Let’s start by looking at the different environments where an IT technician can operate and the various people they interact with.
Nowadays, it's almost impossible for an organization of any size or sector to avoid using digital tools and IT systems. Therefore, an IT technician can work pretty much anywhere; large or small organizations, private or public sector, or even for private individuals.
However, their working environment can vary greatly depending on the organization they choose to work in.
Work in an IT Department
Identify the Role of an IT Department
Within an organization, all IT equipment and services are collectively known as IT systems. A dedicated department within the organization (the IT department) manages them.
The IT department is responsible for:
IT infrastructure operations
Technical support
IT asset management and upgrades
System performance improvements
IT departments also need to simultaneously deal with internal requirements and priorities as well as maintenance and technology costs.
IT assets? What are they?
Discover the Structure of an IT Department
The structure is generally hierarchical, and in larger organizations, usually consists of different teams of technical experts:
IT technicians
System and network administrators
Developers and programmers
Project managers and engineers
IT technicians are part of the technical support team, reporting to the support team manager or supervisor. An IT technician can then become more specialized by moving to another department or team, depending on their skills. We’ll come back to career paths in the final part of the course.
Work With Other Teams in the IT Department
As part of your role as an IT technician, you’ll work alongside teams within the IT department.
You’ll be the first line of support, receiving user requests and carrying out the initial diagnosis of problems. In addition, you’ll provide the critical link between employees using the IT equipment and services and the rest of the IT department.
Therefore, you’ll be working with your colleagues on the support team, the administrators looking after the servers, network, security and maintenance, and even software developers if the organization has in-house applications.
Discover Third-party IT Providers
You might also meet third-party or external providers in your daily role as an IT technician.
An organization may use many different external providers. Here’s a list of the most common ones:
Suppliers of hardware and computer consumables
Software development
Companies providing maintenance services (e.g., printers)
Consultants and technical sales consultants
Website hosting providers
Internet service providers
Work for a Digital Services Company
Another type of organization where you can work as an IT technician is a digital services company.
These are companies that specialize in digital technology and IT services. Their role is to provide third-party services to private and public organizations who need or request them, including:
Consultancy
Training
Maintenance
Support
Operations
Design
Among the best-known digital services companies are IBM, McKinsey and Accenture. They employ many subject matter experts (SMEs), known as consultants, and provide outsourced services directly to their customers.
Operate as a Freelancer
It is also possible for an IT technician to work as a freelancer, also known as self-employment or sole-proprietorship.
In this case, the IT technician is both the boss and employee. Therefore, they must secure and maintain their client base and manage their business's financial and administrative side, including customer care, monitoring revenue, social security payments, and taxes.
So, the IT technician is a service provider for their clients, which includes:
Completing client projects.
Calculating quotes and drawing up contracts.
Invoicing projects.
A freelance technician can work on ongoing projects such as annual maintenance contracts for their client’s IT equipment. They could invoice for each service depending on the type or duration of the task.
Whatever the context an IT technician works, they may need to be on-call to ensure service continuity. For example, an IT technician might have to fix a problem on a public holiday, depending on their role, which means they need to be mobile and available!
Let's Recap!
An IT technician:
Can work within different organizational structures, both large and small, and across all sectors.
Can be employed within an IT department or a digital services company or work as a freelancer.
Can work alongside many different IT stakeholders, including peers, technical teams, users, and third-party providers.
Might report to a team leader, a technical expert, or the IT department manager, depending on the organizational structure.
You now understand the different working environments an IT technician may encounter. Let’s move on to their daily activities and main technical skills.
