Where help desk can take you.
Most IT careers start at the help desk. Tap any role to see what it really means, what you'd do every day, the skills and certifications that matter, and where it leads next.
What the words mean
- Tier 1, 2, 3
- Levels of support. Tier 1 is first contact, Tier 2 handles harder device and system problems, Tier 3 is engineers and vendors.
- Infrastructure
- The systems everything runs on: servers, networks, storage, cloud and identity.
- Sysadmin
- Short for systems administrator: the person who keeps servers, accounts and core systems running.
- Cloud
- Running systems on AWS, Azure or Google Cloud instead of servers in your own building.
- DevOps
- A way of working where the people who build software and the people who run it share tools and automation.
- SRE
- Site reliability engineering: keeping big services reliable by treating operations as a software problem.
- SOC
- Security operations center: the team that watches for attacks and responds.
- MSP
- Managed service provider: a company that runs IT for other companies. A common, fast-paced place to start.
- Certification
- An exam that proves a skill, like CompTIA A+. Helpful for getting interviews; experience still matters most.
Not sure which path fits?
You like fixing things and making them run smoothlySystems and cloud →
You like knowing how everything connectsNetworking →
You like puzzles and catching what's wrongSecurity →
You love automating repetitive workDevOps and SRE →
You enjoy writing code and building toolsSoftware →
You like helping people and leading a teamLeadership →
Paths aren't one-way. Many people move between them, and every path above can start at the help desk. Pay and job outlook links go to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which updates them every year.