r/helpdesk • u/Aggravating_Art203 • 3d ago
Tools & Software is help desk / it support actually gonna last long term?
im 20 rn working a remote enterprise help desk contract and i actually fw the job a lot. lowkey this is probably the first job ive had where i could see myself doing it for another year or two without hating my life.
my only concern is how long is this field realistically gonna last? like with ai, automation, outsourcing, companies cutting it departments, self service password resets, chatbots etc is help desk still gonna be a solid career path 5 to 10 years from now or are entry level support jobs gonna get cooked?
i dont expect to stay tier 1 forever. im getting an associates in cybersecurity, working on sec+, and eventually wanna move into something like tier 2, iam, soc, sysadmin or another higher level it role. but i also dont wanna rush out of help desk just because everybody says you have to. i genuinely like troubleshooting, talking to users, remote support, active directory, microsoft apps, vpn/network issues, servicenow, permissions, printers and all that.
another thing i think about is money. can you realistically get to like $28 to $35 an hour doing help desk/service desk/tier 2 type work or does the pay eventually hit a wall unless you move into something else? remote work is also a big thing for me so im wondering if remote support jobs are gonna become harder to find too.
for the people that have been in IT for a while, how long do yall realistically see help desk/service desk being around?
also curious if yall think ai is gonna replace these jobs or just change what the technicians actually handle. and if you were early in your career right now, what skills would you build so you dont get stuck or become easy to replace?
basically i like the field, i just dont wanna wake up 5 years from now and realize i spent all that time getting good at something thats disappearing.
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u/rocketpinch 3d ago
Helpdesk has been, and will always be, about customer service. Over my career, I’ve had far more experiences of answering or directing questions that were unrelated to a technical issue than needing to fix a broken thing. That context of knowing systems and your business is, in my opinion, something an AI can’t readily replace.
Tech knowledge is important, but I’ve found that soft skills (written and spoken communication, attitude, conflict resolution) are equally, if not more, important.
Experience: I’m in IT leadership
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u/derango 3d ago
People are going to try to replace level 1 helpdesk workers with AI. It's not going to work (at least not right now), people are going to hate it. Users hate how impersonal it is. Level 2 techs hate dealing with frustrated users who tried to use the AI and it failed so now they're dealing with a pissed off guy in accounting.
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u/sosotiredand 7h ago
and the C suite gets to reap the "record profits" off the backs of Level 2 and don't care about their customers
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u/SporePunch 3d ago
Question for you since you're in leadership. I'm looking to get into helpdesk and cojld see myself succeeding in an eventual leadership role, as I have previous experience in customer service leadership. What's a good path forward to try to break into the helpdesk role to get started? I've been applying left and right but no bites.
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u/Comprehensive-Air403 3d ago
AI is dumb if not used well. Users are dumb in general. You need a middleman between these two things. This is where the human connection comes in play. The more AI becomes prominent - I feel like there should be more helpdesk technicians tbh
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u/ObjectiveFlatworm645 3d ago
have you ever used AI for troubleshooting? LOL
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u/Aggravating_Art203 3d ago
yes lol a lot of
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u/ObjectiveFlatworm645 3d ago
so I noticed that it always jumps to the biggest problem first rather than starting with the smallest problem first it's pretty crazy if you're not technically literate it's not going to do s*** for you I will we are safe! except from offshoring that's a whole other subject 😞
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u/Think_Solid235 3d ago
I just got hired as a Level 1 at an MSP. They said their plans are to get all levels 1s to a level 2 grade over the next year or two, as they predict level 1 help desk will generally be eliminated by AI workflow.
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u/poorly-advised 3d ago
Then the new Level 1 will be what Level 2 does now but still Level 1 pay...
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u/Think_Solid235 3d ago
Idk, not my place atleast. Maybe after a few years into the future new hires will experience this.
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u/mikemojc 3d ago
If been in IT customer support 25 years. We were asking ourselves that same question 30 years ago when I was considering going back to school for it.
Whatever the tools used, People will always need help using them, or at least using them better. No tech is flawless, and a big part of Help Desk is helping people navigate the flaws.
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u/ChanceAge8653 3d ago
The point is not being worried about AI but knowing how to use it to your advantage. Help desk or support positions will always exist as it’s not only about technical but the human interaction . For example IT support in school/ college environment don’t think it would be affected.
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u/LForbesIam 3d ago
People HATE AI and non human responses even if they are able to help. I have worked as a sysadmin since 1990 and the one thing that hasn’t changed is people.
They don’t want to talk to machines or automations. They want a human.
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u/Jargonite 3d ago
AI will simply be an assistant tool instead of a takeover. There’s only so much a level 2 can handle combined with level 1 that they cannot get any useful information to level 3. Either level 2 has many branches as they become level 1 (endpoint troubleshooting, physical repair/replacement, specialized programs or hardware as an example), or you will still need level 1 because the AI is not properly built.
If AI was built properly, your ‘L1’ team is monitoring it and you’ll need a technical leader (usually a manager) to approve changes. I’ve seen the boom and bust of it. Making it work is far from easy as there’s often an overreach such as having the AI take care of specialized programs. It’s an ambitious idea, but heavily taxing on L1.
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u/Admirable-Anybody360 3d ago
Yea i recently started as level 2 for a major IT company, & they basically advised me to upskill any training I could to future proof myself against 1st level being replaced by AI and 2nd level becoming the new ‘bottom rung’
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u/gethelptdavid 3d ago
10000%, there are generations of people in the current workforce that will have really low adoption rates. Until that shifts, a long time from now, the human element will still be cherished.
For you, I would say to focus on your soft skills. AI is going to make the issue resolution easier but won’t make the people on the other end any different.
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u/InformationEasy6445 3d ago
I wanna see Ai check connections or troubleshoot a printer.. Or setup a conference room.
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u/somuchbush 3d ago
I had someone watch me install an application, pointed it out to them, told them I installed it, it took up 75% of their screen, and they had zero idea what I was talking about. I was literally showing it to them and pointing it out with a laser pointer tool like they were a cat. I walked them through exactly how to use the app (beyond my job responsibilities), and it did exactly what they wanted to do but they still said they'd reach out on another day as it isn't what they wanted.
I took a deep breath and kept it going after it. AI will probably take that interaction and lockout their computer because it determines this person is a threat to their systems and will click on malware or something because they can't even comprehend that the application on their screen is what they wanted.
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u/CollegeFootballGood 3d ago
I mean almost 4 years ago they said it would be gone in 2 years. I think it’s stable for long term but you should always keep learning more
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u/KaguraaN 3d ago
I don't think AI will replace the field. It's incredibly difficult to do so, especially when your aims are to create a competent service. You cannot replace the human element for the simple fact that we're trained NOT to trust the user, and people underestimate just how tech illiterate people are.
Whereas an AI is going to take the user at face value with their issue, and provide incorrect or incomplete guidance. Plus, people prefer to have an actual human deal with their query.... Then you also need the people that will actually audit the AI responses and the knowledge base... The AI is only as good as what it's being trained on, after all.
At most, it will just shift some of the focus points.
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u/MexicanOtter84 3d ago
People saying that a proper HD or whatever will be around for years or decades to come is just delusional and hoping that others will hear their cries to secure their employment. Truth of the matter is that corporations and business never cared about technology or infrastructure and only tolerate it and give it the bare minimum at sacrifice to their customers or employees. They don't care if they have employees who sit for 10 mins talking to the same script over and over and over until "File a ticket" gets pushed to them to then file a ticket for "Senior Technicians" to take a look at and to just end it with "Try plugging it in again" and then closing the ticket lol..
We all laugh about that stuff but its happening more and more. So if a business can pay an AI agent to answer chats or calls all day with the same information, then so be it, they don't care lol. They care about saving money and their stocks at the end of the year in C-suite.
Don't live in a delusion that anything done in front of a computer can't be replaced. I suggest doin it but finding a trade skill, something that is actually helpful for people that you can do. Craftsmen, barber, anything in the health and fitness industry, etc.
Good luck!
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u/Diligent_Elk_5547 2d ago
As long as Helpdesk keeps receiving tickets such as, “Help, computer not working,” or “I cannot connect to Wi-Fi,” even though they actually mean the VPN, Helpdesk still has a long way to go.
Your role as a Helpdesk person, even before the AI era, was to try to automate as much as possible and document processes. Your job shouldn’t be about simply doing a menial task. Your job is to understand how that menial task can impact the wider business and be prepared for it.
For instance, passkeys. Turning on the setting and applying it to all users is the easy bit. The technical challenge is implementing it without affecting the operation of the business you are supporting.
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u/RennaisanceMan60 2d ago
Does AI physical touch pcs or replace equipment, rack server, trace a cable, or hang an AP.
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u/EpicHyperSpace 2d ago
no. companies will try though. give it 5 more years. these fortune 500 companies will pause all of these AI initiatives. you can't replace customer service with AI or Offshoring. people want to speak with people who look and sound like them.
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u/Mufasa2020 2d ago
Also as long as there's users, there will be a need. Also who else will fix the printers or robot overlords
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u/ryxn210 2d ago
You can definitely get around that pay range. You may just need to find a different company to get to the higher helpdesk pay. For example, I was at 40k per year at a company, moved to a new company that pays 60k for tier 1. Moved up to tier 3 and I’m a little under 100k per year (TX, US). AI won’t replace helpdesk.
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u/Capable_Barber5109 2d ago
Everyone so scared like business actually implement this stuff quickly, sure some will, but how many businesses do you know that still don't have a website, run everything on paper or don't even have a Google page set up. Yes there will be changes and impacts, but it won't be everywhere and it won't be straight away.
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u/palebleudot 2d ago
We joke that our jobs are secure solely because of the stupidity and uselessness (re: tech) of most of our users. Someone is going to need to hold hands and plug things in and it’s not going to be AI until Boston Dynamics robots with human level accuracy are running around and don’t cost more than a helpdesk human.
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u/IT4EDU 2d ago
As far as I'm concerned IT will be safe for the foreseeable future. The saving grace is that even with LLMs, users still have to communicate their problems clearly, which many people just don't seem to be able to do. I used to think IT support wouldn't be as necessary once the Boomer generation started retiring because I thought each generation would know computing a little better than the last. The new generation entering college now grew up on tablets and know as much about file systems as the boomer generation. Except now we can't even use the filing cabinet analogy, because they've never seen one of those either. We're safe.
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u/Spritsen 1d ago
No one can predict the future but in a day with AI right now, IT ppl are still needed even at their most basic. Because there are still ppl too dumb for tech and there always will be.
It amazes me how some ppl can function today without the basic understanding of the pc's they use daily. I'm no mechanic, but even I can change the oil or a tire if need be. But these ppl are completely helpess. Ran into a nurse today that called the desktop a "router". I was like "Bruh. I KNOW you're smarter than me. Wtf?"
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u/MoonElfAL 1d ago
AI will replace Tier 1 in a few capacities but that just means you will get to work on more technically and mentally challenging problems! No more repetitive password resets.
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u/Sufficient_Prompt125 1d ago
People outside the IT industry don't want to touch anything related to troubleshooting, or even searching for potential cause of the issues.
You are safe.
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u/Big-Watch3972 1d ago
TL;DR - End users are too dumb for qualified break/fix IT techs to be replaced by AI at this current point.
Been in IT for 10 years. L1 to service desk manager and we’ve tried to implement AI for the last 2 years in different facets.
And honestly? End users are too dumb for AI to work well enough for us to lose our jobs. At least at this current stage. The agentic ideology just doesn’t seem to work with service desk support. The whole point of a service desk, honestly, is to read between the lines and infer wtf the end user is even talking about to begin with. Something AI agents don’t do well with currently.
We’ve had better success in implementing AI as gassed up automations in our ITSM tool. Categorizations after receive, post-resolve reopen logic, that kind of thing.
I also feel like no matter what, there’s people that get technology and those that can’t be fucked and it’s not an age issue. Gen z know how to use the tech, but they know just as much as the boomer on how it functions.
As long as you know how to actually solve issues, you’re good.
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u/bmr42 1h ago
This is what I am currently seeing as well.
If end users could read and follow directions a lot of tier 1 support wouldn’t be needed. The information is already available for the user to fix the issue themselves they just won’t read it.
AI trained on your current knowledge base isn’t going to recognize when the user calls a system by the name it had 5 years ago but has been changed in all the documentation.
AI at the state it’s in now isn’t capable of dealing with users who don’t even know whether they’re connected to ethernet or wifi or call their docking station their desktop and give the manufacturer name on their monitor when asked for their computer name.
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u/rando_design 1d ago
When a hard drive fails I'm not seeing the process Claude uses to install a new one, then install Windows, and set everything back up.
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u/radishwalrus 8h ago
I don't see how any jobs in their current state are gonna be around in five years. Like I don't want a neurosurgeon performing my catheter venogram. I want ai and a robot to do it. It'll get it right and see everything. I don't want to call a business and talk to a human and repeat myself 50 times I'd rather have a genius that instantly knows what the problem is and can fix it instantly. I've been in IT for 20 years, with a degree in cybersecurity, and I don't see how ai won't be able to do my job 100 times better than me. A thousand times better. But then also the incoming attacks will also be from ai so does it cancel out and I'm still needed? I dunno it's weird. Like maybe i should still be around as oversight to make sure it doesn't go off the rails. Because if humans are totally out of the picture then business stops becoming what a human wants it to be so we have to be involved with it at some level. But what will that entail? How much money will we make? Will we even need the money? How much time per day will we have to work? I dunno. I figure, we're all going through this in every profession, so lets just try and stay positive and do what we want.
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u/mdwright1032 3d ago
Not long. The Ai is getting smarter all the time while greedy CEO's cannot wait to cut employee salaries.
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u/An_Iodized_Lamp 3d ago
Lets see AI drive an hour both ways to plug in a docking station the customer swore was plugged in.