical career. Also, some formal training in particular products or technical areas is highly recommended. The aptitude to troubleshoot problems under pressure, and the ability to defuse excited and sometimes irate users or customers, are also valuable traits.


ADVANCEMENT

A help desk support analyst will, in time, move on to more advanced technical roles, such as system or network administrator, application developer, or database administrator. In doing so, this person should also move up the salary ladder.


Certification Examples Include:

A+; Linux+; MCDST; MCSA 2003; MCSE 2003; MOS 2003; MOS XP; MOS XP Expert; MOS XP Master; NetWare 5 CAN; NetWare 6 CAN; Network+