What does a help desk specialist do?
The primary role of help desk specialists is to maintain relationships between the company and its customers. Their duties and responsibilities include responding to guests' queries, providing technical computer support, and maintaining computer systems' performance. Help desk specialists are also responsible for following up with customers to resolve issues and train computer users. There are several requirements to be qualified for this position, which include having relevant customer service experience, problem-solving and analytical skills, and the ability to prioritize vital tasks.
Help desk specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real help desk specialist resumes:
- Manage network software deployment, imaging/backup and unattend OS installations
- Develop, implement, and support customized manage VPN solutions for customers.
- Work as tier II/III technical support representative helping customers troubleshoot hardware/software problems in high volume call center.
- Support CITRIX by resolving connectivity issues when problems are reported.
- Assist clients with Cisco VoIP, or Cisco AnyConnect troubleshooting, and escalation to higher tiers, as necessary.
- Repair PCs and printers install software supervise interns
- Configure and troubleshoot wireless connections and TCP/IP connectivity.
- Enhance company collaboration by upgrading telephony system to VoIP.
- Develop, implement and monitor gateway-to-gateway and client-to-gateway VPN solutions.
- Create and maintain documentation of incident status in remedy ticketing system.
- Report weekly to management with SLA statistics and recommendations for improvements.
- Investigate technical errors, prioritize issues, advocate for resolution within SLA
- Coordinate with internal security team to remedy security vulnerabilities occurring on classify and unclassify networks.
- Assist information technology administrators in identifying computer hardware malfunctions and resolving UNIX operating system issues.
- Install and configure software applications for new user PCs using the established standards and procedural documentation.
Help desk specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Help Desk Specialists are proficient in Customer Service, Troubleshoot, and Technical Support. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Help Desk Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 13%
Identify opportunity for process improvements targeting improved customer service and organizational efficiency
- Troubleshoot, 8%
Conducted day-to-day operations, implemented, troubleshoot optimized, maintained and ensured operational integrity and availability of customer's networks.
- Technical Support, 6%
Provide exceptional local/phone/remote technical support while troubleshooting and fixing any software/hardware problems to desktop and network issues.
- Desk Support, 6%
Supplied computer help desk support via telephone communications to approximately 200 end users daily.
- Phone Calls, 5%
Answered telephone calls to assist computer users encountering problems and user inquiries regarding computer software or hardware operation to resolve issues.
- Client Facing, 4%
Analyze trends of issues, and posting urgent notifications to client facing products.
Common skills that a help desk specialist uses to do their job include "customer service," "troubleshoot," and "technical support." You can find details on the most important help desk specialist responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a help desk specialist to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Help desk specialists often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided excellent customer support and time management skills to refresh computers without disrupting normal day-to-day operations. "
Listening skills. Many help desk specialist duties rely on listening skills. "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation.," so a help desk specialist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways help desk specialist responsibilities rely on listening skills: "earned 100% marks in all categories (communication/listening skills, problem resolution and politeness). "
Speaking skills. This is an important skill for help desk specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how help desk specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a help desk specialist: "addressed email and phone calls as requested by crew members in a timely manner to ensure minimal delays. ".
Writing skills. help desk specialist responsibilities often require "writing skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." This resume example shows what help desk specialists do with writing skills on a typical day: "provided onsite technical support for 400+ claims and underwriting employees for all general and computer/network issues and industry-specific software applications. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a help desk specialist to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what help desk specialists relies on this skill, since "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." How this skill relates to help desk specialist duties can be seen in an example from a help desk specialist resume snippet: "troubleshooted and resolved hardware issues escalated from customer support department. "
The three companies that hire the most help desk specialists are:
- NSC Global66 help desk specialists jobs
- Thomas31 help desk specialists jobs
- Reed Smith
22 help desk specialists jobs
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Compare different help desk specialists
Help desk specialist vs. Information technology/support technician
An information technology (IT) support technician is an individual who is responsible for providing support and troubleshoots software and hardware problems faced by customers. As for larger organizations that have their own IT department, technicians must work together internally with their IT staff members. IT support technicians are involved in inspecting and resolving minor local area network and wireless network issues, which include TCP/IP, DHCP, and VPN. They are also required to obtain an associate's degree in computer science or related field.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, help desk specialist responsibilities require skills like "technical support," "client facing," "remedy," and "provide technical assistance." Meanwhile a typical information technology/support technician has skills in areas such as "database," "computer software," "thin clients," and "phone system." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Information technology/support technicians earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $53,210. On the other hand, help desk specialists are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $60,916.The education levels that information technology/support technicians earn slightly differ from help desk specialists. In particular, information technology/support technicians are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a help desk specialist. Additionally, they're 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Help desk specialist vs. Desktop support consultant
The duties of a desk support consultant vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Most of their responsibilities are likely to revolve around reaching out to clients through calls and correspondence, answering inquiries, troubleshooting, and providing corrective measures, all to attain customer satisfaction. Moreover, a desk support consultant may devise strategies to better communicate with clients, produce progress reports, and maintain accurate records of all transactions. Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to all policies and regulations at all times.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that help desk specialist responsibilities requires skills like "desk support," "phone calls," "client facing," and "pcs." But a desktop support consultant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "desktop support," "pc," "laptop computers," and "encryption."
Desktop support consultants may earn a lower salary than help desk specialists, but desktop support consultants earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $51,314. On the other hand, help desk specialists receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $60,916.In general, desktop support consultants achieve similar levels of education than help desk specialists. They're 1.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for help desk specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Ming Chow
Associate Teaching Professor, Tufts University
References:
1. cybersecurity
2. cybersecurity
Help desk specialist vs. Desktop support technician
A desktop support technician is responsible for troubleshooting defective computer systems, affecting its performance and efficiency. Desktop support technicians must be highly familiar with the technology systems and programming codes to navigate system applications and locate the discrepancy of the system. They keep documentation of the ticket issue and the resolution for reference and quality improvement. A desktop support technician also configures and updates computer systems and networks for better optimization, as well as conducting regular inspections and monitoring the efficiency of installed programs and patches.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, help desk specialists are more likely to have skills like "desk support," "phone calls," "client facing," and "provide technical assistance." But a desktop support technician is more likely to have skills like "desktop support," "laptop computers," "user data," and "hardware support."
Desktop support technicians make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $49,591. On the other hand, help desk specialists are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $60,916.When it comes to education, desktop support technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to help desk specialists. In fact, they're 1.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Help desk specialist vs. Information technology specialist
An Information Technology Specialist, also known as a Computer Professional or IT Specialist, is responsible for the computer support of an establishment or individual. Most of the duties require extensive and proactive knowledge of Information Technology, such as in the aspects of network and systems administration, security and information, hardware and software management, troubleshooting, and more. The tasks of an IT Specialist are diverse. It is not limited to installation or activation, as it also involves monitoring, management, and analyzation.
Types of help desk specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
