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Bridging The IT Knowledge Gap
Information technology figures strongly in our lives, but not all of us are computer literate. To overcome this problem, many large companies and educational institutions employ help desk support personnel to answer their user community's wide range of questions.
Ask The Experts!
Most help desk support personnel need to have a broad knowledge of the information technology systems that are used in the organisation where they provide help. They must also be knowledgeable about the different software packages and databases that are available. Helping people access group servers or lost files are part and parcel of this job.
Murdoch University Help Desk Coordinator, John Dakin, says his day typically involves answering a barrage of phone calls from people who have forgotten their passwords or whose computers won't work. He also deals with over the counter problems from students and staff.
''Most problems can be dealt with immediately, but if this is not possible, the call or query is logged and the problem is passed on to a technician.''
Help desk support personnel who work for hardware and software companies may assist customers by telephone to install and use specific products.
Help! I've Lost My Annual Report.
The working environment for help desk support officers can be quite stressful. When people have deadlines to meet and their inadequate computer knowledge hinders their progress, tension can arise. Hence it pays to have excellent communication skills and be able to solve problems quickly and effectively. Patience and diplomacy come into play when dealing with a vast range of people from clerks, to students, to CEO's, all with different levels of IT knowledge. Be prepared to answer the same question fifty times a day!
Learning Ground
On some occasions, when a computer technician is unavailable, the help desk support person is required to provide basic technical support. According to John, it is a great way for someone to develop their computer skills.
''It is an excellent place to learn a lot of varied, computer support skills,'' he says.
Help desk support staff are employed mainly in IT companies but many medium to large sized companies and organisations also need a help desk team.
According to a Perth IT recruitment specialist, there are three levels for help desk support staff, and as officers gain more experience and their skills increase, they can move from level 1 to level 3. Problems which can't be solved by the Level 1 Help Desk support staff are 'escalated' up to a Level 2 or 3 officer.
Alternatively, you can move from help desk into help desk management or to a 'hands on' role where you actually visit the user or client site to fix problems.
Help desk staff are most needed when there is a new or updated system being installed. Users will have questions and need help until they become familiar with the new software or hardware's operation. Internet Service Providers and many Internet sites now have Help Desks to assist users. The long-term demand for such help is predicted to continue to grow as more and more new users come to the site or service, however, current employment opportunities are just average.
''The help desk role will not go out of fashion. As the IT technologies grow and change, companies will always need people to facilitate the gaps in the knowledge,'' says an Icon Recruitment spokesperson.
According to another industry source, one of the areas of growth for help desk support staff will be a web-based knowledge managment location where help desk staff will document each new enquiry and post it as a web page. Callers to the help desk will first be asked to do a search on the database before the call is answered.
The starting salary is about $25,000 per year and may go as high as $40,000 for those with more specialised skills.
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