Help Desk Skills and Responsibilities

Help desk technicians are critical to the IT workforce as they maintain the technology that businesses rely on to do updated business and keep things running smoothly.

IT help desk technicians provide technical support and troubleshooting services to end users who need assistance with their computer hardware or software. There are two main types of help desk technicians: internal and remote technicians. Remote helpdesk technicians support technology customers on the phone, online and occasionally on site. Internal technicians only support internal employees.

Help desk technicians require extensive knowledge of computer hardware and software. Solid communication skills are also required as help desk specialists must effectively communicate solutions to both technical and non-technical personnel. The career path of the IT help desk is ideal for methodical solvers who learn new skills and can adapt quickly. Patience, ingenuity and the desire to help others are desirable virtues in technical support and help desk roles.

Many IT professionals start their careers as help desk technicians due to a lack of experience and training requirements. When exposed to new IT disciplines and technologies, they discover their niche and expand into other IT careers such as network administrators, database administrators or IT security specialists. Other technicians stay at the help desk and can use their experience to become help desk managers.

Help desk skills and responsibilities
Typical daily activities and skills that IT help desk technicians need include the following. Help desk technician:

• Diagnose computer errors and offer technical support.
• Solve software, hardware and network problems.
• Training end users in the configuration and use of new technologies.
• Back up and restore a company's files and data systems.
• Install, configure and update PC software and operating systems.
• Clean and repair computer hardware such as keyboards and printers.
• Remote IT help desk technicians offer technical support over the phone or on the Internet.
• Remote help desk technicians often use dedicated help desk support software to take control of end users' computers and to troubleshoot, diagnose, and solve complex problems.

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