Your experience working with computers and earning a technical certification can help you become qualified for employment as any of the following:
- Field technician
- Remote technician
- Bench technician
Technicians in different computer careers work in different environments. However, the skills required by each career can be very similar. The degree to which different skills are needed vary from one job to the next. When you train to become a computer technician, you are expected to develop the following skills:
- Building and upgrading computers
- Performing installations
- Installing, configuring, and optimizing software
- Performing preventive maintenance
- Troubleshooting and repairing computers
- Communicating clearly with the customer
- Documenting customer feedback and the steps involved in finding the solution to a problem
A field technician, as shown in Figure 1, works in a variety of locations, including private homes, businesses, and schools. You might work for one company and support only the computer and network systems it owns. Alternatively, you might work for a company that provides onsite computer equipment repair for a variety of companies and customers. In either of these situations, you need both excellent troubleshooting skills and customer service skills, because you are in regular contact with customers and work on a wide variety of hardware and software.
If you are a remote technician, you might work at a help desk answering calls or emails from customers who have computer problems, as shown in Figure 2. You create work orders and communicate with the customer to try to diagnose and repair the problem. Good communication skills are valuable, because the customer must clearly understand your questions and instructions. Some help desks use software to connect directly to a customer’s computer to fix the problem. As a remote technician, you might work on a team of technicians from a business site or in your own home.
As a bench technician, you typically do not work directly with customers. Bench technicians are often hired to perform computer warranty service in a central depot or work facility, as shown in Figure 3.