Difference in job role: Computer Technician vs Help Desk ?

Moon Child

Right now at my current job I am in a Technician job role. I was wondering what is the difference between a Computer Technician vs Help Desk?

I previously did PHP and a little Computer Technician work at a previous job I had. At my current job as a Technician it is a lot more hands on. I have become a lot better at knowing how to take apart, put back together, and fix things more at the hardware level and diagnosing problems at the hardware level.

Is help desk only phone support? Or do you also do what a Computer Technician would do?

TechGromit

Really depends on the company and how big it is. In a smaller company you might be the help desk and the desk side support that visits the user in person to assist them. Or a smaller company might subcontract out the phone support help desk that is in an offsite location and they would send support tickets to the local desk side support staff. Generally in larger companies the help desk is strictly phone support and a computer technician is desk side support.

In my experience the help desk is the lowest level of the IT world. In my company they subcontracted most of that work out to staffing agencies that would provide the staff to our help desk center. Before I was hired full time I was a contractor and talking to fellow contractors the pay for the help desk positions was as little as $16 a hour without benefits.

I can across one contract between a staffing agency and the company, they were paying $50 an hour to the staffing agency to provide staff and the staffing agency was paying as little as $16 an hour without benefits to there staff. The highest I hear was $23 a hour. This is why I feel all staffing agencies are scumbag leeches.

yoba222

Like what TechGromit wrote.

Help desk is usually the one answering the phone call/email/in-person visit and making a ticket in a system to track the issue. In larger companies that's all they do in a call center, with lousy pay. Desktop Support is one (tiny) step up from that and is the person handling the bottom tier of those tickets to fix those problems. Maybe a dollar or two more in pay. Computer Technician reminds me of desktop support. No offense intended.


With a bachelor's degree and definitely with a master's degree and I'd spend the absolute minimum time possible in any role with the word "help" or "desk" in it.

bigdogz

Moon Child,The guys are right. In my case the help desk staff just created tickets and would work minimal tasks as user ID creation and password resets. TechGromit,There are some contractors that are not the best. I always used the term 'pimp' for obvious reasons. But understand that they have to pay your taxes (City, State, FICA), in addition to paying to the rep who had the make the calls to find you the job. and pay to keep the lights on in their building. They also have to wine and dine their customers from time to time. During my contract days, my reps would take me out to lunch once every week or two and I would update them on my work. Sometimes they would give me help in dealing with issues. The 'pimps' would just come buy and collect my timecards and not say too much else. It depends on who your account rep is.Good Luck.

Mike R

Wow I am underpaid...........

Bigdogz nailed it though. However I have seen some jobs that call themselves help desk requiring a CCNA. Help desk is a super broad term from what I've seen in this field and can range from simple Active Directory to building VMs and researching/deploying back programs.

bigdogz

Yes, YMMV. Some jobs may require a CCNA, Net+, A+, or M$ certification.

ande0255

Computers you troubleshoot technology, Help Desk you troubleshoot stupidity.

TechxWizard

ande0255 wrote: »

Computers you troubleshoot technology, Help Desk you troubleshoot stupidity.

You could not of said it any better my friend.

LaSeeno

It sounds to me like you're a tech at a small shop catering to individual customers.

Helpdesk will internal support and you don't usually even deal with hardware issues anymore these days. Think of it as a foot in the door to bigger and better things.

Moon Child

Mike R wrote: »

Wow I am underpaid...........

Bigdogz nailed it though. However I have seen some jobs that call themselves help desk requiring a CCNA. Help desk is a super broad term from what I've seen in this field and can range from simple Active Directory to building VMs and researching/deploying back programs.

Yeah on some help desk job postings I have seen them wanting MCSA and/or CCNA certification as well which I don't have. I saw one help desk posting wanting MCTIP Enterprise certification. Maybe I just was looking at the wrong help desk postings, but most help desk job postings looked like there was more they wanted you to know than what would be expected you know if you got a job working at a computer shop or the Geek Squad. "One help desk job posting said 2 years previous computer experience, Geek Squad experience is good." I am coming to the conclusion that from what I see employers posting online what would be expected of an employee to know how to do and the certifications they wanted that employee to know for a help desk job, a help desk did not look like an easy job and depending on the help desk job could be a steep learning curve. Assuming employers really mean they expect you to know and to be able to do everything they post on online job postings.

Right now at the company I am working for not making much but I am learning so much on the job didn't learn with degree or certs. It is mainly hardware, but learning so much. I actually find my job has a big learning curve. A lot learning everyday that the A+ didn't teach you. Like I have learned how to spot water damage, how to be able to tell if a laptop has a battery exploded inside by the bulge, how to use Citrix and do Inventory, being able to quickly identify all kinds of screws and knowing where they go, using the IFIXIT kit to take apart/ put together Macs and laptops, detecting dead pixels, knowing how to disable secure boot and learning what everything in the BIOS means, how to reset Crome OS on a cromebook, wiping drives with three or seven passes, detecting bad ram and hard drives, how to know if a CPU is sodered on the motherboard, and I been learning how to use MRI to troubleshoot and get information about the desktop /laptop that may not be listed in the BIOS, how to identify serials & model numbers. Very good hardware experience learning a lot never knew before.

At previous job I did PHP and some basic tech work like removing viruses, updating drivers, installing windows on a machine, troubleshooting pc problems with customers on the phone. This job is more specific get great experience really learning the hardware inside and out. Already learned so much on this job. They also teach the guys how to take apart/ put together and fix All-In-Ones and they work a lot with Macs. They also teach tablets, phones, audio systems, TV's. I see it as great experience that is really hard to learn on your own and not really something any computer certification can teach you.