Oct. 22, 2023, Post by Curtis
When I got my first job in IT as an "IT Support Tech" I knew nothing about IT and had very little technical skill. I could see that technology was taking market share from all the other industries so I knew it would have a good future. I also found it interesting which would help me stick with it.
I wasted some time getting certifications that probably didn't help me, time that I could have spent getting more relevant certs, or even better, getting hands-on experience by labbing at home.
I learned a ton and there were a few surprises, here are some things that I wish I knew before going into Help Desk.
If being on the phone all day with frustrated users that expect you to know how to fix everything sounds like fun, then Help Desk is the job for you.
But with the right state of mind, it's not so bad. Keep these things in mind and your days will be pretty good.
There are plenty of things to do at the Help Desk besides tickets. Imaging and configuring new computers and hardware, shipping and receiving, and endless projects. If you don't like doing tickets, try to become the go-to project person.
How to become the person they come to first for projects:
When I got my first Help Desk job I had no technical background, little technical skill, and no customer service experience. My plan was to get a CompTIA A+, then get a Help Desk job.
It took me 6 months to get the A+ while working full-time. My study skills were terrible and I failed the second test once. After getting the A+ and only looking for a job for 1 month, I took an "IT Support Tech" position. This was not Help Desk, it was deploying hundreds of new computers to the employees of the company. They told me when I hired on that it would take 3 months and they were going to hire 2 people from the computer deployment team as full-time Help Desk.
It took 6 months to finish the deployment but I did get hired as Help Desk. During those 6 months, I also got a CompTIA Net+. So, 1 year after I started studying for the A+, I had an A+, Net+, and a Help Desk job.
The thing is, I didn't need the A+ to get the deployment job. If I would have gone into that interview and told them I was studying for a CCNA, that would have looked just as good or better than having the A+. The only thing the A+ is good for is showing that you're serious about getting into IT, but studying for the CCNA shows that you're serious, and you are going about it in a smarter way.
What I should have done:
That way after 1 year I would have 6 months of entry-level experience, 6 months of Help Desk, and a CCNA.
I thought without a college degree, that I would have to get my start at Help Desk. There are a lot of other entry-level IT jobs out there that don't require a degree. Compared to other entry-level jobs Help Desk jobs are plentiful, easy to get, and will teach you the most.
But, if you don't want to start at Help Desk, here are some other entry-level IT jobs:
I knew I was going to be on the phone a lot at Help Desk, but I thought that once I moved up in IT to a better job, the human interaction would diminish. It does not.
Turns out that IT requires a ton of collaboration. No one knows everything, and no one can. There is just so much to know. So we are always learning from coworkers and teaching coworkers.
Getting to know not only the people in the IT department, but other key people in the company will help you solve problems much more quickly. Because of that fact, it is important to maintain good relationships with everyone so that when you do need help, they will have your back.
There are a lot of introverts in IT, but they are forced to get over it. The cool thing is that IT is full of oddballs, and we generally all accommodate each other.
I started learning to type at the same time I started studying for the A+. I got up to about 35 wpm and figured that was good enough and 35 wpm is good enough for Help Desk. The problem was that while I could type that fast on a "learn typing website", typing while on the phone with a user who is describing a problem while I am trying to type in the comments of the ticket was way harder.
Typing while listening to the user describe their problem is a must-have skill.
It is astounding how broad the number of things that low-wage Help Desk staff supports. Printers (many different types), scanners, bar code readers, time clocks, security cameras, Point of Sale devices, EKG machines, kiosks, etc. Plus the software that they need to run. The array of hardware and software that is required for all of the different job roles at a large company is vast.
Help Desk does send tickets off to other departments in IT, but the majority of them are handled by Help Desk.
Help Desk are IT Generalists and no matter how long you've been there, you are always seeing new problems.
Help Desk was my first time working with nerds. One thing I picked up right away is that nerds only respect one thing, and that's intelligence. When they see you do something stupid, it's like blood in the water and they will attack.
Fitting in with nerds at the beginning when I didn't know anything was difficult.
If you are not a nerd, know that it will take some time before you become a member of the nerd click.
It's good to know what you're getting into before you start. I was afraid of getting a Help Desk job even though I knew it would get me into IT which I really wanted to do. That fear kept me from starting in IT for about a year until l I decided just to go for it. I wish I wouldn't have waited because it was definitively worth it.
I work as Network Support now and I plan to keep moving into new and better roles.