Free skills gap assessment

IT Support Skills Gap Assessment

About this career

IT support specialists help colleagues with their technology: setting up laptops, resetting passwords and sign-ins, fixing software and hardware problems, and answering tickets. Systems administrators look after the servers, networks and accounts behind the scenes.

It suits people who enjoy solving problems, stay patient with frustrated users and explain things simply. It is one of the most common ways into a technology career, and a home lab plus an entry-level certificate goes a long way.

First roles are help desk technician or IT support specialist. From there people move to systems administrator, or on to networking, cloud or security.

Similar job titles

IT Support Specialist
Help Desk Technician
Systems Administrator

Free with an account

Sign up for free and complete the Skills Gap Assessment

Your readiness for each IT Support level, and when it's worth applying
Your gaps, most asked-for first, with what to learn and build for each
A week-by-week plan, saved to your account, with progress on every retake

Free accounts get 3 assessments a month. No credit card.

How to get started

New to IT Support? Where to start learning and what employers usually look for. Everything here is free.

Recommended starting point

Item	Kind
Professor Messer's A+ (220-1201) video course Professor Messer (YouTube) · closes: Troubleshooting and hardware, Networking fundamentals, Laptop deployment and MDM	Course
Professor Messer's Network+ (N10-009) video course Professor Messer (YouTube) · closes: Networking fundamentals	Course
Introduction to Linux (LFS101) The Linux Foundation · closes: Linux administration	Course

What employers usually look for first

A guide, not a pass mark. Your Skills Gap Assessment shows how ready you are for each level and what to work on.

CompTIA A+ or the Google IT Support Certificate
One home lab: a Windows domain with users, groups and a shared drive

What the IT Support assessment covers

You answer yes or no to short statements about what you have actually done. Each statement belongs to one of 12 skill areas, and each area is weighted by how often employers ask for it, so the score reflects what jobs need.

Skill areas

Ticketing and customer service. Ticketing tools such as Jira Service Desk, Zendesk and ServiceNow, plus clear customer service and written and verbal communication.
Troubleshooting and hardware. Troubleshooting across hardware, Windows and macOS, and connectivity, with root cause analysis.
Identity, SSO and MFA. Okta and Google Workspace most often for user accounts, password resets, MFA and SSO, plus access management and identity verification.
Workspace and collaboration tools. Google Workspace and Slack in about half of postings, then Microsoft 365, Zoom, Atlassian tools and AI tools.
Laptop deployment and MDM. JAMF and Intune most often, plus Apple Business Manager, device imaging, onboarding workflows and inventory.
Documentation and training. Runbooks, knowledge base articles, SOPs and end-user training, mostly in Confluence.
Networking fundamentals. Basic networking for help desk (Wi-Fi, VPN, video conferencing) and TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP and subnetting for sysadmin.
Windows administration and Active Directory. Active Directory, group policy, and WSUS patch management on Windows servers, plus general server administration and virtualisation.
Linux administration. Hands-on Linux administration alongside Windows, including installing software, users and permissions, and server operation.
Scripting and automation. PowerShell and Bash for administrative tasks, and generative AI tools to help write scripts.
Change management, patching and backup. Planned changes with rollback and documentation, OS patching, hardening, configuration management, and backup and disaster recovery.
Security, clearances and certifications. Security+ and A+/Network+ most often, with clearances (TS/SCI) and DoD-style requirements such as NIST 800-53, RMF and STIGs in government postings.

About this career

First roles are help desk technician or IT support specialist. From there people move to systems administrator, or on to networking, cloud or security.

How to get started

New to IT Support? Where to start learning and what employers usually look for. Everything here is free.

Recommended starting point

Item	Kind
Professor Messer's A+ (220-1201) video course Professor Messer (YouTube) · closes: Troubleshooting and hardware, Networking fundamentals, Laptop deployment and MDM	Course
Professor Messer's Network+ (N10-009) video course Professor Messer (YouTube) · closes: Networking fundamentals	Course
Introduction to Linux (LFS101) The Linux Foundation · closes: Linux administration	Course

What employers usually look for first

A guide, not a pass mark. Your Skills Gap Assessment shows how ready you are for each level and what to work on.

CompTIA A+ or the Google IT Support Certificate

One home lab: a Windows domain with users, groups and a shared drive

What the IT Support assessment covers

Skill areas

Ticketing and customer service. Ticketing tools such as Jira Service Desk, Zendesk and ServiceNow, plus clear customer service and written and verbal communication.

Troubleshooting and hardware. Troubleshooting across hardware, Windows and macOS, and connectivity, with root cause analysis.

Identity, SSO and MFA. Okta and Google Workspace most often for user accounts, password resets, MFA and SSO, plus access management and identity verification.

Workspace and collaboration tools. Google Workspace and Slack in about half of postings, then Microsoft 365, Zoom, Atlassian tools and AI tools.

Laptop deployment and MDM. JAMF and Intune most often, plus Apple Business Manager, device imaging, onboarding workflows and inventory.

Documentation and training. Runbooks, knowledge base articles, SOPs and end-user training, mostly in Confluence.

Networking fundamentals. Basic networking for help desk (Wi-Fi, VPN, video conferencing) and TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP and subnetting for sysadmin.

Windows administration and Active Directory. Active Directory, group policy, and WSUS patch management on Windows servers, plus general server administration and virtualisation.

Linux administration. Hands-on Linux administration alongside Windows, including installing software, users and permissions, and server operation.

Scripting and automation. PowerShell and Bash for administrative tasks, and generative AI tools to help write scripts.

Change management, patching and backup. Planned changes with rollback and documentation, OS patching, hardening, configuration management, and backup and disaster recovery.

Security, clearances and certifications. Security+ and A+/Network+ most often, with clearances (TS/SCI) and DoD-style requirements such as NIST 800-53, RMF and STIGs in government postings.