Oct. 22, 2023, Post by Curtis
Help Desk can be a stressful and challenging job. You will see a vast array of problems, a never-ending amount of problems, and frustrated users. Help Desk is more difficult than the average job, but it's understood that you have limitations, and knowing you add value to your team can help you relax.
You're probably thinking about getting a Help Desk job because it's a way into IT without needing a degree and you want to know what you are getting into. I'll explain how difficult it really is, and give you a few tips on how to make it easier.
Every company runs its Help Desk differently. Some companies, usually the larger ones, can segment their Support Techs so that the new techs will be doing the easier task, account unlocks, account creation, software installation, etc.
Some companies have quite a few incompetent or lazy people. These environments will be less stressful as you will shine by comparison, though you will have an extra workload to make up for your lesser co-workers.
Help Desk sees all general user problems. Consider all of the different job roles at a company. Each of these roles has a different suite of software and hardware. That adds up to a huge surface area that Help Desk is responsible to maintain and many different problems will arise. You will often not know the solution to these problems, which can be stressful.
Help Desk is a very "generalist" field, and typically, a lower-level IT job. It's funny that the people at the bottom are expected to know so much, but Management usually knows that you've been given an impossible job and will understand if you can't fix everything.
The typical Help Desk will see a large number of problems. Some of these problems will go to other departments but will arrive at Help Desk first. Often a problem destined for another department will take you some time just to figure out what exactly the problem is, especially because you probably won't know the workflow for the department this problem needs to go to. But even if you do you should gather as many facts as you can about issue before handing it off.
Most companies try to cut costs by keeping their IT staff to a minimum. They don't see the IT department bringing in any revenue so they want that department to be as small as possible. This is another reason why there is always so much work to be done, not only at the Help Desk, but in all IT departments.
Some people that call the Help Desk are just rude. They are having a bad day/life and they take it out on you. How many rude users you will deal with depends on the work environment at the company. Usually it is usually not that common, a lot of people are happy for your help, but everyone gets rude users occasionally.
Most users are frustrated and in a hurry to get their problems solved. They have deadlines and like most of us, are usually running behind. It's easy to let their emotion become your emotions but that will not help you solve problems any quicker. Staying calm will help your troubleshooting.
Often you will need the user to help you solve the problem especially if you troubleshooting something over the phone. Many times users do not want to help you. They expect that all they have to do is call you and you will fix their problem. Then they get frustrated when you start asking them to do things.
To me, multi-tasking is the definition of stress. I am at my best when I can focus on the task at hand and I get frustrated when I am interrupted while I'm in the middle of something.
Help Desk, and pretty much all IT employees are in a state of constant distraction. You'll be lucky if you can go 10 minutes without someone bringing you a new problem. Whether it's one of your bosses, co-workers, or a user calling, emailing, messaging you, or waling up to your desk. Finding time to focus on one problem at a time can be impossible.
First, let's start with the obvious, it's indoor work, no heavy lifting, and no danger. Anyone who's done manual labor will tell you that's a good start.
With the right attitude, Help Desk is actually a really easy job. If you realize that there are only a few things you can do to get fired:
As long as you don't do those, you can sit back and do your job at a reasonable pace.
The problem is that if you do your job at a reasonable pace, the work will just pile up. The truth is, no matter how hard you work, the work will pile up. So focus on staying calm and taking care of your mental health. As long as you are not either a total slacker, being inappropriate, or breaking rules, you will not get fired.
If you remind yourself that Help Desk is an extremely in-demand job and that you are valuable to your company, you don't have to take the giant pile of problems too seriously. Once you get that, Help Desk becomes an enjoyable job.
After you've been there for a while, you'll start to better understand how the company works, you will start seeing problems that you've seen before, and you'll be better at problem-solving. Things get a lot easier at this point and, if you know what's good for you, this is when you should be looking for a more challenging position.
For what you're getting paid at Help Desk, there's no justification for you to let the job stress you out. You are a low-level employee and if you are working hard, they are lucky to have you, and they probably know it.
I know this article makes Help Desk sound like a bad job, and if you let it get to you it can be. But if you make efforts to manage the stress and take a high-level view of the value that you bring to the company, and what you're getting from your time at Help Desk, you can turn it into a very interesting and rewarding experience.
Skills you will learn while at Help Desk:
These skills will help you throughout the rest of your career and in most aspects of your life.