IT support analyst

How to become an IT support analyst?

You can get into this job through a variety of routes, including a university degree, an apprenticeship, a college course, or on-the-job training.

You should explore these routes to becoming an IT support analyst, to find out which is the right one for you. Although some of these options have certain qualification requirements, many employers are more interested in people who are enthusiastic, willing to learn and can follow instructions.

You may need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme card to work on a construction site.

University

Many employers will require an IT support analyst to have an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject, such as computer science or information technology.

Find out what the entry requirements are where you live.

• Equivalent entry requirements explained
• Find a university course
• Funding advice

College

You could take a course at your local college which would enable you to join a company as a trainee IT support analyst. Relevant courses include:

Find out what the entry requirements are where you live.

• Equivalent entry requirements explained
• Find a course near you
• Funding advice 

Apprenticeship

You could complete an intermediate or higher apprenticeship in IT support, or an infrastructure technician advanced apprenticeship, to help you become an IT support analyst.

Find out what the entry requirements are where you live.

Apprenticeships are open to anyone over the age of 16. As an apprentice, you will be fully employed by your company and expected to work a minimum of 30 hours a week. Your time will be split between on-the-job experience and a college or training provider.

• Find an apprenticeship near you
• Guide to apprenticeships 

Work experience

Work experience is essential to gaining employment within the construction industry. You could gain this at school, or by working weekends and holidays with a company or relative who works as an IT support analyst. Potential employers will always be pleased to see work experience listed on your CV. 

• Find out more about work experience

Work

If you have basic IT skills, you could start work as a trainee IT support analyst and complete qualifications while you work to progress to a more senior role.

Typically, analysts will enter the profession as junior programmers, progressing to developer or consultancy roles. Experience is essential for career progression, especially when dealing with more complex systems and IT issues.

Skills

Additional skills which may benefit anyone considering a job as an IT support analyst include:

• Ability to work well with others
• Excellent verbal communication skills
• Analytical thinking skills
• Excellent customer service skills
• Being flexible and open to change
• Ability to use own judgement to make quick decisions
• Able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently.

Qualifications

What does a IT support analyst do?

As an IT support analyst you will be responsible for helping to maintain IT systems within a company. This can vary between diagnosing software or hardware issues, to testing new systems or moving networks.

The role of an IT support analyst involves the following duties:

• Analysing clients’ existing systems and business models
• Understanding software development lifecycle
• Moving old networks across to new ones
• Translating client requirements into specified project briefs
• Identifying potential solutions and assessing them for both technical and business suitability
• Modifying or replacing systems
• Presenting proposals to clients
• Working closely with colleagues, developers, testers and a variety of end users to ensure technical compatibility and user satisfaction
• Ensuring that budgets are adhered to
• Testing systems
• Providing training and user manuals to users of new systems
• Keeping up-to-date with technical and industry developments.

How much could you earn as an IT support analyst?

The expected salary for an IT support analyst varies as you become more experienced.

• Newly trained IT support analysts can earn £20,000 - £25,000
• Trained IT support analysts with some experience can earn £25,000 - £40,000
• Senior IT support analysts can earn £45,000 or more.*

Hours and salary depend on location, employer and any overtime you may do. 

* Salaries have been collected from multiple industry sources

Check out the latest IT support analyst vacancies:  

• Indeed
• Reed

As these are external websites, the number of vacancies related to your preferred role may vary. New opportunities will be posted as they come up.

Career path and progression

As an IT support analyst, you could progress into a supervisor or management role. You could also apply for roles in training or technical sales.

With further training you could move into a specialist area of IT such as network engineering, database administration, business or systems analysis, security or project management.