Learn the systems you’re supporting. Understand how they work and it will save hours looking up information if you have it in your head. You should have a good understanding of Windows or Mac operating systems, or both. You should have no problem accomplishing simple tasks such as adding a printer, changing the display resolution and locating the status of network connections.

I am not saying you need to know everything, but if you need to ping an IP address, find a MAC address, or change the monitor’s resolution, this should not leave you clueless. As a bonus, these are often questions asked in interviews for IT Support jobs.

Touch-typing is not a much have. I know plenty of techs who hunt and peck for keys. Even I do not touch type properly. I don’t rest my fingers on the home row and click merrily along. But I do type very quickly and with a high degree of accuracy and can map out the QWERTY keyboard in my head so I know where my fingers are landing.

I still look at the keyboard sometimes and I still make mistakes. But I know the keyboard in my head and my fingers can fly across it. Typing speed doesn’t hold slow me down. Especially when documenting the work I have done. The quicker I can enter it, the fresher it is in my head and I can get back to helping other customers.

While this isn’t an essential skill for working in Desktop Support or other areas of IT Support, this is absolutely vital if you’re working in a Help Desk or Call Center environment. There, the emphasis is one speed and response time and the faster you type, the more call you can take and the happier your manager will be with you.