What is the job of technical helpdesk?

What are other avenues for career advancement in technology if one has worked in a Helpdesk position for 3-5 years? Any suggested routes for a higher paying job building on the knowledge one has gained through helpdesk support?

• Answer:

  It really depends on what you're interested in and what goals you have. Your interests will allow you to choose a path and yours goals will help you achieve them. Here are some questions I've actually asked myself: Do you love customer care? Do you enjoy training others in customer care? Are you very technical or can you be very relatable? Do you enjoy evangelizing a company, it's products, or both? Are there skills you could acquire or strengthen that would give you the edge in case you switched companies? Do you enjoy challenging yourself or do you like being on cruise control? Are you analytical? Gauging who you are and your own skill set will help you figure out the next step. Because two people can work a help desk for 3 years, but what really sets them apart is what they've achieved in those 3 years. Person A could've learned how to talk to people, while Person B learned that, SQL, HTML, CSS, and Project Management. But it may be moot to compare the two if Person A is happy in the position they're in and Person B wants to advance their career (let's say, to Director of Customer Care or Product Managment). In the startup world, it's not about how long you've worked somewhere, but really about the skills and experienced you honed during your time there. If you want to advance, I recommend getting a good idea of what you're interested in and then looking up job descriptions of companies that are hiring to see what you need to get there. Just to give you an idea, I started off in customer support and am now in product marketing and management. I also know people who went into graphic design and QA.