For starters, what exactly is a support tech? A support tech is somebody who provides support to customers who are having some kind of problem with the companies software or service. Most support techs, like the ones you'll find at Microsoft and AOL, are technical. In other words, they're usually supporting some kind of software that the company sells to the customer or provides to the user who uses their service. In either case, when there is a problem, it is the support tech's responsibility to solve that problem.

In most companies, there are levels to the support structure. A level one support tech is the one who can handle most of the simple everyday questions like "how do I.". . to which they will give simple answers like "to perform this function do.". . so that the customer can complete the task that they are trying to do. A level one support tech may also be able to handle some very simple technical problems where the software itself isn't working properly, such as like when a modem isn't responding.

A level two support tech has to be a little bit more knowledgeable about the system itself. They handle the more difficult questions that arise, usually when the customer is having a problem with a complex series of operations. They also handle the more serious technical glitches that occur within the software itself.

A level three support tech is the last line of defense. This is the person in the company who knows everything about the software and can solve just about any problem unless the software itself is not functioning correctly and the only fix is a reinstall of the software itself.

Requirements for this kind of job are many. For starters, you better have a good phone voice. You're going to be constantly talking to customers all day long unless you're working at a tech center where you're doing live online help and simply typing text messages back. But most tech jobs do require many hours on the phone.

A support tech position obviously requires that the person has a working knowledge of the software or service itself. They also better have some very good general technical skills and be able to think on their feet. Because of the nature of the job one call may have nothing to do with the call before it and they have to be able to completely put out of their mind what happened prior, unless they learned something from the call that will help them in the future.

A support tech's job is not an easy one. In most cases they are dealing with unhappy customers because something is not working right. Therefore they have to learn patience and understanding. If a support tech has all the qualities mentioned here, they have a very good chance of being successful at their job.