High Risk Declining

IT Help Desk / Tech Support

IT help desk technicians troubleshoot technical issues, answer support tickets, reset passwords, and guide users through basic IT problems.

$52,270
Median Salary
850,000
Total Employed
3
Career Transitions
AI Risk Score
0 %
High Risk

Competition Forecast

Millions will compete for the same safe roles. Act now for a head start.

500K+ tier 1 support roles automated

Workers Leaving This Role

Top Target Role

Systems Administrator / IT Infrastructure

Expected Competition

Very High - massive help desk reduction underway

Your Head Start

Critical - tier 1 support becoming fully automated

500K+ tier 1 support roles automated workers will flood the job market competing for the same transition paths.

Estimates based on labor market research from BLS, McKinsey, and World Economic Forum. Actual outcomes may vary.

Urgency Indicators

AI Capability Today 8/10

How well can AI perform this job today (1-10)

Job Posting Trend -42% since 2021

Change in job postings over recent years

Automation Timeline 1-2 years

Estimated time until significant automation

ServiceNow Virtual Agent resolves 60% of tickets without humans Microsoft 365 Copilot troubleshoots and fixes issues automatically Moveworks AI handles IT requests via Slack/Teams instantly

Why This Job Is At Risk

AI chatbots like ChatGPT resolve 70%+ of common IT issues instantly without human agents

Automated password reset, account provisioning, and access management eliminate tier 1 tickets

Self-service portals with AI guides walk users through troubleshooting steps

Remote monitoring tools detect and fix issues proactively before users notice

Career Transitions

Safe career paths based on your existing skills

Systems Administrator

35%
Salary Change +45%
Skill Overlap 65%
Time to Transition 6-12 months

Skills to Learn

Windows ServerActive DirectoryNetworkingPowerShell

Cloud Engineer

20%
Salary Change +80%
Skill Overlap 50%
Time to Transition 12-18 months

Skills to Learn

AWS/Azure/GCPInfrastructure as CodeKubernetesSecurity

Cybersecurity Analyst

15%
Salary Change +75%
Skill Overlap 55%
Time to Transition 12-24 months

Skills to Learn

Security ToolsThreat AnalysisIncident ResponseCertifications

Recommended Courses

Start your transition today with these courses

Entry Standard

CompTIA A+ Certification

CompTIA

Duration 3 months
Price $246 per exam (2 exams)
Rating β˜… 4.6

Skills You'll Learn

HardwareOperating SystemsTroubleshootingSecurity
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AWS Solutions Architect

AWS

Duration 3-6 months
Price $150 exam
Rating β˜… 4.8

Skills You'll Learn

Cloud ArchitectureAWS ServicesSecurityScalability
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CompTIA Security+

CompTIA

Duration 4 months
Price $392 exam
Rating β˜… 4.7

Skills You'll Learn

Network SecurityThreatsRisk ManagementCryptography
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