PC Support Specialist

By Tony Woodall

Part I: Background and Job Description

The PC support specialist is responsible for ensuring proper day-to-day operation of corporate computers. To be successful, technical knowledge and skills must be combined with an understanding of the user's needs. The ultimate goal is a reliable computer system enabling an employee's productivity.

A successful career in working with computer systems must be grounded in an understanding of computer hardware, operating systems, and application fundamentals. The basic components of the personal computer have largely remained the same since its introduction. There is still a CPU, RAM, keyboard, I/O ports, power supply, and monitor. Yet each of these items has changed dramatically over the years. The PC support specialist must not only understand the range of individual parts that constitute a computer, but also the different technologies that define each component. Learning how these components operate and interact is the most basic building block for computer repair.

“PC repair is good for anyone who loves a good mystery. You will certainly wind up doing a little head scratching. ”

As if there was not enough variety in hardware alone, an operating system must be thrown into the mix. Traditionally, most personal computers have relied on Microsoft's DOS and Windows products, but today support personnel may be faced with other desktops such as Linux. Then cap off the required knowledge base with all the thousands of applications available on the market today. This amount of information can be daunting to new and old PC support specialists alike. It is an unavoidable fact that anyone involved in maintaining computer systems will always be required to learn something new.

Understanding the underlying similarities of all computers systems and the basic operation of software is the key to getting a grip on this information. For example, understanding how one word processor works gives you insight into how every word processor operates. The details may change, but the underlying basics remain the same. This concept can be applied to the basics of computer hardware, operating systems, applications, programming languages, and even networks. If you understand one, you already know fundamentals to help you learn another. So what is the point? You will never learn every detail, and you have no need to. Focus on learning the basics. The trick to learn is that while many computer problems may be fixed entirely from experience, most will be unique requiring a little detective work before resolution. This is especially true as today's hardware and software becomes more complex. A firm understanding of the basics and learning how to apply them when troubleshooting is required for support personnel to be successful.

What will often set one PC detective apart from another are the tools they use when collecting information and solving problems.

Tools may range from a proper torque driver to a specialized software diagnostic utility. Additionally, Internet access has become critical in providing access to vendor software updates and drivers as well as comprehensive knowledge bases and frequently asked question lists. To be successful, support personnel must constantly seek a greater understanding of the tools available.

One of the greatest challenges facing PC support specialists is the maximizing of their time. This requires the complete and accurate resolution of problems in the shortest amount of time. Support personnel must have good listening skills when users describe their problems, as well as the ability to gather additional information through specific questions. The gathering of factual information is the first and most important step to resolving any computer problem. The ability to separate and identify what is known, what is suspected, and what is unknown is a critical skill learned with time. Never assume something is or is not the problem before the facts are discovered. Sometimes it requires ruling out what is not the problem to discover the true source of trouble. PC repair is good for anyone who loves a good mystery. You will certainly wind up doing a little head scratching.

Another important way to save time is through the documentation of hardware and software as well as the solutions to resolved problems. This requires time up front, but will provide an indispensable benefit later on. The proper training of end users will also save the support specialist time long-term and is a necessary aspect of insuring their computers proper operation.

The regularly scheduled aspects of the PC support specialist's role will include tasks such as hardware checking and cleaning, implementing virus protection, and backing up needed files and configuration information. These tasks must be performed regularly with the results documented.

The scope and depth of knowledge required of each PC support specialist will largely depend upon the equipment they are responsible for maintaining. Hardware is often the less glamorous side of computers when compared to all the software available today, but it is the critical cornerstone. By supplementing the basics with a thorough understanding of available diagnostic and research tools, most any problem can be resolved.

Support personnel must also work with the end user. The user's productivity is the ultimate goal, not just a working PC. One gauge of a PC support personnel's effectiveness is how little time the end user thinks about their computer.