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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
Stand out in one of IT's fastest growing job markets If you're looking for a job in IT, the help desk is the heart and soul of most IT operations, and an excellent starting point for a promising career. With the help of Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies, you'll gain the knowledge and know-how to cut through the confusion of navigating the Information Technology job market. IT can be intimidating to hopeful-yet-inexperienced job candidates, but this guide will help you find and land the job of your dreams. Through easy-to-follow explanations, authoritative information, and a bit of humor, Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies serves as your thorough and approachable guide to maximizing your competitive edge in this booming market. The IT job market has continued to expand as technology matures and deepens its roots in business operations. This is good news for you! However, it makes it that much harder to get a job in IT, as recent grads and other professionals are practically stampeding to get their feet in the door of this rapidly expanding industry. Luckily, Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies gives you an advantage by providing expert instruction on how to score an interview and secure a job offer, the skills needed to obtain and maintain an IT position, and authoritative information on how to establish a career path in the IT field. * Explore careers in the IT Help Desk field and establish the path you want to follow * Plan for post-education certifications and training to make yourself more marketable * Get expert guidance for creating a winning resume and cover letter * Prepare for your IT Help Desk interview Loaded with simple, straight-forward advice, Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies is your all-in-one guide to starting your IT career on the right foot!
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Seitenzahl: 407
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015
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Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2014958353
ISBN 978-1-119-01898-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-01899-5 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-119-01897-1 (ePub)
Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies®
Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/gettinganithelpdeskjob to view this book's cheat sheet.
Table of Contents
Cover
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond This Book
Where We Go from Here
Part I: So You Want to Be an IT Help Desk Engineer
Chapter 1: Embracing IT Help Desk Jobs
What Is a Help Desk?
Why Technical Support Matters
Heads in the Clouds
Why Companies Care about Technical Support
The IT Help Desk Job Market
Two, Two, Two Career Paths in One!
Deciphering Job Titles
What You’ll Need to Get an IT Help Desk Job
Swimming in Acronym Soup
Chapter 2: A Day in the Life of a Help Desk Engineer
So, What’s the Plan?
Day 1: The Systems Analyst
Day 2: The Consulting Magician
Day 3: The Help Desk Rep
How’s That Sound?
Chapter 3: Why Starting at the Help Desk Is an Awesome Choice
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics Has to Say about All This IT Stuff
As Entry-Level Jobs Go . . .
Creating Opportunities
Making an Impact
Don’t Rock the Boat, But . . .
Profiling for Technical Support Professionals
Solving Support Desk Scenarios
Branching Outside Your Comfort Zone
Advancing from Zero to CTO
Part II: What You Need to Know
Chapter 4: The Education and the Mindset
Learning Your Way to Success
Applying the Vulcan Mindset
Chapter 5: Education and Certifications
Researching Your Options
Understanding the Cost of Post-Education Programs
Facing the Regional Dilemma
Taking It to the Internet!
To Cert or Not to Cert
Chapter 6: Feeding Your Inner Nerd
Exactly How Awesome Growth Can Be
Stay on Target for Growth!
Online Resources
Use the Force, Luke!
Upward Mobility
Part III: Finding the Right Position for You
Chapter 7: The Consulting Nerd
Traditional Versus Managed Services
There Is a You in Teamwork
Documentation: The Lifeblood of Consulting
Finishing School for the Well-Rounded Consultant
Chapter 8: Working for a Company
Welcome to the Jungle
Understanding the Concepts of Agile
Grin and Bear It: A Pocket Guide to Workplace Personalities
Chapter 9: The Remote Nerd
The Disruptor Called Social Networking
Getting to Know Your Products
Part IV: Landing the Job
Chapter 10: Branding Yourself
Developing Who You Are Online
Don’t Forget to Post
Why Do You Need This?
Chapter 11: Creating a Winning Resume and Cover Letter
The Dreaded Resume
The Ultimate Template
The Even More Dreaded Cover Letter
Why You Should Keep Everything
Chapter 12: Surviving the Interview
The Big Day Has Arrived
The Least Comfortable Chair in the World
Ending the Interview
Some Possible Tips and Tricks
Chapter 13: Post-Interview Etiquette
Managing HR Departments
Managing Recruiters and Placement Agencies
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 14: Ten Things Not to Do
Don’t Touch Anyone
Don’t Yell at Anyone
Don’t Try to Teach Customers the Technology
Don’t Try to Do Everything Yourself
Don’t Ignore the Forest for the Trees
Don’t Forget to Say “I Don’t Know” When You Really Don’t Know
Don’t Leave People Hanging
Don’t Trash Talk Your Coworkers
Don’t Leave Something You’ve Started Unfinished
Don’t Make Customers Feel That They Are the Problem
Chapter 15: Ten Books You Should Own
Raspberry Pi For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Windows 8.1 Bible
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, 30th Edition
Cloud Computing and Electronic Discovery
Designing the Internet of Things
The Innovator’s Path: How Individuals, Teams, and Organizations Can Make Innovation Business-as-Usual
Agile Project Management For Dummies
How to Deal with Difficult People: Smart Tactics for Overcoming the Problem People in Your Life
The Practice of Professional Consulting
Mindfulness Pocketbook: Little Exercises for a Calmer Life
Chapter 16: Ten Tools You Should Own
Malware Tools
Disk Management Tools
System Cleaning Tools
Networking Tools
Data Recovery Tools
System Imaging Tools
Helpful Hardware Tools
Tool Bag Gadgets and Gear
Random Utilities
Other Useful Tidbits
Chapter 17: Ten Resources You Should Use
Other People
Microsoft’s TechNet Community
The Help Desk Institute
Product Documentation
Google and Bing Search
Product Technical Support
Your Own Intuition
Community Support Forums
Error Logs
Error Messages
Chapter 18: Ten Things You Should Learn
Virtual Machine Technology
WordPress
HTML 5 and CSS 3
Cross-Platform Domain Integration
Linux, the Other Operating System
Agile Project Management
Advanced Networking and Administration
Server Administration and Hardware
Database Technologies
The Seeming Impossible: Inbox Zero
Chapter 19: Ten Things You Should Never Say During an Interview
“I Can’t Help But Notice That You’re Wearing a Pleasant Fragrance Today. Might I Get a Closer Smell So I Might Identify It?”
“I’ve Been Counting the Ceiling Tiles in This Office, and I’m Pretty Sure That the One in The Back Right Corner Was Placed in the Wrong Position. Would You Like Me to Fix It for You?”
“Do You Ever Get the Feeling You’re Being Watched?”
“You Know, I Think We Had a Great Time Today and Was Wondering If You Were Free for Dinner?”
“Are We Done Yet?”
“Yes, I Have Been Fired from a Job. Why? For Hitting a Coworker. Is That a Problem?”
“That’s Very Interesting and All, But Tell Me More about the Coffee Maker”
“Yeah, I’ve Got These Nasty Bunions on My Left Foot. Do You Have Any Remedies ’Cuz I Could Really Use One?”
“I’ve Got Another Interview in 20 Minutes, So If We Could Wrap This Up, That Would Be Great”
“I’m Not Really Interested in This Job, But I Could Use the Money, and I Have Some Friends Who Work Here, So It Could Be Fun for a While”
About the Author
Cheat Sheet
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
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Introduction
Technology as a whole, is the foundation of a strong and energetic job industry brimming with a seemingly neverending supply of jobs. Most IT help desk jobs are on a form of help desk, but there is a lot of diversity in roles, including consulting, a customer facing help desk, and internal technical support team member. If you’re looking to get in on the ground floor of technology, the IT help desk operation is one of the more diverse segments to exploit.
When you look at the landscape of technology, however, you may wonder if it’s even possible to become proficient. There’s so much to know, and new technologies are being introduced every year. Windows XP ran for ten years, and now it’s jumped from Windows 7 to 8.1 to the upcoming Windows 10 in just a few years. Mobile phone OS like Apple iOS, Google’s Android, and even BlackBerry 10 evolve radically with each new version. This isn’t even counting the rapid growth and expansion in all other IT technologies, telecommunications, software, web services, and countless other segments. How can anyone keep up with all of it?
You, however, are a rock star. You are a nerd, and nerds now rule the world. You live, eat, drink, and breathe technology. You can, and you do, keep up. It’s not easy, but then again, what is? On the other hand, it is healthy to understand that you do not know everything and you’ll need some help on occasion. That is why this book exists. With this book, you don’t need to tax your nerd brain with the effort of finding work; you just need to use the tools provided.
Using this book, you can develop a sense of purpose, discover your area of strength, expand your knowledge base, become a better you, and become a better employee at the same time.
About This Book
Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies introduces you to the world of IT help desk operations and how to prepare or improve yourself for employment in this world. With this book as your guide, you will learn
All about the help desk
The different paths you can take on your road to the help desk
The array of different certifications that are available to you
What a day is like for each kind of role in the support industry
Why selecting the help desk is the best choice when getting into IT
What the federal government has to say about how awesome IT is
About the kind of education that can help you in your quest for work
More about optional forms of education
The inner workings of the nerd mind and how to apply it to help people
The manifold arena of post-education that is known as certifications
The good, the bad, and the functional of getting certifications
How to make yourself a better nerd outside of education
Effective tools for expanding your technical prowess
New platforms and new ways of experiencing technology
Everything you need to know about being a help desk nerd
The core elements that make up working as a consultant
What it’s like to work inside a company, small or large
The ins and outs of providing technical support to customers
How to brand yourself using the Internet as your toolbox
How to develop a winning cover letter and the ultimate resume
How to survive the grueling interview process
What to do and what not to do when interacting with decision-makers
Why it’s critical to treat people nicely
How to properly manage the post-interview process
How interesting lists of information can really be
After you decide that you want an IT help desk job — or, if you already have one, decide whether you want to keep working in IT — how do you advance yourself?
That’s why this book exists. This book is designed to empower you, give an extra boost to your already active nerd gene, help you find the job you want, build on that foundation, and develop a long-lasting career in IT that makes you happy and fulfilled.
Foolish Assumptions
Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies is written in a way that’s fully accessible for beginners, for people who don’t currently hold an IT help desk job, and for those who are looking to get their first job. However, I did have to make a few assumptions while writing this book, or I would not have had enough space to get you the information you need while not making this book 1,000 pages long. Here are my assumptions:
You’re familiar with computers, such as those that run Windows, Mac OS X, and maybe even Linux. I assume that you can work with icons, the keyboard, and a mouse and that you have all of the basic skills for using a computer. In addition, I assume that you are generally far more familiar with computers and technology than most people (or you would be hard pressed to support them).
You’re familiar with using the Internet and its resources, such as search engines, searching for jobs using online jobs boards, and purchasing various kinds of products.
You have a smartphone or tablet and/or related mobile devices, can find, install, and use apps on those devices, and know how to manage those devices.
You know something about the basic mechanics of getting a job. If not, please see
Job Hunting For Dummies
, 2
nd
Edition, by Max Messmer (yes, one of Wiley’s books) to get up to speed.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout the margins of this book are little round pictures known as icons. Here’s what those icons signify:
The text next to this icon offers tips for completing tasks or for making your job easier. You’ll want to take advantage of these nuggets of wisdom!
Pay special attention when you see this icon. It points out information you’ll want to make sure to remember.
This text warns you of things that can go wrong . . . very wrong!
Beyond This Book
The fun doesn’t stop with this book. You will find the following goodies online:
Cheat Sheet:
You can find this book’s Cheat Sheet online at
www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/gettinganithelpdeskjob
. See the Cheat Sheet for checklists that can help you throughout the entire process of finding, preparing for, and following up on jobs.
Dummies.com
online articles:
You can find companion articles to this book’s content online at
www.dummies.com/extras/gettinganithelpdeskjob
. The articles deal with what you need to know, finding the right job, landing the right job, and a bonus list of things you should never, ever say to an interviewer.
Updates:
If this book has any updates after printing, they’ll be posted to
www.dummies.com/updates/gettinganithelpdeskjob
.
Where We Go from Here
Like other For Dummies books, Getting an IT Help Desk Job For Dummies is a reference. That means you can read it in the order that makes sense to you. You can flip through to stumble upon scads of helpful info, or you can use the table of contents and index to zero in on exactly the topic you’re looking for.
You also have the option to read this book like a book, from beginning to end. This approach can be valuable for two reasons. One, if you’re new to the world of the help desk, reading through the entire book can give you layers of context that you may not have been previously aware of. Two, if you’re working to learn a new skillset so that you can advance from your current position, this book will give you insight into the arena of IT help desk operations and how people work together and also grants you clarity where before there was none.
If you want to know what you need to work in IT, check out Part II. If you need to jump straight to information on what type of IT help desk job is right for you, look no further than Part III. If you want help getting your cover letter and resume materials all ship-shape, then move to Part IV.
Good hunting!
Part I
So You Want to Be an IT Help Desk Engineer
Visit http://www.dummies.com for great Dummies content online.
In this part . . .
Discover your job options so that you can get find the IT help desk job that’s right for you.
Get the inside scoop on what a help desk engineer does on a day-to-day basis so that you can determine which career path is right for you.
Find out what a position at a help desk can lead to so that you can plan accordingly.
Visit http://www.dummies.com for great Dummies content online.
Chapter 1
Embracing IT Help Desk Jobs
In This Chapter
Establishing a better understanding of how companies use the help desk
Developing an awareness of your options for positions
Understanding the tools you’ll need to get work
It’s time to get a job, and you’re quite talented with technology, so where do you go? How do you find one? How do you verify that you know what you need to know in order to take a position? How do you understand what your potential pay will be? How do you determine your options? You go online and look at what the IT job industry offers and find an enormous selection of positions and little understanding about what most of the jobs entail. Now what do you do?
You start by reading this chapter. In this chapter, I break down a number of things like what a help desk is, how important the help desk is to industry, a look at the IT job market, and more. In short, the information in this chapter starts you on a path to discover whether a career in IT suits you. In general, if you have any technical aptitude at all, then it’s likely an IT position will be a positive step forward for you. IT is a strong industry with lots of opportunity for advancement.
This chapter has an element of looking inside yourself, as if the content inside these pages is a looking glass for personal introspection. You discover more about the IT industry and likely more about yourself. It is also the aim to help you feel a sense of confidence in yourself as you recognize more and more information, learning that you are not alone in the way you think and that you probably know quite a bit more than you may think.
What Is a Help Desk?
Literally, the help desk is a desk people can go to for help. Yes, that definition isn’t exactly helpful, but in general terms, the help desk is an organization inside of a corporation that is part of the IT department that is designed to assist users with their computer needs.
I use simple terminology throughout this book to describe the people who run the help desk as engineers and the people who do not as users. For example, the engineer installs a printer driver update for the user.
The overall scope of what is termed help desk is frequently wider than just engineers helping users, though this rule isn’t strict. Some help desks are tightly controlled and have a very limited role. You will find these limited roles in larger organizations that either work on government contracts or must comply with various laws and regulations.
The core aspect of a help desk, however, is to provide users with the resources they need to use technology as tools to perform their work for the corporation. Yet, because you are living in the world of IT, even this core purpose is complicated. As in The Matrix, you can choose the Red Pill or the Blue Pill, each taking you on a different path.
Why Technical Support Matters
There is a long legacy of personal computing history that illustrates the growing need for technical support. Way back in 1976, on April 1 for that matter, a small company called Apple created what is widely regarded as the first Personal Computer, or PC.
Despite the fact that all computers used by people are technically Personal Computers, that’s not how things worked out when it comes to terminology. When most people talk about a PC, they are referring to a computer running Microsoft’s Windows operating system. The term PC was popularized by IBM, which produced the IBM PC line of computers that ran PC DOS to compete in the nascent personal computer market. To the contrary, if it’s an Apple product, then it’s a Mac. For sheer nerdliness, when discussing Linux, the popular open source operating system, the machines are usually called Linux Boxes.
A whole new world
The Apple I was popular among the technical people of the time, but Apple’s market share really exploded with the Apple ][ line, which became popular in homes and in schools. IBM was more popular on the business end of the market, because companies knew and respected the IBM name. Apple, in turn, eschewed the strict business orientation of IBM’s PC and pushed the development of easy-to-use computer software that was attractive. The late ’70s and early ’80s bore a vast number of different platforms, most popularly the Atari line, Radio Shack’s own Tandy line, the ridiculously popular Commodore C64, Texas Instrument’s TI 99/4a, and Sinclair’s ZX line, all of which, except Apple and the IBM PC, were wiped out.
In 1984, Apple unleashed the Macintosh on the market. A radically different computer, the Mac used a mouse to move icons around a virtual desktop. Instead of typing cryptic commands, users pointed and clicked to make the computer act. In 1985, the Apple Writer hit the market and fostered a mass movement for desktop publishing. Due to its ease of use compared to the IBM PCs of the day, popular applications like Aldus’s PageMaker, the new printer, and a graphical environment, Apple established the Macintosh as a computer for design and creative types.
In the meantime, IBM’s PC compatibility standard was pushing all other competitors out of the marketplace. Manufacturers who were building computers to support other standards started getting in line with IBM as they saw the writing on the wall. Apple had already set its well-forged path and was strong enough to avoid getting on the IBM bandwagon, but the only maker of significant market share remaining was the plucky little Amiga. Sadly, Amiga was unable to continue pushing the envelope with technological advances and was pushed out of the market by 1996.
By 1997, however, Apple was in trouble, steadily losing market share to IBM and the clone makers Dell, HP, Compaq, Packard Bell, and many others. The clone market dramatically pushed down part costs through vigorous competition to produce the latest and greatest while remaining compatible with the PC standard. Apple was on the ropes with machines that were far more expensive and lacked compatibility with the IBM standard. It looked like IBM, with Microsoft Windows and IBM’s own OS/2 (which lasted until 2001 with the release of OS/2 Warp 4.52) designed specifically for business and was compatible with Windows programs, was winning.
Apple’s then CEO, Gil Amelio, turned to previously ousted Steve Jobs in an attempt to get his advanced NeXT operating system for a new generation of Apple Macintosh computers. In a twist best served by various biographies, Amelio was pushed out, Jobs was brought back in as iCEO, and NeXT was absorbed into Apple. Jobs then went on a spring cleaning event, clearing much of what he deemed useless from the projects roster, and pushed for Apple to renew its presence in the computer market. The result of his and others efforts was the iMac, released in 1998, a colorful little all-in-one that would mark an enormous shift in personal computing history.
Apple had, in one fell swoop, pronounced that beige was out, candy colors were in, and if you wanted to be cool, you would never go beige. The move from beige as default component color would not, however, really take hold until the release of Mac OS X in 2001 that would start the fundamental change at Apple, and thus in the rest of the PC industry. On the IBM PC front, however, it was business as usual, though competition for advancement wasn’t lacking. Those changes, however, were more technical than esthetic. AMD, a former subcontractor for Intel, started out on its own and began marketing competing CPUs, the heart of any PC.
AMD had already started to make x86 CPU clones back in 1991, but in 1996, the company unveiled its K5 processor. The K stood for Kryptonite, the only substance that could harm Superman, which in this case was Intel. AMD was first to develop a mass-produced 64-bit CPU, but Intel quickly followed with its own, and the Intel Pentium was a hard product name to beat. AMD never did overtake Intel as CPU market leader, but it remains a staple of low-end systems and a favorite of so-called overclockers.
By the mid-2000s, most IBM PC clone makers had been absorbed into the big cloners, such as Dell and HP. Even HP took over Compaq, and Packard Bell went bust in the United States, mostly over very poor reliability and technical support issues. Japanese PC makers were also flooding the market with innovative new designs and lower price points, among them Sony, Acer, and Toshiba. By this time, Windows was considered the de facto desktop standard with the very popular Windows XP, and even IBM’s OS/2 was now gone. It was no longer a fight for hardware, but the operating system, and the only two standing were now Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s Mac OS X.
Then something remarkable happened. While Intel and AMD were fighting it out on the PC side, Apple was fighting with IBM and Motorola over advancing development of the PowerPC CPU, the core of Apple’s Macintosh computers. The PowerPC was running too hot and could be sufficiently cooled only in Apple’s hot new PowerMac Pro towers, all aluminum towers packed with power for the creative types that loved Mac OS X’s ease of use and designer-centric interface language. Apple wanted to put faster CPUs into its laptops and desktop systems, but it had no way to keep them from burning to a crisp.
It was at this point Apple decided that in order to stay in the market and not have to close shop, it would do something unheard of. Apple changed its entire lineup to run on Intel’s x86 CPU architecture and dumped the PowerPC. In a way, Apple had done this before. It had killed off the 68k line to move to the more powerful PowerPC chips, and it was one of the smoothest transitions in computing history. This time, the transition wouldn’t go quite as smoothly, but in the end, all Apple products now run on Intel-based chips, just like PCs running Windows. Contrary to theories at the time, however, Apple still licenses Mac OS X to run only on Apple computers and only using approved hardware components.
Heads in the Clouds
Aside from a number of watershed events in the last decade, such as the advent of the iPod and iPhone, the precipitous rise and fall of the netbook market, the surprise dominance of Apple iPad, and the long and hard push by Google to crack and ultimately dominate the mobile phone market, only one thing has taken hold and likely won’t let go: ease of use. Computers of all kinds are everywhere. People carry them around in the form of laptops, tablets, and smartphones. People use them at ATMs, in cars, in airports, and in other places. Computers guide humans via GPS, show them TV and movies in the living room, and protect homes and offices. Computers are everywhere, and the differences between Windows and Mac OS X are getting less important.
Back in the day, it was all about the applications. Now it’s all about access to tools on the Internet. Millions upon millions of people use Gmail, Yahoo!, and MSN for email, Twitter and Facebook for social networking, and the Internet in general for all manner of information, shopping, banking, and whatnot. People use the Internet on phones and tablets, too, and even on some watches and in their eyes via Google Glass. Business cannot operate without access to the Internet, and countless productivity services are available for all manner of business operations. If you take away the Internet from people, they generally start to complain rather quickly. The Internet has become an indispensable tool in their daily lives.
With the growth of Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome web browsers that run on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and other less popular operating systems, the OS you use has become unimportant. That means that it doesn’t really matter whether you use a Mac or a PC for the most part. Certain applications are still exclusive to either Windows or Mac OS X, but most of the big programs are made for both, including Microsoft’s own Office. Compatibility is not really much of an issue any more, but the platforms remain different enough to warrant cross-training for technical support staff.
Why Companies Care about Technical Support
The history of the personal computer market speaks for itself when determining why companies care about technical support, but the reasons are far more nuanced than just a collection of market shifts. Technical support started very early in the PC market. Back in the 1970s and early ’80s, there was no history for people using technology. If a company wanted users to be happy with its products, everything had to be documented and described, and in many cases, support had to be offered.
Companies care about technical support for a number of reasons, most of which revolve around the bottom line. Without satisfied customers or employees who can perform work, companies aren’t left with much to generate revenue from, such as working products or people to create them.
It behooves any company to provide comprehensive support to users inside and out. This seems like a great time to list those reasons:
Providing a sense of security:
Companies do well when their users and customers feel like they can go somewhere to get help when needed. Not everyone is a technical genius, and it’s nice to know that someone can help out when problems arise.
Guaranteeing consistency:
When offering consumers a product, it helps to keep as many of them as happy as possible. When managing internal systems, it helps to make sure everything is working as expected and meets all requirements of IT policies.
Keeping a close watch on bugs:
No developer likes to offer broken software to users, and a crack technical support team is key to keeping close tabs on any bugs. Watching trends through ticketing systems helps establish a form of triage for issues to be fixed.
Acting as a another conduit for customer service:
Technical support is one of the primary faces of any company that provides products or services to consumers, and, as such, companies must provide customer services that please consumers.
Providing customer satisfaction statistics:
A helpdesk is a perfect source for collecting information about how customers feel about both services and products offered by a company. Never waste an opportunity to gather statistical data; just try not to annoy paying customers.
Having a solid understanding of these principles will help guide you on your quest. Having a good 10,000 foot view of how companies view IT operations is critical to understanding why companies make decisions about how IT is used to forward a company’s needs and wants. Ultimately, everything a company does reflects the need to generate revenue. It will serve you well to remember that.
The IT Help Desk Job Market
You are looking at joining one of the most stable and consistent growth industries on the planet. Information Technology lives at the core of almost every business on Earth. Literally billions of computers are in the hands of people every day, and massive networks crisscross the globe, providing the backbone of the Internet. As these computers get smaller and the networks get faster, there needs to be a standing nerd army to make it all work.
While development and cloud-computing represent the two hottest segments of the IT job market, there will always be a need for technical support. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, annual pay rates range from $48,900 for computer support specialists to $79,680 for computer systems analysts, and 123,000 positions will be added by 2022. As it stands, there are 722,400 people in computer support specialist positions in the United States. Here’s how salaries break down in detail:
Lowest 10 percent: $34,930
Lower 25 percent: $44,530
Median: $59,090
Upper 25 percent: $76,450
Highest 10 percent: $96,850
IT help desk jobs are important to corporate America as a whole for several reasons:
Rapid growth:
Like other IT positions, IT help desk positions are growing at double digits and are one of the biggest growth sectors in the stagnant American job market.
Rapid change:
The skills needed for IT help desk positions are changing at an outrageous pace. Not only are new gadgets, software, and SaaS products announced on a regular basis, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux are improving rapidly, and new technologies are being introduced a few times a year.
High turnover:
As with many service-based job categories, IT has a lot of turnover. People move from one job to another because they get an offer for better pay, get to work with technologies they prefer, get the opportunity to work with newer technologies, get better perks or a cooler workplace environment, or want to work with certain people. People also move from internal to external help desk positions, take on freelance work, or take a job with a consulting agency.
Prospecting:
While it’s not exactly awesome, some headhunters and HR departments like to ping people for non-existent positions, just to get a sense of what kind of draw they can command. It is what it is. Just be aware that because a job is posted doesn’t mean there’s an opportunity on the other end.
Two, Two, Two Career Paths in One!
IT is such a complex field that even the career directions you can choose from are complicated! Take the Red Pill, and you are magically transported to the external help desk. Take the Blue Pill, and you inexplicably appear on the internal help desk. While both these paths are all about engineers helping users with technical stuff, they are fundamentally different from each other.
External help desk
Your company, MacroFirm Systems, makes CompuFriend, an application that turns users’ computers into best friends. The help desk here is provided as a resource to users of CompuFriend. The users you assist will not be located in your office, so you will spend most of your time helping people by using a phone, a ticketing system, email, online chat, or even remote access.
Aside from the work-a-day tasks you perform assisting users with CompuFriend over the phone or in online chat, all the while updating support tickets, you fulfill other job requirements. You may be tasked with combing through old tickets to find helpful solutions to add to the knowledge base. You may investigate problems with software license piracy.
Internal help desk
Your company, Swanky Media Partners, is an advertising agency that creates campaigns for a number of important clients. This help desk is available only for the use of company employees of SMP. The users you assist will be located in the Swanky offices and a few satellite locations that are securely connected to the home office.
When you help users, you will sometimes answer questions over the phone or through email, but you will mostly assist them at their desks. Some companies use some form of service ticket management system, but they will mostly be seen only by the engineers who create them on behalf of the users. Aside from dealing with user problems or questions, you may also manage servers, update passwords, test and install application patches, create accounts and configure systems for new users, and manage company assets, among many other possible tasks.
The difference
In this example, the external help desk is outward facing and is generally dedicated to CompuFriend’s users. In fact, MacroFirm even has its own internal IT help desk that deals only with internal systems. Engineers who work the external help desk help only users of the software that MacroFirm makes but not users inside MacroFirm. External help desk engineers spend the majority of their time supporting users of the product.
Swanky’s internal help desk’s engineers wear a number of different hats and perform a number of different jobs during the typical day. Swanky, as an advertising agency, has users that use Windows for administration, HR, and in IT, but it also has lots of Mac OS X systems for all of the creative people and to handle creative asset pipeline management. Swanky even has a small A/V (audio/visual) studio in its home office, all of which runs on Mac OS X.
Deciphering Job Titles
When considering a job in IT help desk, it is clear that you need to make a choice early on as to the direction you will take. Certain roles are common to the IT Help desk. While I describe the generic elements of the roles here, you might want to look to Chapter 2 where you can walk in the shoes of various engineers and see how they work on a day-to-day basis.
As you rifle through the job listings on Monster, craigslist, or any of the other dozens of job sites on the Internet, you will see a lot of different names for what looks like the same job. They can be cryptic, but all you need is the key. Table 1-1 can help you figure out what the job titles really mean.
Table 1-1 Deciphering Job Titles
Placement in Job Title
Potential Terms
Optional
Junior or senior
First
Desktop or help desk
Second
Can sometimes include support
Third
Technician, engineer, analyst, or specialist
You get the idea. Various companies use their own title variations, but they all generally mean the same thing. The key is in the first term of the title.
If it’s a
desktop
position, then it will most likely be for an internal help desk role.
If it’s a
help desk
position, then it will most likely be for an external help desk role.
Following that, the second term of the job title is generally optional, but you will see the word support on some ads. The third term, however, is generally interchangeable when coupled with the desktop or help desk terms. Here are some examples taken from Table 1-1:
Junior desktop analyst
Help desk support engineer
Desktop support specialist
Unless you have senior-grade skills, it’s not a good idea to apply for a senior position. Check the job description to see what the company is really looking for and don’t base your impressions on the title alone. Check as many ads as possible. Even check ads that have titles that are peripherally appropriate. You never know. You may just find a hidden gem.
What You’ll Need to Get an IT Help Desk Job
The IT industry is something of a mixed bag of nuts when it comes to job requirements. Aside from the countless positions and job titles, you must know a vast array of tools, services, platforms, and disciplines. Fortunately, these disciplines are typically divided into smaller, easier-to-manage chunks, so you can focus your studies.
Studies don’t necessarily require attending college, either, but I strongly urge you to consider getting your degree. As I’m sure you’ve heard many times, people with a college degree make, on average, $1 million more during their lifetime.
Then, the question becomes how you get there and what you need to know in order to make it happen.
Swimming in Acronym Soup
Technology is full of all kinds of interesting and confusing lingo. It can almost seem like a completely alien form of English at times. You should know several acronyms that are associated with technical skills, and many are used for certifications, such as MCSE, CNE, A+, and so on. You may know some terms like USB, SD, or CEO, but even if you do, you are probably not aware of many others.
It’s important to understand that being a nerd does not mean knowing all acronyms, but Table 1-2 lists a few acronyms you’ll want to know.
Table 1-2 Acronyms to Know
Acronym
What It Stands For
MCP
Microsoft Certified Professional
MCSE
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer
MCDST
Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician
MOS
Microsoft Office Specialist
CCA
Citrix Certified Administrator
RHCT
Red Hat Certified Technician
CCNP
Cisco Certified Network Professional
CHDP
Certified Help Desk Professional
CHDM
Certified Help Desk Manager
CFST
Certified Field Service Technician
ACSP
Apple Certified Support Professional
A+
CompTIA’s basic systems knowledge certification (good to have)
I’m not kidding when I say “some.” There are hundreds more acronyms, and for all manner of technologies. It’s rather overwhelming, to be honest, but it’s not impossible to navigate. As you scan through ads, you will see these and other acronyms. Do your best to make yourself familiar with many of these certifications and make sure to carefully read the ads as you seek work.
Of course, I’m just touching the tip of the iceberg here. I dig deep into certifications in Chapter 5.
Chapter 2
A Day in the Life of a Help Desk Engineer
In This Chapter
Discovering what it’s like to work for a day as a systems analyst
Experiencing the structured and chaotic life of a roving consultant
Finding out what it’s like to work as a help desk representative
One of the downsides of getting a new job is that you’ve never done it before. Sure, you know how to work with technology, but this is a new job. No matter how much experience you actually have, you will have never experienced this new position. Experience is, after all, one of the legendary chicken or the egg questions of all time. In order to get a job, you need experience, but you can get experience only from a job.
Or can you?
Technology is a fundamentally different subject than almost anything else on the planet. Unlike most skills, you can translate your personal experience with technology into a well-paying job. Try getting a $50,000 entry-level job as a cook, a mechanic, or a hair dresser. You’ll have to work your way up, which will take years. The IT help desk is a fantastic place to use your existing experience on a real job where you can quickly and efficiently learn all new technologies, all of which give you a leg up as you move up in the industry.
You can do a lot to develop an awareness of what work will be like, but not much is more effective than going for a kind of virtual ride-along, which is what I give you in this chapter. This chapter certainly isn’t the only help you’ll get from this book, but I believe it will be a huge hand up for you to get a real sense of what a day in the life of a nerd-for-hire is like.
So, What’s the Plan?
In this chapter, through the magic of the printed word, I transport you into three positions to grant you some of the experience of working in each role. Think of this chapter as an out-of-body experience without all of the hard work of becoming enlightened.
