IT technical support officer : Entry requirements

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1. Job description
2. Salary and conditions
3. Entry requirements
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Case studies

• Systems administrator: Mike
• Application support specialist: Lowri

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Although this area of work is open to all graduates, Diplomates and foundation degree graduates, the following degree and HND/foundation degree subjects may improve your chances:

• business information technology;
• business systems engineering;
• computer networking and hardware;
• computer science;
• computer software development;
• information technology;
• internet engineering;
• software engineering.

The above qualifications are not always required for this work, although some employers do ask for an IT-related qualification or appropriate work experience to ascertain applicants' levels of technical knowledge. Employers look for in-depth knowledge of the programs and applications they use, typically Microsoft, Linux and Cisco technologies.

A postgraduate qualification is not necessary for entry to this career, but either the Microsoft Certified Software Engineer (MCSE) qualification or the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) qualification may give you an advantage. There are similarly widely recognised courses for Linux, Unix and Cisco. These are currently the most widely recognised technical certifications in the industry and are available at further education colleges and commercial training centres.

Gaining as much practical work experience during your degree course is extremely beneficial, and summer placements or year internships are highly recommended. Look for opportunities at Graduate Talent Pool , the new Government initiative for gaining work experience. For local placements, check with your university careers service, or for overseas work placements, go to IAESTE (The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience) .

The level of competition for IT support positions is not as high as for other areas of IT, but the current (2009) recession has seen a marked decline in the number of IT jobs available. To track the IT market see JobStats .

Candidates will need to show evidence of the following:

• the ability to think logically;
• a good memory of how software and operating systems work;
• excellent listening and questioning skills combined with the ability to interact confidently with clients to establish what the problem is and explain the solution;
• the ability to work well in a team;
• problem-solving skills;
• a strong customer focus;
• the ability to prioritise your workload;
• patience; technical orientation and interest;
• attention to detail.

For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.