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
Service Desk Analyst / L1 Support Engineer
1-3 yearsSkills to master
- Ticket management, basic troubleshooting, clear client communication, understanding of service desk tools.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently resolving L1 issues without escalation.
- Proactively identifying trends in incoming tickets.
- Receiving positive feedback on client interactions.
- Demonstrating a keen interest in understanding the 'why' behind issues.
- 2
Junior Operations Coordinator
1-2 yearsSkills to master
- Monitoring system alerts, following runbooks, basic data analysis for operational reports, coordinating minor tasks.
You're ready to move on when
- Reliably executing operational tasks and escalating appropriately.
- Showing initiative in improving daily operational checks.
- Good understanding of our core operational systems and their interdependencies.
- 3
IT Support Engineer
2-4 yearsSkills to master
- Deeper technical troubleshooting, system administration basics, understanding of network and server infrastructure, problem diagnosis.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully resolving more complex technical issues.
- Strong understanding of system architecture and dependencies.
- Ability to work independently on technical problems.
- Interest in the broader impact of technical issues on business services.