
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Dashboard Creation, Collaborative Software, Management Reporting, Developing Training Materials, Problem Management, Data Presentation, Problem Solving, Performance Reporting, Data Analysis, End User Training and Support, Training and Development, Jira (Software), Network Troubleshooting, Trend Analysis, User Feedback, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Technical Support, Stakeholder Management, Document Management
Intermediate · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Logical Operations
Skills you'll gain: Information Technology Infrastructure Library, Problem Management, IT Service Management, Service Management, IT Management, Change Control, Information Technology Operations, Incident Response, Information Technology, Change Requests, Service Level, Operations Management, Incident Management, Governance, Technical Management, Help Desk Support, Asset Management, Operations, Automation
Beginner · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

Microsoft
Skills you'll gain: Computer Hardware, Hardware Architecture, Network Protocols, Data Storage Technologies, Microsoft Teams, Cloud Computing, Hardening, Firewall, Cloud Services, Data Loss Prevention, Productivity Software, Computer Systems, Security Controls, General Networking, Information Systems Security, Software Installation, Data Maintenance, Help Desk Support, Debugging, Computing Platforms
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Dashboard Creation, Dashboard, Splunk, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), Data Transformation, Statistical Visualization, Infrastructure Architecture, Data Infrastructure, Data Visualization Software, Analytical Skills, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Anomaly Detection, Exploratory Data Analysis, Configuration Management, Data Manipulation, Data Presentation, Interactive Data Visualization, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Authentications
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Peripheral Devices, Network Troubleshooting, Desktop Support, Computer Displays, USB, Wireless Networks, Virtualization and Virtual Machines, Network Administration, Display Devices, Virtual Machines, General Networking, TCP/IP, Virtualization, Computing Platforms, Network Support, Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), Hardware Architecture, Data Storage, Computer Systems, Memory Management
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

University of Minnesota
Skills you'll gain: Enterprise Resource Planning, Business Systems Analysis, Systems Analysis, Requirements Analysis, Cybersecurity, Business Requirements, Business Analysis, Business Systems, Cyber Attacks, Business Analysis Tools, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security Strategy, Cloud Services, IT Management, Change Management, Business Software, Technology Strategies, Information Technology, Project Management, Critical Thinking
Beginner · Specialization · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Desktop Support, Package and Software Management, Technical Support and Services, Computer Hardware, Technical Support, Software Installation, System Support, Network Support, General Networking, Help Desk Support, Technical Documentation, Hardware Troubleshooting, Software Documentation, Customer Support, End User Training and Support, Computer Networking, Information Technology, Technical Writing, Computer Systems, Linux
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

Starweaver
Skills you'll gain: Business Process Modeling, Process Modeling, Data Storytelling, Responsible AI, AI Product Strategy, Digital Transformation, Business Process Management, Business Process Improvement, Process Design, Sales Presentation, Data Presentation, Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Generative AI, Sustainable Development, Social Impact, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software, Innovation, Environmental Social And Corporate Governance (ESG), Product Knowledge
Intermediate · Specialization · 1 - 3 Months

IBM
Skills you'll gain: Cloud Computing Architecture, Technical Support, Technical Support and Services, Cloud Services, Cloud Deployment, Generative AI, Hardware Troubleshooting, IT Service Management, Cloud Security, Cloud Technologies, Generative AI Agents, Cloud Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Professional Networking, Data Storage, Peripheral Devices, Database Administration, Information Technology, Customer Service
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months

Skills you'll gain: Retrieval-Augmented Generation, Vector Databases, Data Migration, Performance Tuning, Agentic systems, Generative AI, Generative Model Architectures, Model Deployment, AI Security, Containerization, Large Language Modeling, Embeddings, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), System Monitoring
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

Skills you'll gain: Hardware Architecture, Computer Hardware, General Networking, Network Troubleshooting, Hardware Troubleshooting, Computer Architecture, Computer Networking, OSI Models, Cloud Infrastructure, Network Administration, Wireless Networks, Networking Hardware, Local Area Networks, Virtual Machines, Virtualization, Cloud Computing, Technical Support, Cloud Deployment, Wide Area Networks, Network Security
Mixed · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks

Coursera
Skills you'll gain: Closing (Sales), Price Negotiation, Sales Management, Sales Operations, B2B Sales, Sales Process, Negotiation, Selling Techniques, Enterprise Sales, Sales Pipelines, Sales Presentation, Sales, Presentations, Sales Presentations, Stakeholder Analysis, Strategic Planning, Stakeholder Management, Conversion Funnel Analysis, Planning, Decision Making
Intermediate · Course · 3 - 6 Months
Excellent computer skills are a must before learning support and operations. Any work or educational experience in IT, particularly quality assurance, infrastructure management, or technical support are helpful too. Because many people in support and operations deal directly with consumers and vendors, a background in customer service, even if it is from an entry-level retail job, can be beneficial too before starting to learn about support and operations.
People who are good communicators are well-suited for roles in support and operations. You'll spend much of your time communicating with customers, vendors, other IT team members, and people from other departments in your company. If you're planning to go into IT operations management, you'll also have to clearly communicate the needs of the job to your employees. This means you'll also need good leadership and decision-making skills. You should be a good problem solver too. When something goes wrong, it may be your job to figure out why and get to the bottom of it. Because troubleshooting can be time-consuming, excellent time management skills are a must as well.
People who work in IT support and operations may begin with entry-level positions, such as IT technicians, desktop support specialists, and field service technicians. As you earn your degree, gain more experience, and earn specializations or take courses related to your field, you may work towards more advanced jobs, like field engineers and support operations managers. You may also work towards jobs in cybersecurity, web development, software development, and data analytics.
Any education related to computer science or information technology can relate back to the field of support and operations. You may consider specializations in areas like IT support, IT automation, technical support, operations systems, and programming languages like Python. People who work in operations and support may also want to study English or communications to improve their written and verbal communication skills.
Companies that require IT support are the most common places that hire people with a background in support and operations. However, while some companies may have a team in-house, others may outsource to a third-party firm, so working for a company that specializes in support may also be an option. You may also find yourself working in schools, universities, government agencies, hospitals, and anywhere that operates using a computer network.