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Technical Support Fundamentals

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BeginnerCourse

Explore technical support and gain job-ready skills. These beginner-friendly materials provide you with the basics and help you converse knowledgeably with your IT peers regarding technical support roles and responsibilities, infrastructure, and tools used commonly in the field.

Language

  • English

Topic

  • Computer Science & Information Technology

Industries

  • Information Technology

Skills You Will Learn

  • Customer Service, Technical Support, Ticketing Systems, Service Level Agreements (Sla), IT Support

Offered By

  • IBMSkillsNetwork

Estimated Effort

  • 12 hours

Platform

  • SkillsNetwork

Last Update

  • February 11, 2025
About this Course
Are you curious about Information Technology (IT) but not sure where to start? Explore IT fundamentals and gain job-ready skills in this introductory course. These beginner-friendly materials provide you with the basics you need to jump-start your career in IT or help you converse knowledgeably with your IT peers regarding technical support roles and responsibilities, infrastructure, and tools used commonly in the field. 
 
You’ll hear from industry experts discussing career opportunities and pathways; and the technical and soft skills you need to develop for success as an IT support specialist. You will gain insights into performance evaluation, career paths, and the industry-recognized certifications that can propel your technical support career forward. 
  
By taking this course, you learn about how service-level agreements (SLAs) underlie exceptional support experiences for customers and vendors. You explore ticketing systems, a fundamental tool for directing workflow in the IT ecosystem, and their features, benefits, and the lifecycle of a ticket or a support issue. Moreover, you'll immerse yourself in tech support methodologies, frameworks, and the art of effective documentation. The course wraps up with a project using a ticketing system hands-on and simulates the work that IT support specialists and helpdesk technicians perform. 
 
After taking the course, you will have assets to build your portfolio that showcase your analytical skills through practice labs and activities. This course provides hands-on experience with a real-world project to add to your portfolio, demonstrating your expertise in support tools, issue escalation, and resolution. 

Course Syllabus


Module 1: Technical Support Fundamentals 
  • Becoming a Technical Support Professional 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints – Background for Tech Support 
  • Career Opportunities in Technical Support 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints – Getting Started in Tech Support 
  • Technical Support Roles and Responsibilities 
  • Activity: Identifying Technical Support Responsibilities 
  • Median Salary Ranges in Technical Support 
  • Introduction to IT Infrastructure 
  • Summary & Highlights 
  • Practice Quiz:  Industry Professionals’ Guide to Technical Support 
  • Graded Quiz:  Industry Professionals’ Guide to Technical Support 

Module 2: Technical Support Skills and Opportunities 
  • Technical Support Soft Skills 
  • Technical Support Professionalism 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints – Customer Support Mindset 
  • Basics of Technical Skills 
  • Activity: Identifying Skills in Technical Support 
  • Performance Evaluation of Technical Support Professionals  
  • Insiders' Viewpoints - Feedback and Rewarding Experiences 
  • Career Paths and Progression in Technical Support 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints – Career Paths in Tech Support 
  • Industry Certifications for Technical Support 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints - Skills for Success in Technical Support 
  • How to Increase Your Salary as a Tech Support Professional 

Module 3: Support Tools, Support Tiers, and Service-Level Agreements 
  • Overview of Support Channels 
  • Remote Support Tools 
  • Remote Access 
  • Activity: Connecting to a Computer Remotely 
  • Future of Technical Support Tools (Emerging Trends) 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints – Remote Support 
  • Levels of Technical Support 
  • Activity: Classifying Support Levels for Resolving IT Issues 
  • Service-Level Agreements (SLAs)  
  • Insiders' Viewpoints – What are SLAs? 
  • The Escalation Matrix 
  • Activity: Managing Your Escalations 
  • Summary & Highlights 
  • Practice Quiz: IT Support Tiers and Service-Level Agreements 
  • Graded Quiz: IT Support Tiers and Service-Level Agreements 

Module 4: Ticketing Systems 
  • What are Ticketing Systems? 
  • Features and Benefits of Ticketing Systems 
  • Activity: Exploring the Lifecycle of a Ticket 
  • Popular Ticketing Systems 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints - Ticketing Systems 
  • Activity:  Logging a Support Ticket  
  • Introduction to Troubleshooting 
  • Tech Support Methodologies & Frameworks 
  • Insiders' Viewpoints – Advances in Technical Support 
  • Effective Documentation & Communication 
  • A Day in the Life of a Technical Support Specialist 
  • Cheat Sheet for Logging a Ticket

What You'll Learn

  • Differentiate among terms like technical support, IT support, customer support, service-level agreements, and escalation matrix. 
  • Develop both the soft and technical skills required to launch a career in technical support. 
  • Explore the features and benefits of ticketing systems. 
  • Describe popular technical support methodologies and frameworks. 

Recommended Skills Before Taking this Course

This course is suitable for beginners. No prior IT skills are required other than basic computer literacy to take an online course. Also note that this platform works best with current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari.

Instructors

Rav Ahuja

Global Program Director, IBM Skills Network

Rav Ahuja is a Global Program Director at IBM. He leads growth strategy, curriculum creation, and partner programs for the IBM Skills Network. Rav co-founded Cognitive Class, an IBM led initiative to democratize skills for in demand technologies. He is based out of the IBM Canada Lab in Toronto and specializes in instructional solutions for AI, Data, Software Engineering and Cloud. Rav presents at events worldwide and has authored numerous papers, articles, books and courses on subjects in managing and analyzing data. Rav holds B. Eng. from McGill University and MBA from University of Western Ontario.

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Amy Norton

Instructional Designer, Professor, Knowledge Engineer

I am an instructional designer, a college educator, and a knowledge engineer with experience in technical support. I strive to create dynamic, learner-centered content that builds off of my experience and incorporates knowledge and guidance from experts. My goal is to create engaging, equitable, and accessible learning experiences. I love learning about new technology and sharing my knowledge with others.

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