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Desktop support technician skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Jennifer Richardson Ph.D.,

Anthony Baron

Desktop support technician example skills

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical desktop support technician skills. We ranked the top skills for desktop support technicians based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.5% of desktop support technician resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a desktop support technician needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 desktop support technician skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how desktop support technicians use customer service:

Recognized by management for customer relations and complaint resolution resulting in several customer service awards based on customer satisfaction feedback.
Utilized customer service skills and technical skills constantly via hands-on assistance and phone-based interactions with end-users and management staff.

2. Desktop Support

Here's how desktop support technicians use desktop support:

Provide Desktop support functions including visiting the end user area to research and resolve hardware/software/connectivity issues.
Provided desktop support for a variety of business and software development applications.

3. Troubleshoot

Troubleshooting is the process of analyzing and fixing any kind of problem in a system or a machine. Troubleshooting is the detailed yet quick search in the system for the main source of an issue and solving it.

Here's how desktop support technicians use troubleshoot:

Installed, configure and troubleshoot computer hardware, operating systems, network configurations and software
Performed Backup/Recovery strategies, disaster recovery tasks, and troubleshoot network connectivity issues.

4. Technical Support

Technical support or tech support are the services provided by any hardware or software company to users. They help in solving the technical difficulties the customers face with their products or services. Moreover, the tech support employees maintain, manage, and repair the IT faults. They are also responsible for resolving the network problems, installing and configuring hardware and software.

Here's how desktop support technicians use technical support:

Worked for Ascension Health owned medical offices and hospitals providing technical support of desktop computers, applications and related technology.
Develop technical support documentation and user's guides - Analyzes software deployments to identify problems and provides comprehensive solutions.

5. Remote Desktop

Here's how desktop support technicians use remote desktop:

Support provided via desk-side and remote access through utilizing Microsoft Remote Desktop and Motorola Timbuktu Remote access software.
Use Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager to deploy applications, hardware inventory and remote desktop control.

6. Laptop Computers

Here's how desktop support technicians use laptop computers:

Installed and supported desktop and laptop computers including hardware\software setup and configuration throughout the campus.
Build computer images to recommended specifications and load software onto desktop computers and laptop computers.

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7. Network Printers

Here's how desktop support technicians use network printers:

Mapped and configured network printers and other peripheral devices as needed by hospital personnel.
Performed an administrative role in assigning permissions to network printers using Active Directory.

8. Computer System

Here's how desktop support technicians use computer system:

Provided technical guidance, oversaw and monitored data processing operations and formal reporting of problems with computer systems platforms.
Support work includes specification, installation, and testing of computer systems and peripherals within established standards and guidelines.

9. OS

In technical terms, OS stands for "Operating System". It is a software that is used to run programs on the computer. An operating system acts as a link between the user and the hardware components. Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux are examples of an operating system.

Here's how desktop support technicians use os:

Maintained user security accounts for Window OS including desktop configuration, network connectivity, network access issues and printer connectivity.
Perform software deployment/management and support Apple/Windows OS based devices.

10. Mac

A media access control or simply MAC is a network policy that identifies or determines how the data is being transferred in two particular servers through a network cable. The purpose of a MAC protocol is to prevent network or technical issues and simplify transferring the information or data.

Here's how desktop support technicians use mac:

Performed desktop computer replacements/upgrades and migration of users data for Mac computers.
Supported and evaluated popular applications used by Mac and PC environments.

11. PCS

Here's how desktop support technicians use pcs:

Developed successful proposal for the replacement PCs of the Collaboration room, expired out-of-warranty desktops.
Designed implementation and distribution system for quarterly software updates performed on these PCs.

12. SCCM

Here's how desktop support technicians use sccm:

Delivered software deployments by leveraging SCCM 2012 through Active Directory associations.
Provided systems administration tasks utilizing Active Directory and SCCM.

13. User Support

Here's how desktop support technicians use user support:

Provided maintenance and user support for numerous devices and operating systems including Windows XP/7, Microsoft Office 2003/2010, iPhone/iPad/Android/Blackberry.
Supported virtual servers and provided end user support for all LAN-based applications while configuring and installing workstations.

14. VPN

A Virtual Private Network, VPN encrypts a device's internet access, activity, and identity through a secure server, making data theft and third-party traceability more difficult, and increasing the privacy and security of public and private networks, the internet, and Wi-Fi hotspots. The VPN is designed to protect one's system and network from being compromised.

Here's how desktop support technicians use vpn:

Configured desktop/laptop systems according to ARL security standards with Windows Vista, including laptop VPN configuration and support using Cisco products.
Helped users working remotely including all application support and configuring VPN access.

15. Software Issues

Software issues are challenges related to the software installed in a computer that can be resolved by troubleshooting, bug fixes, and in extreme cases by a programmer. Software issues can cause the software to lag in the system, malfunction, or affect the entire function of the computer system in general.

Here's how desktop support technicians use software issues:

Coordinated efforts to maintain functionality of systems including network connectivity, hardware conflicts and software issues.
Performed troubleshooting and repair for hardware/software issues and upgrade/migration services supporting Windows XP/Vista/7.

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What skills help Desktop Support Technicians find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on desktop support technician resumes?

Jennifer Richardson Ph.D.

Professor, Purdue University

Always the soft skills - they stand out I think first and foremost regardless of where you are coming from and where you are going to. Without the ability to communicate, collaborate, facilitate, and problem-solve it is tough to succeed in today's environment. Experience is also key no matter the position; without prior experience to demonstrate the skills you are indicating you have trained for it is hard for those doing the hiring to know if you have learned the skills or if you have learned and experienced (or applied) those skills. Students should seek out opportunities to apply their skills while still working through their program. I believe going forward with K-12 educators we will see that those that have training or professional development with teaching at a distance will go a long way. Before COVID-19 hit we were already planning a new offering for virtual instruction licensure, it is now garnering a lot of attention.

What soft skills should all desktop support technicians possess?

Anthony Baron

Teaching Assistant, Associate Software Engineer, American University

The main soft skills I would say are needed for Computer Science software engineering are patience, perseverance, creativity, respect, teamwork, and openness to learning and teaching. Programming involves a lot of trial and error, researching, and learning better techniques for solving a problem. Due to this, patience and perseverance to reach the final goal in mind are crucial. When it comes to the learning aspect, there are many languages, frameworks, and libraries, and working with them involves a steeper learning curve than others. On top of this, there are often more elegant ways to program a solution, and many new frameworks and libraries are released throughout the industry. This is where patience and perseverance is also a virtue. Lastly, programming and creating a product are often done in teams, where working together and learning from each other is important.

What hard/technical skills are most important for desktop support technicians?

Anthony Baron

Teaching Assistant, Associate Software Engineer, American University

The main technical/ hard skills, I would say, are mainly the same as in part 1. Another hard skill that will come through with experience in programming is learning how to Google, more specifically knowing exactly what to search to solve an issue in the code.

What desktop support technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Ranganathan Chandrasekaran

Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, University of Illinois

With remote-working and virtual collaborations becoming routine, more firms are increasing their investments in technology. In my opinion, irrespective of the location, many companies will seek to hire technology professionals.

What type of skills will young desktop support technicians need?

Joshua Davis Ph.D.

Lecturer, Carleton College

Studying mathematics is good practice for rigorous thinking and problem solving, which are valued across the workforce. For science and engineering applications, it is often also helpful to have R, Python, Matlab, or another popular programming language. But technical abilities get the graduate-only so far. They need interpersonal communication skills so that they can understand the needs of stakeholders and cooperate with colleagues. For this reason, many faculty at my school emphasize writing, speaking, listening, and teamwork skills.

What technical skills for a desktop support technician stand out to employers?

Chirag Parikh Ph.D.

Computer Engineering Chair, Grand Valley State University

If you ask me, I consider valuable experience over good paycheck. Once you have gained that experience the paycheck will follow. As soon as you are out of college, the knowledge gained is very fresh and raring to go. If put into the right place can enhance your technical skills and you can do wonders.
As a Computer Engineering professor, I would say the job opportunities are tremendous for students out of college as they can venture into hardware field (technical support, hardware engineer, test engineer and much more) as well as software field (software engineer, software developer, software tester and much more). The possibilities are endless.
With COVID and employees working remotely there is still ample opportunity to enhance your technical and interpersonal skills as I believe remote working might stay for a while till things get back to normal.

Do you want to know more?

List of desktop support technician skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a desktop support technician resume and required skills for a desktop support technician to have include:

Customer Service
Desktop Support
Troubleshoot
Technical Support
Remote Desktop
Laptop Computers
Network Printers
Computer System
OS
Mac
PCS
SCCM
User Support
VPN
Software Issues
Technical Problems

Windows XP
Technical Issues
Workstations
Remedy
Android
Peripheral Equipment
Citrix
User Accounts
Microsoft Windows
Remote Support
Technical Assistance
Lan
Software Applications
TCP/IP
Software Problems
Computer Equipment

Software Installation
VoIP
Trouble Tickets
Windows Server
Software Support
Linux
Help-Desk Support
DHCP
Desktop Computers
VMware
Level Support
Mobile Device Management
Network Troubleshooting
DNS
User Data

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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