This week’s career memes spotlight IT support, because my laptop is broken and I don’t for the life of me know how to fix it.
We rely on IT support for everything from the mundane ‘my CD drive won’t open’ to the more serious ‘my mouse cursor is moving too fast’, but what is it they actually do?
What they do: It is the job of IT support to maintain and monitor hardware and software issues in the office. Be they on site or working through the cloud, IT support is generally called when working heads can’t do their job because their computer won’t live up to their standards.
From securely installing company-approved software to managing each worker’s access to their email service, IT support tend to lounge around invisibly, popping up when needed and vanishing thereafter.
Or they work in call-centre roles, liaising with disgruntled staff either over the phone or via email.
What they don’t do: Enjoy your advice.
Educational requirements: Largely speaking they would need at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science, software engineering or related fields. Depending on the role they may need to have specialised in a particular area, such as HTML or Microsoft applications.
Required skills: Strong general computing skills. Knowledge of coding, security and communications to varying degrees can help.
Salary: In Ireland, IT support professionals can expect to earn anything from €30,000 upwards, depending on field and experience, according to Hays.
IT support image, via Shutterstock