User support technicians

NOC

22221

provide technical support to users experiencing difficulties with computer hardware, computer applications and communications software.

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Full NOC Description

User support technicians provide first-line technical support to computer users experiencing difficulties with computer hardware and with computer applications and communications software. They are employed by computer hardware manufacturers and retailers, software developers, in call centres and in information technology units throughout the public and private sectors. They are also employed by independent technical support companies or they may be self-employed.

Main Duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

Communicate electronically and in person with computer users experiencing difficulties to determine and document problems experienced

Consult user guides, technical manuals and other documents to research and implement solutions

Reproduce, diagnose and resolve technical problems encountered by users

Provide advice and training to users in response to identified difficulties

Provide business systems, network and Internet support to users in response to identified difficulties

Collect, organize and maintain a problems and solutions log for use by other technical support analysts

Participate in the redesign of applications and other software

May supervise other technical support workers in this group.

Also Known As

call centre agent - technical support
client support representative - systems
computer help desk representative - systems
computer help desk supervisor
hardware installation technician

hardware technical support analyst

help desk technician

software installation technician

software technical support analyst

systems support representative

technical support analyst

technical support supervisor

user support technician

Requirements

Employment Requirements

Completion of a college program in computer science, computer programming or network administration is usually required.

College or other courses in computer programming or network administration are usually required.

Certification or training provided by software vendors may be required by some employers.

Provincial Regulation

Not Provincially Regulated

Employment by Sex

The following graph shows the percentage of men and women working in this occupation in New Brunswick.

Data legend

25.2%

Female

74.8%

Male

Employment by age

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by age group.

Data legend

7.9%

15-24

29.7%

25-34

28.3%

35-44

24.5%

45-54

7.9%

55-64

1.7%

65+

Employment by highest level of education

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by highest level of education achieved.

Data legend

2.3%

No Certificate, Diploma or Degree

22.3%

High School, Diploma or Equivalent

1.8%

Apprenticeship or Trades Certificate or Diploma

47.9%

College or University Below Bachelor Level

25.8%

University - Bachelor Level or Above

Employment by Industry

The following graph shows the industry groups in which the largest shares of persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick are employed. Small percentages for all top three industry groups may suggest employment for this occupation is widely distributed amongst many industry groups.

Data legend

24.3%

Information and cultural industries

20.5%

Professional, scientific and technical services

15.2%

Public administration

39.9%

All Other Industries

Employment by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons employed in this occupation in New Brunswick by which economic region they reside in.

Data legend

5.20%

Northeast

37.60%

Southeast

28.60%

Southwest

21.90%

Central

6.70%

Northwest

Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Annual Average Salary by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the average salary of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Data legend

$58,000

Northeast

$56,400

Southeast

$56,800

Southwest

$56,800

Central

$54,000

Northwest

Economic Regions

Hourly Median Wages by Economic Regions

The following represents the median hourly wage of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Salary

The following shows the average salary of everyone who worked full-time and year-round in this occupation across each of the Atlantic Provinces and nationally.

Employment Outlook

The following represents the number of job openings that are expected to occur in this occupation over the next three and ten years respectively, broken down by openings expected to result from growth (“new jobs”) and openings expected to result from attrition (death and retirements).

Occupational Profiles