Career in 1st Line support!

As others have said, attitude, aptitude and relevant experience are what I look for when recruiting 1st line.

1st line is a great way to get your foot in the door, but I wouldn't want a career there. As #20 says, it's a great way to learn to hate your fellow human being.
 
If you don't have any experience these exams show that you have at least some technical knowledge as they cover the fundamentals. Save your money, the COPMtia and MCPs can be learnt from books.

1st line is not somewhere you want a career in, the level of technical knowledge required is no where near as difficult as dealing with the end users.

MW
 
That's my plan is to apply for 1st line support to get my foot through the door and progress from their.
I've been working in retail at TOPMAN for 3 years so believe me when I say it, I know wha you mean by hating the human being haha.
I already have great customer service skills and phone skills :)
 
The course Which was offered to me was itonlinelearning and it doesn't mention anything about the exams being included which has really put me off.

I hope I'm not cheeky for asking but will anyone be kind enough reviewing my CV and give me some feed back on structure and if it suitable for IT First line support?
It would help me so much and give me a bit of confidence. I can email my CV to you.
 
What you want to do is an MCP in 7 and an MCP in Server 2008/2012 etc...

After that if your interested you have options:

Basic level: Comptia Network +, Comptia Linux +

If you want to get serious about it and prepare your self for earning more money in more challenging jobs:

MCSE, CCNA or go do a Linux course like the LPIC 1 and 2.
 
OP, do you want to do 1st line support for end users or corporate? There is a HUUUUGE difference between the two!

Corporate isn't too bad - expect queries about shared drives, shared printers, group policy, password resets, installing ad-hoc programs, redirecting phone extensions, that sort of thing. Little-to-no abuse from the callers.

End users, however :rolleyes: - expect lots of calls from irate starfish about spyware/virii, forgotten wifi passwords, damaged USB ports (and other user damage), printer paper jams, how to replace printer cartridges, support for products that we haven't supplied (e.g. iPods), and blame games when a customer has ran up a £5000 debt on eBay. Expect LOTS of abuse from the customers.
 
Well with the situation I'm in I will be fine with end users and corporate as I'm used to abuse from customers at my current job haha.
Obviously Corp would be better but right now I can't be picky and I just want to get the experience on the go :)
 
I have recruited many 1st line people over the years, aptitude, willingness to learn, and by far the most important ... Great communication skills.

IT skills can be taught to a goat, the rest cannot.
 
The suggestion about trying to get into a school as a technician is a great one. Schools typically have small IT teams so even if you're employed as a 1st line technician you'll get chance to do loads of work and you'll learn a lot. I'd definitely try to go down that route if you can, especially as most schools value enthusiasm and desire more than ability when it comes to 1st line support.
 
i was thinking of a school but thought I wouldn't have much experience.

Well I came off the phone to this recruitment agency and after asking some questions I feel like all they wanted was the money for the course. They did have exams but he said it was more like final assessments :/.
It's still an option and it will benefit me but everything I know about computers is self-taught. You all have gave me guidance on how to teach myself even more so what can stop me now? I have the drive already :).
 
I managed to land a 1st line support role a few years back without having any formal IT qualifications at all - not all employers looks for such things as they're more keen on finding someone with the right attitude and willingness to learn. I was in that job for six years and have jumped ship to a 2nd-line support role with again very little in the way of formal IT qualifications and seem to be getting pushed towards Sharepoint and learning technologies (I work in a University) so it would seem that it's onwards and upwards!
 
sreeve1993 said:
i was thinking of a school but thought I wouldn't have much experience.
Lies, go for it. I left College with DDM in a BTEC Diploma in ICT and I went straight into a Secondary school as an IT Assistant Technician with no former experience in it. I got the job. I am only part time and the pay is terrible but the experience and the environment is great and the teams are generally smaller so you can get a more hands on experience. I then picked up in addition a role as IT Technician at another infant school.

Just apply for jobs, show interest, state you're willing to take courses if you get asked in an interview or see if there are any apprenticeships near you? Fujitsu offered my friend one and he got 15k first year plus training and bumped up to 25k and is now training into security.
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Thank you everyone for the help I don't think I'm going to get this course as it's clearly about money as he asked if I'd know about a decision by the end of the day as there's an offer (typical). I work in sales.

I was wondering would anyone consider taking a look at my CV? :)
 
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I started in a school, great place to get wide range of experience.

I now work in a very specialised area of IT and have been for the last 10 years (or more.. erk!!)

Oh and I have no formal IT qualifications or even a degree.. No one asks me about qualifications anymore :D
 
I got in the IT Industry through an Apprenticeship Scheme. Could be another area for you to look at if you can afford to take the lower wage until the end of the training. Some don't pay too bad if you find the right place.

I went straight into a 2nd/3rd line Support role. Just left the company I did the apprenticeship with now starting at another company doing the same role on Monday.

The IT apprenticeships are 18-24 months term usually but they're that easy you can finish them a lot earlier. I finished mine in 10 months could have been done quicker but was told to slow down because You're not allowed to be legally signed off by the college/training provider for 12 months now so if you finish earlier you literally just have to hang about until that time really. It's a good way to get experience and get into the industry though if you can live off the wage for 12 months or so! :)

And no. You don't need those cert's for 1st line support if any at all. Microsoft are probably the best ones to look at if you're wanting to get a few on you're CV. :)
 
xxalxx said:
I have recruited many 1st line people over the years, aptitude, willingness to learn, and by far the most important ... Great communication skills.

IT skills can be taught to a goat, the rest cannot.
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What kind of goats have you been hiring?

But yes, communication skills important, as are things like reliability, and having a good judgement and an appreciation of what's important.
 
Do the two CCNA exams - buy the books off Amazon and you should be able to find extra stuff on the web to help. You'd easily get a 1st line job with that and little experience. after a couple of year of exp then you can move roles and earn more money. Whatever most people think - that CCNA exam is a fairly good set standard in understanding networking (if you are interested in that side of things)
 
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