Service Desk Analyst vs First Line Support Engineer

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by Cerulean, Jul 14, 2015.

  1. Cerulean

    Cerulean New Member

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    Hi Guys,

    I'm currently looking for my first proper technical IT job. I was wondering if someone can shed some light on what the differences are between a "Service/Helpdesk Desk Analyst" and a First Line IT Support Engineer.

    Are these terms interchangeable or are there actual differences in the duties and nature of the role?

    I tried searching these forums and elsewhere on the net but could not find any useful information on the matter.
     
  2. Jaron78

    Jaron78 Gigabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    To be honest @Cerulean, it all depends on the company from my experience.
    Id say that Service/Helpdesk Desk Analyst is another way of saying First Line IT Support.

    My role when I started at my current job was Desktop Support, recently it was changed to 2nd Line Service Support despite it being exactly the same role. I had an Interview recently where the role was for Remote Desktop Support Engineer. It turns out that its pretty much exactly what I am doing now, just with a fancier title.
     
  3. Coupe2T

    Coupe2T Megabyte Poster

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    I would say it's mostly interchangeable also, just depends how the company label it etc.

    Have they not provided a job description and responsibilities? Should give you a good idea if it is the same sort of thing that you are looking for.
     
    Certifications: ECDL, Does that Count!?!
  4. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    Good question I have wondered about this myself.. I find when helpdesk is used in the job description the role seems lighter.
     
  5. Cerulean

    Cerulean New Member

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    Thanks for the replies, it is pretty much what I expected.

    They did provide job specifications but when I went to the interview yesterday for a "Service Desk Analyst", they would refer to "progression into desktop support" which I thought I would be doing as a Service Desk Analyst anyway.

    I think what Juelz said is pretty much accurate - helpdesk/service desk seem to be less technical (perhaps dealing with more "user errors" or requests rather than technical issues).

    Thanks for your help!

    If anyone else has anything further to contribute - please feel free.
     
  6. Apexes

    Apexes Gigabyte Poster

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    our firm uses similar.

    our service desk have level 1 and 2, all of which are title Service Desk Analyst Level 1 & 2

    Now, alot of their work is managing the service desk, chasing up tickets that have been assigned elsewhere with no response. So i'd say that was more of an administration role with ITIL, with some technical work. Their access rights are restricted to what they need for basic technica support. password resets, mailbox additions, app password resets etc.

    1st line support engineer - i'd associate that as the guy that goes to users desks and deals with issues such as hardware, printers, screen broke etc.

    But - it'll vary on each company

    Good luck either way :)
     
    Certifications: 70-243 MCTS: ConfigMgr 2012 | MCSE: Private Cloud
  7. Cerulean

    Cerulean New Member

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    Thanks guys!

    Just to give you an update - I got the job!

    So I will find out the difference for myself soon :)
     
    Juelz and Jaron78 like this.
  8. Apexes

    Apexes Gigabyte Poster

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    weyhey, nice one! :)
     
    Certifications: 70-243 MCTS: ConfigMgr 2012 | MCSE: Private Cloud
  9. Jaron78

    Jaron78 Gigabyte Poster Forum Leader

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    Excellent news, well done. Let us know how it goes.
     
  10. Juelz

    Juelz Gigabyte Poster

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    Congrats! What certs do you have?
     
  11. Cerulean

    Cerulean New Member

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    Thanks guys!

    I don't have any certs as of yet. I'm working towards CompTIA A+

    I start my new role next week :)
     
  12. crazy horse

    crazy horse Byte Poster

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    Congrats on getting the job. :hurrah:

    I'll echo what others have said in that, job titles although different, can be used to describe the same or similar role. To ensure you're comparing like for like ask each job for their roles and responsibilities (if it's not included with the advert) and ask questions during the interview process to nail down exactly what the job is (you'd be surprised at how different a job can be on paper compared to reality).

    All the best for your new role and good luck with the A+.
     
  13. SimonD
    Honorary Member

    SimonD Terabyte Poster

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    Like others have said those two are very often interchangeable whereas desktop support is usually the next step on.

    Service Desk \ First Line support is just that, it's the person who is the first point of contact for any issues the users have, they either call a service desk number or in larger organisations can go to a dedicated support desk to raise issues, these could be simple password resets to hardware replacements etc, whereas a desktop engineer would usually go to the desk to assist.

    It's usually a step up from service desk to desktop (EUC) engineer although some people are more than happy just being first line telephone support and have no desire to progress further.
     
    Certifications: CNA | CNE | CCNA | MCP | MCP+I | MCSE NT4 | MCSA 2003 | Security+ | MCSA:S 2003 | MCSE:S 2003 | MCTS:SCCM 2007 | MCTS:Win 7 | MCITP:EDA7 | MCITP:SA | MCITP:EA | MCTS:Hyper-V | VCP 4 | ITIL v3 Foundation | VCP 5 DCV | VCP 5 Cloud | VCP6 NV | VCP6 DCV | VCAP 5.5 DCA
    Cerulean likes this.
  14. zxspectrum

    zxspectrum Terabyte Poster Forum Leader Gold Member

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    Well done on the job front mate.

    To help you out you may want to use something like onenote or my fave at the mo google keep. First year in my role i had to write a lot down and i had these on hand to refer too. There are 3 of us that support 1500 or so users and we can get busy as well as helping out with other tasks that are not IT, so its safe to say my head was all over the place.

    Obviously Im settled in, but i still find myself using GK, its just very handy.

    Ed
     
    Certifications: BSc computing and information systems
    WIP: 70-680
    Cerulean likes this.
  15. Cerulean

    Cerulean New Member

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    Thanks for all your advice. I'll keep it in mind.

    I already have some experience doing an apprenticeship as a first line support engineer for 8 months and we supported thousands of external users. Now I'd like to see how the service desk analyst role compares.

    From the job description, it does seem to involve very similar duties.
     
  16. crazy horse

    crazy horse Byte Poster

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    Agree on the OneNote / Google Keep or Evernote for storing all that information you're going to be gathering in your new job.

    The great thing that made me convert from paper is the search functionality. That ability to go "I think I went through this 3 weeks ago", go in to my OneNote search for topic, BINGO. In my notepad, I might have found it, or more than likely, I'd have moved to a new pad and not be able to find it at point of need.
     
    Cerulean likes this.
  17. crazy horse

    crazy horse Byte Poster

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    Agree on the OneNote / Google Keep or Evernote for storing all that information you're going to be gathering in your new job.

    The great thing that made me convert from paper is the search functionality. That ability to go "I think I went through this 3 weeks ago", go in to my OneNote search for topic, BINGO. In my notepad, I might have found it, or more than likely, I'd have moved to a new pad and not be able to find it at point of need.
     

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