What Is an IT Support Technician? (Duties and Skills)

Updated 21 July 2022

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Information technology is a broad niche that covers a range of job roles across multiple industries, including engineers, software developers, webmasters and IT support technicians. IT support technicians are professionals who help resolve technical problems for their business clients or individual consumers. They typically act as essential employee, as most business require employees to use technology to perform effectively in their roles. In this article, we review what an IT support technician is, their job responsibilities, how to become an IT support technician, the salary and job outlook they hold and the skills they often require to succeed.

What is an IT support technician?

When answering the question, "What is an IT support technician?", it's essential to understand their responsibilities. An IT support technician is a skilled IT professional who can quickly diagnose and repair technical defects in devices or technical gadgets. They may do this in the office or remotely via telephone or through video software systems that allow them to have remote access to the client's device.

Here are the most common duties and responsibilities of an IT support technician:

Performing diagnostic abilities: One of the most important functions of an IT support technician is to diagnose the problem with their customer's equipment.
Using problem-solving skills: After identifying the problem, the support technician can then try to fix the problem and the equipment with the appropriate tools and techniques.
Conducting tracking and reporting: As an IT support technician, you may track recurring technical issues that either occur often across consumers' devices or on specific devices. This can save significant time when encountering additional future problems.
Installing equipment: When customers purchase a piece of new equipment, they may require a skilled technician to assist them in installing it so that they can start using it. This is often a simple and frequent function of a support technician.
Training clients: After fixing a client's device or solving the problem with it, the professional support technician ensures they provide sufficient information and training to the client to prevent them from facing similar issues with their device again. Clients appreciate this very much, especially when they lack enough technical knowledge.
Maintaining records: IT support technicians who take their job seriously often maintain detailed logs of the problems they encounter and solve, to help their team to resolve similar issues easily in the future.

Where do IT support technicians work?

The work environment of an IT support technician depends on their job specifications and the company that employs them. Most IT support technicians would likely work in one of the following environments:

Help desk: Many large tech companies allocate a help desk area or service centre in or near their sales location where customers can go with their devices to get them rectified. Support technicians at these locations may also handle queries and concerns over the phone, chat or video call.
In-house support: Large businesses, especially MNCs (multinational companies), and those that have complex IT requirements may have their in-house technical support departments or teams to assist the employees with their technical issues.
Remote support: Certain IT support technicians even travel to the customer's location, residence or business establishment to resolve their technical problems.

IT support technician salary and job outlook

The average national salary of an IT support technician in India is ₹16,538 per month. The following factors may influence the salary of an IT support technician:

Experience: As you gain more experience and expertise in the field and have supported customers with varying technical issues on a range of devices, you may earn more than the average salary.
Education: Having the backing of good educational qualifications can be beneficial, but in the IT industry it is also important to keep improving your skills and abilities, along with staying updated with the latest technology trends.
Company: The size of company that you work for can also influence the kind of package you receive. Typically, a larger company may offer better salaries to their employees than a small startup.
Location: If you work in a larger city, you may expect to receive much higher pay packages as compared to an organisation located in a small town. While considering two or more job offers, you may also want to remember that the cost of living in a big city is also higher, as is the career scope.
Industry: While most industries nowadays depend on tech or IT services, some have a greater reliance on them than others. Therefore, the industry you work in can also have an influence on the salary and perks you get offered.

How to become an IT support technician

If you would like to become an IT support technician, here are the steps to follow:

1. Complete your higher secondary education

Some employers don't require a college degree to work as an IT technician. Others may prefer someone with at least a secondary education. It can be beneficial if you have studied subjects like computer science or coding at this stage during your higher secondary education.

2. Consider a college or university degree

Some IT support technicians have a bachelor's degree. They usually major in computer science, information technology, information science or a related field. Having a degree may put you in a more advantageous situation when it comes to receiving a more impressive salary.

3. Earn a certificate

While having a degree can be helpful, you may also opt for a certificate after completing your secondary school or get one to augment the degree. Popular online learning platforms offer many courses with certificates for aspiring IT support or helpdesk professionals. You can display these certificates on your resume, which can make them stand out to hiring managers.

4. Apply for the role

The next step after completing your education and certifications is to apply for the desired jobs through popular job sites. Considering explore the career pages of the companies that interest you. You can consider working for both IT firms or companies with IT departments that they may require support technicians.

5. Continue to educate yourself

You may have received a degree or a certificate and become an IT support technician. It can be important to remember that the IT industry progresses at a rapid rate, causing many technologies to become outdated when new technologies get developed and adopted. This can make it beneficial for you to keep updating your knowledge and remain clued up on the latest in technology.

Common skills for IT support technicians

An IT support technician requires a combination of technical and soft skills to excel at their job. Here are some skills that support technicians possess:

Customer service skills: IT support technicians frequently interact and work directly with their customers, which requires effective customer service skills to help them perform better.
Teamwork abilities: Teamwork is a crucial aspect when you work as part of a larger group or team of technicians to help others and learn from them as well.
Communication skills: Working with customers, especially those who lack technical knowledge, means explaining your steps to them in a way that they can understand easily. Also, to educate the clients about how to use their devices the right way, excellent communication skills are a valuable asset.
Up-to-date technical knowledge: Consumers are quick to discard old technology and adopt new ones when they are available in the market. As a technician, you would want to stay abreast with the latest developments in IT and the tech world so that you can better help the customers that come your way.
Organisation skills: Managing and organising your tasks, keeping the records in a systematic manner and maintaining all the devices and their parts requires excellent organisational skills.
Empathy: Customers can show symptoms of panic or anxiety in relation to their gadget or device issues because they lack sufficient understanding and know-how. As a technician, you would want to show empathy towards your customers so that they feel reassured and confident in your ability to resolve their problems.
Problem-solving skills: Identifying the problems and taking the right actions to resolve the specific problems is a special skill that you may possess as a support technician.

Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.

Please note that none of the companies mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.