Skip to content
TryHired.
Role hub · Computer User Support Specialists

IT Support Specialist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of it support specialists earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$61,860
Hourly
$29.74
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

IT Support Specialists provide technical assistance to computer users. The median pay is $61,860 a year ($29.74 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).

Median pay
$61,860
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
717,190
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation

Data Government data groups this job as Computer User Support Specialists (O*NET-SOC 15-1232.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Key facts

IT Support Specialists at a glance

  • Computer user support specialists in the United States earned a median annual wage of $61,860 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists some college, no degree as the typical entry-level education for computer user support specialists in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of computer user support specialists in the United States to decline 3.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 39,700 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimates that 52.4% of computer user support specialists in the United States had the ability to telework in 2025, a preliminary estimate of whether the job allows it, not a count of remote jobs.

    Source: BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 preliminary

Explore the role

Every page for IT Support Specialists

SalaryIT Support Specialist salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeIT Support Specialist how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeIT Support Specialist resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsIT Support Specialist interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What it support specialists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Oversee the daily performance of computer systems.
  2. Set up equipment for employee use, performing or ensuring proper installation of cables, operating systems, or appropriate software.
  3. Read technical manuals, confer with users, or conduct computer diagnostics to investigate and resolve problems or to provide technical assistance and support.
  4. Answer user inquiries regarding computer software or hardware operation to resolve problems.
  5. Install and perform minor repairs to hardware, software, or peripheral equipment, following design or installation specifications.
  6. Confer with staff, users, and management to establish requirements for new systems or modifications.
  7. Enter commands and observe system functioning to verify correct operations and detect errors.
  8. Maintain records of daily data communication transactions, problems and remedial actions taken, or installation activities.
Job requirements

What the job requires

Data BLS figures for computer user support specialists (SOC 15-1232), 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey.

Telework available
52.4%
of workers had the ability to telework
Workday sitting
81.2%
mean share of the day required to sit
Most common strength level
Sedentary
49.7% of workers
Can pause work
86.7%
of workers could take short, unscheduled breaks
Self-paced workload
3.8%
of workers set their own workload
Employer-changed schedules
30.6%
of workers had schedules changed by the employer week to week

On TryHired lists: Remote careers · Desk jobs.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey. Estimates are preliminary; ranges are shown as published.

Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all it support specialist jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Professional, scientific, and technical services27.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $66,500
  2. Educational services; state, local, and private12.1% of all jobs in this occupation · -8.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $60,360
  3. Administrative and support services7.0% of all jobs in this occupation · -7.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $57,560
  4. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals6.5% of all jobs in this occupation · -7.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $82,260
  5. Management of companies and enterprises4.8% of all jobs in this occupation · -5.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $71,380
  6. Merchant wholesalers, durable goods4.5% of all jobs in this occupation · -4.9% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $69,250

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Reading ComprehensioncoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreCritical ThinkingComplex Problem SolvingWritingJudgment and Decision MakingSocial PerceptivenessService Orientation

Knowledge areas: Computers and Electronics, Customer and Personal Service, Telecommunications, English Language, Education and Training, Mechanical.

Tools and technology

Software it support specialists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Microsoft Active DirectoryInternet directory services softwareIn demand
  • Firewall softwareNetwork security and virtual private network VPN equipment softwareIn demand
  • Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe IllustratorGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
  • Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Ansible softwareExpert system softwareHot technology
  • Apache CassandraData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache HadoopData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache HiveData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache Subversion SVNFile versioning softwareHot technology
  • Atlassian JIRAContent workflow softwareHot technology

Also called: Help Desk Technician, Computer Support Specialist, Computer Tech (Computer Technician), Desktop Support Technician (Desktop Support Tech), Help Desk Analyst, Help Desk Tech (Help Desk Technician), IS Tech (Information Systems Technician).

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.