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What is a help desk engineer and how to become one
A help desk engineer provides technical support to end-users, both remotely or in-person. They are responsible for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues related to hardware, software, and network systems. Help desk engineers work in a variety of industries, including IT, healthcare, finance, and government. They communicate with clients, identify problems, and provide effective and user-friendly solutions over phone, email, chat, and ticketing systems.
What general advice would you give to a help desk engineer?
Kate Marek Ph.D.
Director and Professor, Dominican University
Avg. Salary $52,444
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 10%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.41%
Asian 12.24%
Black or African American 11.79%
Hispanic or Latino 15.58%
Unknown 5.33%
White 54.65%
Genderfemale 18.24%
male 81.76%
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
What are the pros and cons of being a help desk engineer?
Pros
Opportunity to learn about a variety of software and hardware systems
Chance to work with different departments and individuals within an organization
Opportunity for career growth and advancement
May offer flexible scheduling or remote work options
Can lead to higher salaries and job stability with experience and certifications
Cons
High stress and workload during peak times or when dealing with difficult customers
May require working long hours, nights, weekends, or holidays due to 24/7 support needs
May be required to work on-call shifts for emergency situations
Dealing with frustrated or angry customers can be emotionally draining
Can be a high-pressure job with tight deadlines for issue resolution
Help desk engineer career paths
Key steps to become a help desk engineer
Explore help desk engineer education requirements
Start to develop specific help desk engineer skills
Skills Percentages Troubleshoot 7.69% Help-Desk Support 5.89% Technical Support 5.76% Escalate 4.97% PC 4.87% Complete relevant help desk engineer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New help desk engineers 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 engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real help desk engineer resumes.Research help desk engineer duties and responsibilities
- Manage and maintain consistency of software configurations for the Citrix & VMWare environments.
- Manage VOIP phone user, hunt groups, short codes, incoming call routes, time profiles, and auto attendants.
- Configure, establish and manage local area network (LAN) connectivity and remote access per customer configuration requirements.
- Configure and install new Linux systems.
Prepare your help desk engineer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your help desk engineer 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 engineer 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 engineer resume templates
Build a professional help desk engineer 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 engineer resume.
Apply for help desk engineer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a help desk engineer 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 engineer job
Are you a help desk engineer?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average help desk engineer salary
The average help desk engineer salary in the United States is $52,444 per year or $25 per hour. Help desk engineer salaries range between $36,000 and $74,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do help desk engineers rate their job?
Help desk engineer 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
