Question by randizzle: Need advise from transitioning from a Helpdesk Tech to a Desktop Support Tech?
Currently a helpdesk analyst, but will be transitioning into Desktop Support. I normally do troubleshooting over phones, but have no hardware experience (eg. fixing blue screens, pc wont start, hard drive fail, etc). I want to get my hands dirty and gain desktop tech experience. Looking for some resources on the web to prep me for this position. Maybe a book or so? NOT looking to get certified.
Best answer:
Answer by An American Try youtube you will be supprised at the computer assembly/repair videos that are there.
Question by Crazyme: What is the job of technical helpdesk?
I have got a job in technical helpdesk.I am btech.Please tell me,is the job suitable for a b-tech?What is the actual job profile,what i have to do?What will be the yearly income and if the work experience may shown for a software job.Please tell me the details.
Best answer:
Answer by TBA There are no standards. “Technical helpdesk” is used for a very wide range of jobs and tasks. I’ve never heard the term “b-tech” before, so I can’t comment.
“Technical helpdesk” could involve taking phone calls, reading faxes and emails, talking to walk-up customers, walking around to people’s desks, driving out to client sites, or all of the above.
You might be serving the general public, school or university students, employees of any industry or type, in-house staff, company customers, third-party requirements, or any combination.
It might involve technical troubleshooting, diagnostics, repair, training, learning, teaching, escalating, writing, logging, liaising, analysing, systems administration, network administration, workshops, classrooms, speaking in front of groups, report generation, monitoring, installing, decommissioning, cabling and recabling, equipment transport, equipment relocation, editing, wiki maintenance, newsletter production, attending meetings, setting policy, user admin, password resets, IT security, configuring, tuning, tweaking, reading, and being at least partially telepathic and psychic.
The actual stuff you will be responsible for can be anything at all. If it’s got lights, buttons, keys, a screen, goes “beep”, uses electricity, has wiring in it, has metal or plastic in it, “looks technical”, or is just something that no-one else above you on the corporate ladder wants to do, you might find that you have to take care of it. This can be anything from hand-adjusting the regular expressions making up the corporate firewall rules or brainstorming on the new version of the SOE, through to endless, mindless data entry off grotty bits of paper and people asking you to repair the broken electric kettle.
And yes, I have personally done or sat next to the person doing ALL the above things in various “technical helpdesk” positions.
The only way to find out what it’s going to be at any given employer is either to work there for a while or to ask someone who’s already been there six months.
If you want a very rough approximation, though, the bulk of work at the majority of helpdesks, most of the time, involves taking phone calls and emails from people who are having problems with their PC, trying to figure out what the problem is, and walk them through fixing it, preferably in the minimum amount of time. Sometimes you’re lucky and you get documentation covering the most common problems and how to fix them.
However, in any helpdesk job there will always be a couple of problems or tasks which will make you ask “What the flying moose ears are they on about?” Only the details vary.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Aka Medieval Helpdesk. This video makes fun of moderns newbie computer users by illustrating – in a way fully understandable to them – how silly some of their questions are by creating a similar problem in the Middle Ages. It’s from a show called Øystein & Meg (Øystein & I) produced by the Norwegian Broadcasting television channel (NRK) in 2001. The spoken language is Norwegian. It’s written by Knut Nærum and performed by Øystein Bache and Rune Gokstad. NEWS: NRK have uploaded an official version of this video themselves – with more accurate Eng subtitles. It is located at www.youtube.com Video Rating: 4 / 5
Question by : What’s the quantity of users per one helpdesk specialist?
Hello, colleagues.
I’m an IT manager in growing corporation. Quantity of users constantly grows & I have to understand how many helpdesk-people company should hire.
Does exist any standard in ITIL, COBIT or in any other IT documentation about quantity of users per one helpdesk specialist?
Thanks in advance.
Best answer:
Answer by Colanth It varies by company. Figure out how many users your current staff can handle, and you’ll know the average users/staff for your situation.
Do you really hire “help desk specialists”, or are you hiring clerks and giving them the minimum training needed to keep them from quitting in frustration? I’ve seen both being done.
“Where’s the ruler in Word?” takes a lot less time than “My screen is black and I can’t do anything.”
Hiring technicians means you’ll need fewer people than hiring people who can read from a list of “if it’s this, do that” responses.
Macs have different requirements than Windows PCs (and need MUCH more highly trained help desk people and more time per trouble.)
There’s no “one size fits all”. One size rarely fits 2.
Give your answer to this question below!
Tech Support the Star Wars way. After all, the empire has its share of end-users also. See more short films at www.kanefilms.com Video Rating: 4 / 5
Question by kevin: What is the best basic info to provide helpdesk when making a request?
I would like to prepare a template for the most commonly needed information when submitting a request/ticket to the helpdesk of a typical corporation.
Best answer:
Answer by Dennis R Your Name
Your Location (cube#, bldg#, office#, etc)
Your Bosses name
Your phone number
The asset tag# on the computer
The OS if there are multiple supported
The application in error (if a software issue)
A screenshot of the error message (if a software issue)
General Description of the problem
Things you’ve tried to resolve the issue
The realistic priority of the problem
I’m sure there are others, but that’s what I try to gather if I need to escalate to a higher level
Add your own answer in the comments!
Helpdesk support back in the day of the middle age with English subtitles. Original taken from the show “Øystein og jeg” on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)in 2001. With Øystein Backe (helper)and Rune Gokstad (desperate monk). Written by Knut Nærum.
