What Does A Support Specialist Do

Support specialists work with end-users of software and systems to provide technical support and assistance for their software, hardware, or technical problems including connection, slow performance, inability to access data, or inefficient programs. They walk customers through software installation and launch newly-installed programs for the first time. They send technical documentation to customers and end-users and make recommendations to employees or customers for hardware changes if a computer cannot support a particularly needed software program.

Support specialists elevate difficult cases that they cannot resolve to support technicians or a senior analyst and sometimes remotely take over the control of a user’s computer. They provide technical support to organizations by managing, maintaining, and troubleshooting their IT systems and communicate with co-workers to diagnose problems. They prioritize a workload to ensure the most critical issues are resolved first and document standard support procedures that co-workers may follow. Support specialists need a degree in computer science or information technology and program certification.

What responsibilities are common for Support Specialist jobs?

* Assist clients to identify their individual goals and interests.

* Serve as backup for the intake scheduler when needed.

* Retrieve incoming mail. open, stamp received, and distribute to staff.

* Initiate action plans to improve or maintain product performance.

* Directly manage and lead senior, mid and junior developers.

* Assist in various office procedures. i.e. copying, faxing, typing.

* May create or enhance documentation throughout the support process.

* Retrieve messages left overnight with the answering service.

* Ensure adherence to industry and government standards while identifying exceptions.

* Prioritize work and complete assignments in a timely manner.

* Order paper, toner, and other supplies per site par levels.

* Analyze and recover failed batch processes and scheduling issues as required.

* Coordinate customer upgrades, track products and revise and repair history.

* May review daily processing logs and may set or revise schedules.

* Prepare and monitor assigned budgets.

* Maintain tidiness and stock supplies in common work areas.

* Perform transportation needs for clients on an as needed basis.

* Support security maintenance, including anti-virus software updates and patch management.

What are the typical qualifications for Support Specialist jobs?

* Bachelor’s or Graduate’s Degree in business or computer science, or equivalent experience.

* Comfortable gathering and disseminating information.

* Computer literacy and attention to detail.

* Can interface with a variety of personalities and rank and file employees.

* Dedicated to problem solving and process analysis.

* Demonstrated leadership skills and able to work in a group or alone.