IT Support Technician
The entry point to IT — helpdesk, desktop support, and infrastructure ops
Job titles
IT Support Technician, Helpdesk Technician +
UK salary range
£22,000–£38,000
US salary range
$35,000–$60,000
Time to first role
2–4 months from scratch
About this role
IT support technicians are the first responders of enterprise IT — diagnosing hardware issues, setting up devices, resolving connectivity problems, and supporting end users. It's the most accessible IT role and the most common entry point for people transitioning into the industry.
Key skills employers look for
Certification roadmap
Hardware & OS
The baseline cert for every IT support role — without exception
220-1101CompTIA A+ Core 1
Covers hardware, networking fundamentals, mobile devices, and virtualisation. Part 1 of the A+ two-exam certification — required by most IT support job postings.
220-1102CompTIA A+ Core 2
Covers Windows OS, security fundamentals, cloud concepts, and operational procedures. Completing both A+ exams earns the full CompTIA A+ certification.
Networking & ITSM
Add networking or ITIL to move from tier-1 helpdesk to tier-2 support
N10-009CompTIA Network+
Opens tier-2 and networking support roles. Covers TCP/IP, subnetting, wireless, and troubleshooting methodology. Many employers list it alongside A+ for infrastructure support roles.
ITIL 4 FoundationITIL 4 Foundation
The global standard for IT service management. Required or preferred for any role using a service management framework (ServiceNow, Jira Service Management). Particularly valued in public sector and financial services.
Frequently asked questions
Is A+ still worth getting in 2026?
Yes. It's listed in more IT job postings than almost any other cert and is the DoD 8570 baseline. Even better — CompTIA A+ is one of the few certs where the question bank on Courseiva directly matches the difficulty and style of the real exam, so you can be genuinely exam-ready in 8–12 weeks.
What after A+?
Network+ for infrastructure roles, Security+ if you want to move toward cybersecurity, or ITIL 4 Foundation if you're targeting ITSM-heavy environments. The most common progression is A+ → Security+ → CySA+ for IT technicians who want to move into security.
Key terms for this career path
These concepts underpin the certifications in this roadmap and appear regularly in exam questions.
Dynamic route
A route that is automatically learned and updated by a router using a routing protocol, rather than being manually configured.
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer files between a client and a server over a TCP/IP network.
Public IP address
A globally unique IP address assigned to a device that allows it to communicate directly over the internet.
Persistent Disk
Persistent Disk is a durable, high-performance block storage service for Google Cloud virtual machines that retains data even after the VM is shut down or deleted.
ext4
ext4 is the default file system for many Linux distributions, designed to store and manage files on a hard drive or SSD with journaling, large volume support, and backward compatibility.
Mobile GPU
A mobile GPU is a specialized graphics processor designed for use in mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, handling rendering and display tasks while balancing performance with power efficiency.