The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Technical Support Specialist (L1)
2-3 yearsSkills to master
- Foundational product knowledge, efficient use of help desk tools, basic troubleshooting, clear customer communication, and consistent adherence to SLAs. You've got the basics down.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently high CSAT scores, showing you make customers happy.
- Successful resolution of a wide range of known issues, proving your reliability.
- Proactive contribution to the knowledge base, showing initiative.
- Demonstrating initiative to tackle more complex problems and a hunger to learn.
- 2
Junior Developer / QA Engineer
2-4 yearsSkills to master
- Understanding of codebases, debugging techniques, software testing methodologies, and a customer-centric mindset. You know how software is built and how it breaks.
You're ready to move on when
- A desire to move into a more customer-facing role, applying your technical skills to real-world problems.
- Strong problem-solving skills and a knack for identifying root causes.
- The ability to explain technical concepts clearly to non-technical users, bridging the gap between dev and customer.
- 3
Product Specialist / Implementation Consultant
3-5 yearsSkills to master
- Deep product expertise, understanding of customer use cases, project management basics, and experience in technical configuration and setup. You know the product inside out.
You're ready to move on when
- A strong desire to move into a reactive problem-solving role, enjoying the challenge of fixing things when they go wrong.
- Excellent diagnostic skills and a knack for getting to the root of technical issues, even complex ones.
- A proven ability to manage customer expectations and communicate effectively during challenging situations.