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What is a help desk associate and how to become one
In exchange for their expertise, help desk associates earn an average annual salary of $38,601. The minimum education requirement to start a career as a help desk associate is a high school diploma, but advanced roles require a bachelor's degree in disciplines such as computer science or other related fields. The necessary top skills for a help desk associate are the ability to provide satisfactory customer services and technical support and to make follow-up calls to clients. Help desk associates look for new ways to improve and help troubleshoot general software, internet connectivity, and login problems. They also need solid report writing skills.
In general, a help desk associate gives technical support and assistance to customers, ensuring customer satisfaction and efficiency. These services can be provided through face-to-face communication or calls. The duties of help desk associates include discussing product specifications, answering inquiries, troubleshooting problems, recommending services, coordinating with other staffs in filling and organizing documents, and maintaining records in line with company's regulations and policies.
What general advice would you give to a help desk associate?
Kate Marek Ph.D.
Director and Professor, Dominican University
Avg. Salary $45,752
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 10%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.41%
Asian 10.55%
Black or African American 11.72%
Hispanic or Latino 15.93%
Unknown 5.36%
White 56.03%
Genderfemale 34.69%
male 65.31%
Age - 41American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 41Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is good
6.4 - fair
Help desk associate career paths
Key steps to become a help desk associate
Explore help desk associate education requirements
Start to develop specific help desk associate skills
Skills Percentages Customer Service 19.41% Troubleshoot 5.93% Escalate 5.41% Technical Support 4.91% Phone Calls 4.44% Complete relevant help desk associate training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New help desk associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a help desk associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real help desk associate resumes.Research help desk associate duties and responsibilities
- Manage and troubleshooting of VOIP systems, setup of new IP phones and configuring PBX.
- Work with domains and network protocols such as TCP/IP, DHCP and SNMP.
- Answer respondent questions about the study as well as use computer to troubleshoot respondent technical issues with survey/website.
- Receive inbound calls from doctors pharmacy technicians concerning medication refills for patients.
Prepare your help desk associate resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your help desk associate resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a help desk associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable help desk associate resume templates
Build a professional help desk associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your help desk associate resume.
Apply for help desk associate jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a help desk associate job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first help desk associate job
Are you a help desk associate?
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Average help desk associate salary
The average help desk associate salary in the United States is $45,752 per year or $22 per hour. Help desk associate salaries range between $27,000 and $75,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do help desk associates rate their job?
Help desk associate reviews
You get to help a lot of people in many different ways as well as learning new things about technology
I have aids now due to the painfulness of sitting down all day
Working with The people
I decided to go to technical support because I've been fascinated by technology all my life and I love working with the people as well. I want to use my technical know-how to solve directly the problems that customers have. I want to be the person who makes life easier and more enjoyable for people who have had a problem. This is what I like most as a technical Support.
I don't like sitting around being inactive. So I'll keep my self always busy
Updated January 8, 2025
