It seems like every day that passes brings a new technological advancement. It has gotten to the point where we have a piece of technology at our fingertips several times a day. With technology being such a regular, and even crucial, part of our lives, it can be a big problem when it’s on the fritz.
Beginning a career in technical support could be a wise decision, given the almost daily need for people with this skill set. But technical support is a field that requires knowledge and training, so you’ll need some education to make that career goal happen. Your current job may keep you from getting traditional training at a brick and mortar university, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get the training you need. There are several options for online courses that will teach you what you need to know about technical support. Read on to find out which courses we think are the best options available.
How We Picked Our Courses
Online learning is an increasingly popular choice for gaining knowledge and education. The internet hosts numerous massive online open course websites, or MOOCs, each one of them boasting a multitude of classes. The sheer amount of options can be overwhelming, especially considering the chance that a course might not deliver on all its promises.
We’ve done the hard work for you to select great courses that have a lot to offer. We made sure each course on our list measures up to our criteria so that you know you’re making a good choice for your educational development. These are the factors we considered when selecting our courses:
Cost. A lot of great technical support courses are available at no cost. Chances are, you can gain all the information you need to know without having to pay a cent. However, a course costing money isn’t a reason to leave it off our list. If the benefits that come with the cost of the course are worth the fee, it still made our list.
Length. Time is a precious commodity, so we want to make sure the courses on our list value it as much as you do. We considered what the course offered in terms of material and hands-on activities, and made sure the expected time frame was reasonable given those factors.
Relevancy. Nothing’s more frustrating than investing your time in a course only to realize that a small fraction of the course material was what you were hoping to gain an in-depth education on. We’ve made sure to pick courses that cover the topic of technical support thoroughly so you can be sure that your time will be well spent.
Reputation. Given the popularity of online courses, it’s expected that a lot of different groups have jumped onto the bandwagon. However, not all companies offer the kind of quality course that an employer would find impressive. The courses on our list all come from institutions that have strong reputations in the field.
What Is Technical Support?
The term “technical support” is a generic term that addresses the giving of service and advice to people who use technology, such as mobile phones, computers, televisions and software, for example. Positions in this field may be at a remote call center or they may be doing work on technical devices used in a company or going to service objects or systems at a customer's home.
In your study of technical support, you can expect to learn about topics such as operating systems, troubleshooting, security, system administration, networking and of course, customer service.
Top Three Online Courses in Technical Support
This course is designed to help you understand how help desks and other similar systems work. It also provides some bonus content regarding interviewing skills and building a stronger resume to help you land your first job in the field of technical support. Lectures cover topics such as the main processes of help desks, managing changes and problems, customer service and developing soft skills.
The regular cost of this course is $19.99, though you may be able to catch it on sale. This charge provides you with lifetime access to all course content and includes a certificate of completion. If you aren’t satisfied with the material that is presented, it comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee.
The course consists of an hour and a half of video lectures. It is entirely self-paced, so it is up to you if you finish it in an afternoon or a month or whatever timeline works for you. As the cost of this course is a one-time flat fee, you don’t need to feel pressured to finish it more quickly than you’re comfortable with, so you can watch the videos as many times as you like to make sure you’ve mastered the course content.
This is course specifically aimed at the niche of help desk applications. For that specific purpose, it covers the fundamentals of the information you need to work in this field well. But while help desk support is absolutely in the category of technical support, it is not the only type of in this field. This course may not open as many doors for employment as other courses could.
This course on Udemy has earned a rating of 4.4 stars out of a possible 5. Students who have taken this course praise it for supplying them with a basic knowledge of technical support information that could help them get a job in the industry. The instructor for this course is an experienced industry professional, but he does not have the backing of an accredited academic institution.
The low cost and short timeline make this class an attractive option, particularly if you are only looking to supplement knowledge or education you already have in the information technology field. However, the lack of accreditation and hands-on experiences give this course a lower overall score.
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This program will teach you how to help specifically Microsoft customers. 14 courses provide a comprehensive training program that will prepare you to solve customer issues through diagnosing and troubleshooting the issues they present. Course topics include basic information about hardware and networking, how to install, configure and maintain Windows, and troubleshooting and cloud fundamentals. A final capstone course will allow you to demonstrate what you have learned throughout the program.
Each of the 14 courses in this program costs $99, equaling a total of $1,386 for the entire program. You may take only the courses that interest you; however, you won’t receive a certificate for the program if you don’t complete every course.
This program is entirely self-paced. The program details suggest that each course will require 8-16 hours of effort. The overall amount of time that the program will take to finish is entirely dependent upon your own schedule and the amount of time you have available to devote to the coursework.
This program is catered to interest in technical support, albeit with a specific application to Microsoft products. The information gained from this program is designed to give you the credentials and experience you need to acquire a job in the field.
Microsoft is a well-known and respected name in the information technology industry. Earning a certificate from this company should carry a lot of weight with prospective employers, especially if that employer is Microsoft.
The fact that this program was developed by Microsoft makes it an attractive option for your education goals. However, the higher cost of this program, as well as its specific purpose to prepare you for working with Microsoft is what kept it out of our top-rated spot.
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This unique program is setting a new bar for online education in the field of technical support. Five courses will teach you all the fundamentals you need to know to get a beginning-level job in technical support. You’ll learn through teaching methods such as video lectures, hands-on projects and quizzes. Course topics include fundamental concepts, computer networking, operating systems, system administration and infrastructure services and security.
You can start this program with a free 7-day trial to see if it is a good fit for what you hope to learn. After this trial period, you pay $49 a month until you’ve completed all the courses. If you follow the suggested time frame, the total cost will be just under $400.
Each of the five courses has a suggested time frame of six weeks, as long as you can spend eight to 10 hours per week working on the course lectures and projects. All together, the course should take about eight months to complete. The five courses should be taken in the order recommended, as the information in each course builds on the information learned in previous courses. If there is any information you already know, you may skip the lectures and only take the quizzes and do the projects so you still get credit for the certificate. Being able to skip material you are familiar with will obviously shorten the amount of time it will take to complete the course. Additionally, you may also opt to only take the course or courses that you need rather than taking all five. However, you will only get the certificate if you complete all five courses.
You would be hard pressed to find a program that is more relevant to technical support than this one. This course will equip you with the knowledge and experience you need to get an entry-level position in technical support. You don’t need any prior knowledge or experience, so there’s nothing to delay you from beginning the coursework.
Google is a name that's synonymous with technology. Having a certificate from a course in technical support that has been developed by Google will undoubtedly carry a lot of weight with potential employers.
This program earns our top spot because of its low cost, its acceptable timeline for completion, extreme relevancy to the field of technical support and the quality reputation that Google brings to the table.
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Pick the Course That’s Right for You
All the courses we’ve selected for our list are great courses, and each one has something unique to offer. As such, one course may be a better fit for you needs than another might be.
For example, if you only need some extra knowledge to supplement what you already know at the job you’re currently doing, you may not need to worry about picking a course that comes with the best reputation. But if a potential employer will be perusing your resume, this might be a more heavily weighted factor in your decision making process.
The size of your budget may also help you determine which course is the best one for you. If you have limited funds, one of the lower-cost courses can at least get you started until you have more funding available. But if you aren’t concerned with how much a course will cost, your budget doesn’t have to factor into your decision.
As far as the length and timing of the course goes, you’ll want to pick a course that fits into your schedule. If you currently have a very irregular schedule, a course that is entirely self-paced might work best for you. If you have a set schedule and know you’ll always be available at a certain time, a course with more structure could be a better possibility for you.
And of course, you want a course that teaches exactly what you want to know. Review all the course syllabi carefully to make sure the course you pick is the course that will cover the topics you are primarily interested in.
There are so many choices when it comes to online learning. While those options can make it difficult to make a decision, they can also increase your chances of finding the perfect course to suit your needs. Whether you need a crash course on the fly or you want to earn a full degree in technical support, we hope our list of courses has an option that will work for you.
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