Working In The IT Industry Task3

The Work

IT support technicians help to find and correct software and hardware problems for computer users.
As a technician, you could work on site or remotely by phone, email or by using web-based applications. Your duties would typically include:

• talking to the client to find out the exact nature of a fault
• working out the reasons for the fault and explaining these to the user
• fixing equipment, including printers and scanners (known as 'peripherals')
• setting up new equipment and upgrading existing systems
• testing and servicing equipment
• recording problems and their solutions for future reference
• training clients on new systems or software applications.

You may work as part of a team within a company, or support outside business clients.

Hours

You would usually work 37 to 40 hours a week. Some jobs involve on-call duties and shiftwork, including weekends.
You would be office based, but may have to visit other departments within your company. You may need to travel to external clients, or to different locations if your department supports several sites.

Salaries are between £17,000 and £20,000 a year.

• Experienced staff can earn between £21,000 and £27,000.
• Senior staff with management responsibility can earn over £30,000 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry Requirements

You could get into this career as a trainee technician if you have a good working knowledge of computer systems, but you may improve your career prospects by gaining IT qualifications, such as:

• BTEC National Certificate/Diploma for IT Practitioners (ICT Systems Support) Level 3
• City & Guilds (E-Quals) IT Practitioners Diploma/Advanced Diploma (7266) Level 3
• OCR (iPRO) Certificate for IT Practitioners (ICT Systems Support) Level 3.

You could take these courses full- or part-time at local colleges or private training centres. The courses contain optional units taken from CompTIA, Cisco and Microsoft certifications. See the Training and Development section for more details about certifications.
Alternatively, you may be able to find work through an electronics or information technology Apprenticeship. This would usually include working towards NVQ levels 1-3 in IT Practitioners/Professionals.
The range of Apprenticeships available in your area will depend on the local jobs market and the types of skills employers need from their workers.