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Does Your IT Team Need a Desktop Support Analyst?

As your business grows, you need skilled IT professionals to help you configure, deploy, and maintain your company’s essential technical equipment. If that’s too daunting a task to take on yourself, consider hiring a desktop support analyst!

This article will explain what a desktop support analyst is, common attributes of a job description for the role, an average salary range, and more—all the information you need to make a seamless hire.

Let’s get started.

What’s a Desktop Support Analyst?

Simply put, a desktop support analyst provides technical assistance to computer users. They’re responsible for diagnosing and resolving hardware and software issues, installing applications, setting up user accounts, and other technical tasks. They’re usually part of a service or help desk as part of an IT team’s overall operations, and this role is typically a level up from an entry-level desktop support technician.

The exact job description for a desktop support analyst can vary from company to company, but generally, their most common duties include:

  • Configuring and deploying computer workstations, laptops, routers, modems, printers, mobile devices, and other similar devices
  • Performing routine maintenance and upgrades
  • Ensuring all computer systems are operating efficiently
  • Documenting support incidents and resolution attempts
  • Training end-users on how to use software applications and hardware devices
  • Participating in software and hardware reviews

What Skills to Look for in a Desktop Support Analyst

To be successful in their role and complete their job duties, desktop support specialists need a unique skill set—one that can be transferable across many service desk roles. This includes a combination of technical (or hard) skills and interpersonal ones.

Soft Skills

For starters, desktop support analysts should have excellent problem-solving skills, independence in their work, strong customer service skills, and a friendly attitude. A candidate who possesses all four is likely to tackle your organization’s IT issues with efficiency and ease the minds of frustrated end users.

These aren’t the only traits you should look for, however. In your next interview for a desktop support analyst, look for signs that they have a few (preferably all) of the below qualities:

  • Patience
  • Empathy
  • Strong communication
  • Active listening
  • Adaptability

Technical Skills

Besides those key soft skills, your candidate should ideally have experience with Microsoft 365 products (or other productivity software you use), networking, security protocols and standards, basic hardware and software troubleshooting, and an understanding of computer operating systems.

Desktop vs. Help Desk Support

You may be wondering, ‘what’s the difference between desktop and help desk support? Which one should I hire?’ It’s a common question, since experts in these spaces share many similarities and the titles are often used interchangeably. But ultimately, the difference lies in their scope of work.

A desktop support expert mainly aids end-users experiencing issues with their physical tech (laptops, desktops, printers, etc.). These analysts are the employees providing hands-on support (often on-site).

A help desk support specialist, on the other hand, can tackle a broader range of issues—and they can usually be resolved remotely. Think network connection, password recovery, and things like that.

An organization’s help desk can also act as a location to collect support requests. When an employee needs help with their desktop, for example, they’ll probably go to the help desk first, where they’ll send the request along to the next available desktop support analyst.

Do Desktop Support Analysts Need a College Degree?

Many employers in the past have required desktop support specialists to have at least an associate’s degree in IT or a related field. But the time for degree-based hiring may be slowing down, and more businesses are prioritizing skills and experience before formal education.

What’s their experience level? What technical capabilities and certifications do they possess? Do they have interpersonal skills? These are all questions that may be helpful to ask alongside checking in on other qualifications like school.

Just a few of many helpful certifications include:

  • CompTIA A+
  • CompTIA Network+
  • Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician (MCDST)

How Much Does A Desktop Support Analyst Earn?

Based on data from Glassdoor, the estimated yearly total pay of a desktop support analyst in the U.S. is $62,430. This is only an average, however, and pay can be more or less depending on their industry, experience level, location, and other factors.

Interview Questions to Ask Your Desktop Support Candidate

Now you know what to look for in a desktop support analyst, but how do you elicit that information from a candidate? You can check their LinkedIn profile, read their resume and cover letter, but mostly, you need to ask the right interview questions..

Here are some strategic interview questions to ask your next desktop support candidate:

  • What’s your experience with remote technical support?
  • What makes you qualified for this position?
  • Can you explain a complex technical issue you recently resolved?
  • Have you ever experienced a time where you could not solve a technical issue right away? How did you tackle that situation?
  • How do you document technical incidents and solutions for future reference?
  • How have you handled a situation where a user is frustrated or angry due to a technical issue?
  • What’s your experience troubleshooting computer hardware and software issues?
  • How do you prioritize your workload when you receive several support requests at once?
  • Do you have any personal methods for monitoring and managing system performance and reliability?
  • What’s your experience with backup and disaster recovery solutions?

Get Started on Hiring a Desktop Support Analyst Today

A desktop support analyst plays a vital part in maintaining an organization’s IT infrastructure. By hiring these professionals, you’re ensuring that your business’s tech is effectively managed and your employees stay productive.

Looking to Hire a Desktop Support Analyst?

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