If you’re considering a career as a computer repair technician, you’re probably wondering what the most important skills are.
Of course, there is a heavy emphasis put on the technical skills related to the job, but what about other computer technician skills?
What are employers looking for?
Here are five skills that are frequently required by computer repair employers on job postings throughout the US.
1. Problem Solving and Troubleshooting
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most computer technicians and support specialists spend their time analyzing customers’ computer problems.
Whether diagnosing problems in person or over the phone, troubleshooting is probably the most important computer technician skill.
At times, the solution will not be obvious and will require specific tests to determine the origin of the problem.
For example, if a piece of software isn’t working properly, a computer technician may need to check and make sure that the operating system is updated.
From there, if the problem isn’t fixed, they can explore other causes, such as hardware malfunction, corrupted files, viruses, or malware.
2. Organization
Often, when customers bring or send in computer systems to be fixed, there are a lot of different pieces of information you’ll need to manage.
For example, they may use different passwords for certain programs or have sensitive documents that need to be backed up just in case something goes awry.
Whatever the case may be, one of the most underrated computer technician skills is organization.
It not only helps prevent crucial information from getting lost, but also assists with the efficiency of you and your team when solving hardware or software issues.
3. Communication
While troubleshooting and hardware knowledge are the top requested skills in most job postings, one of the other most important skills of a computer technician is customer service.
In fact, ZipRecruiter found that nearly 25% of all job postings for computer technicians required communication and customer service skills.
This is especially true in customer-facing computer repair services.
One reason that computer technicians need to be good communicators is because many customers have important things at stake if their computer breaks.
Maybe they’ve lost access to essential financial data for their business, or perhaps they had their personal information compromised.
Whatever the case may be, computer technicians need to know how to speak with customers who are stressed and coordinate with other technicians on their team.
4. Time Management
While computer repair requires a lot of patience, it also demands great time management.
Some diagnostic tests take more time than others, and when you have multiple projects going at once, you’ll need to know how to prioritize them.
In addition, you may find that you need to delegate tasks to other technicians to focus on one critical issue. This might happen if you need to do some active troubleshooting or replace a piece of hardware.
5. Documentation
Computer repair and maintenance can be a difficult process. In some cases, it may require multiple rounds of troubleshooting, whether that’s running multiple diagnostics or taking apart hardware.
This is why it is important for aspiring computer technicians to know how to document their process.
Documentation not only helps other technicians understand what has been checked already, but it also serves as proof of work being performed.
Additionally, it helps narrow down the source of issues, especially when noting critical information like processor temperature, CPU usage, RAM usage, network speed, firewall status, passwords, etc.
But despite documentation being such an important skill required by computer repair employers, many job seekers don’t mention it in their resume according to data from ZipRecruiter.
Make sure to highlight this skill once you start looking for a job as a computer technician.
Want to Learn Basic Computer Technician Skills? Enroll in Stratford’s Computer Repair Course
If you’re just starting out in computers or are simply looking to learn the basics of computer repair, consider enrolling in Stratford Career Institute’s course!
We cover all the information you need to know from start to finish, including:
- Operating a computer,
- Terminology,
- Troubleshooting errors,
- Components and their functions,
- BIOS settings,
- Storage devices,
- Video/audio adapters and interfaces,
- Networking, and
- Maintenance.
To learn more about our PC repair course, please contact us or enroll today.
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