The Creative Problem Solver’s Guide to the IT Help Desk

IT is a profession that’s built around the hard science of computing, so for those casual users who haven’t spent much time investigating the ins and outs of computers, it might sound a little dry. Or intimidating. But while there’s plenty to learn about the way computers and networks function in order to manage the technology in a professional environment, hard facts are hardly the half of it. A help desk technician or technical support specialist who’s been in the game for even just a little while can tell you that there’s an art to IT: the better part of providing high-quality service is bringing knowledge to life with creative thinking comptia jobs.

Every help desk ticket poses its own unique challenges, so being able to think on your feet and use creative problem-solving skills is a key to success in IT at every step of the game. This is why the latest update of CompTIA A+, the foundational entry-level IT certification, tests as heavily on the ability to think through problems as it does on the knowledge it takes to recognize them.

If you’re considering IT as a career path, don’t fear that you might be setting yourself up for something boring. Help desk-level IT work is anything but that. To understand how, take a look at the following ways creative problem-solving skills come into play, every day, at the help desk.  

Figuring Out What an End User Means Versus What They Say  

For the tier 1 help desk technician, simply figuring out what the problem is can take a lot of creative horsepower. That’s because, depending on the end user’s technical abilities, what they ask is not always what they mean.

One of the most common things a help desk pro hears is, “My computer doesn’t work.” This could mean a lot of things – and drilling down to figure out the simplest problem can be a complicated process.

For instance, if an end user complains about a cursor that won’t move around on the screen, that could indicate a computer that has momentarily locked up, a USB mouse that’s not plugged in or even the presence of malware.  Help desk pros even run into people who confuse an internet browser window with network connectivity.

It’s all part of the gig, and managing it requires IT pros to be able to put themselves in the shoes of the less tech-savvy – to think broadly about what’s happening on the other end of the call or chat, reverse-engineer the thought process and figure out what’s actually going on, and then communicate a solution in the way that makes the most sense.