Helpdesk Professional Careers

Work Environment:

Being a help-desk professional, you'd provide support to users of computer with technical problems.

You can work within various fields e.g. within after sales services for clients of computer retailer/manufacturer, or within IT support division of big firm.

Your tasks can comprise:

• Maintaining records of client contacts and logging phone calls
• Working with clients to find out computer errors
• Producing reports on general trends to find out underlying issues
• Giving advice to clients on how to fix problems
• Calling out field-engineer to meet client, if they're unable to repair problem
• Updating knowledge-banks which clients can see online to resolve common issues themselves

Much of work will be accomplished through email, telephone and web based faultfinding programs. These faultfinding programs could be utilized by clients online. You could utilize these programs to resolve computer issues remotely.

Qualification, Education and Experience:

If you've sufficient working-knowledge of computer software and systems, you can be a help desk professional without any standard qualifications. Though, you can increase chances of obtaining work by accomplishing a computer-support qualification, like:

• Business and technology education council(BTEC): Diploma and Certificate into ICT-Systems Support for IT Professionals
• OCR: Certificate into ICT-Systems Support for IT Professionals
• 'City and Guilds': Diploma and Certificate for IT-Professionals

Employer/companies would prefer you to have customer-care skills and technical knowledge thus any work experience you've into customer-service will be helpful.

Then again, you can begin as member of technical-support team within a bigger company, or as a trainee within an IT company. Generally, you'd require 4 GCSE grades (A to C) with science and mathematics to get into traineeship.

Availability of traineeships within your region would depend on regional employment market and kinds of abilities employers want from employees.

For additional information about related qualifications and IT careers, check the website of eskills and BCS (British Computer Society).

Training Details:

You'd get training at the work, including procedures, software and systems utilized by a company.

You can add up to existing-qualifications by accomplishing vocational qualifications, like:

• NVQ: Third and Fourth Level for IT-Professionals
• 'City and Guilds: Level Four Diploma into Systems Support for IT professionals
• NVQ: First and Second Level for IT Professionals
• NVQ: Second to Fourth Level into Communication Technologies

Skills and knowledge:

• Dedication to continually improve your knowledge and abilities
• Outstanding customer care and communication skills
• Capability to maintain correct records
• Detailed-knowledge of computer software and systems
• Capability to clarify technical solutions
• Outstanding IT proficiency
• Excellent organizational abilities
• Outstanding problem resolving abilities

Salary and Other Benefits:

• Initial remunerations for help desk professionals can be about £15,500 to £18,500 for a year.
• By experience income can boost to around £20,000 to £26,500.
• IT professionals having managerial duties can get around £28,000 to £38,000 for a year.

Working Conditions:

Generally, you'd work weekly for around 38 to 41 hours. Though, work pattern would differ between companies and might include shifts comprising weekends and evenings.

You'd work within an office. You'd employ much of time working-at computer. Your job-role can include traveling, if your firm has clients at various locations.

Different Opportunities:

You can discover work chances with universities and colleges, equipment/software suppliers, and IT maintenance firms.

If experienced, you can advance to senior posts, like department manager, team head or section head. You can advance to other IT fields, e.g. technical sales, training, network-engineering or database administration.

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