Technical Support Person

A technical support person is responsible for supporting computer users with any technical issues. They aim to resolve any hardware or software problems, either over the phone or in person.

They may provide in-house technical support for a company or work on a client telephone help desk. Some work for high street retailers, providing after-sales support and advice.

Tasks may include:

• logging a technical issue
• identifying and resolving the problem
• helping users with IT packages
• installing, configuring and upgrading new equipment and software packages
• testing faulty equipment and repairing it where necessary.
• Technical support people work between 37 and 40 hours a week. They are likely to work shifts to give 24-hour cover. Weekend and evening work is common.
• Salaries range from around £15,000 a year to £40,000 or more.
• A technical support person should:
• have strong IT skills
• be adaptable, with an ability to understand new IT packages and technologies
• have good interpersonal and communication skills
• be good at troubleshooting and problem solving
• be interested in keeping up to date with how computers work.

The IT industry is a rapidly expanding global marketplace. There are around 68,000 people employed in technical support in the UK, across all industry sectors, from finance, retail and IT consultancies to public organisations and local government.

There are no set entry requirements for technical support staff, but employers would expect sound technical knowledge. Some staff will be educated to degree level. There is a range of qualifications in IT, including BTEC National Diploma or Higher National Diploma in computing, degrees in IT, computing, programming or software engineering or the BSc in information technology management for business (ITMB), which combines IT with business and project-management skills.

Training is done on the job, and includes in-house and external training courses. As the IT industry continues to develop, it is vital for technical support people to keep up to date with new technologies. Professional bodies and a number of private sector companies offer training courses and computing qualifications.

Technical support people can choose whether to stay in a technical, hands-on role and develop their skills, or move into people or team management. Experienced technical staff may use the combination of their product knowledge and customer service skills to move into technical sales.

Further details