Computer Technician Skills to be best on the Job

By | January 30, 2017
Computer technician skills and qualities

The ability to diagnose computer problems is an important skill a computer technician should have.

Computer Technician Skills to be best on the Job

If you work as a computer technician or are aspiring to get into the career and you are looking for what skills and qualities to develop to be best on the job, this post will be of help to you.

Who is a Computer Technician?

A computer technician is any person who repairs and maintains computers and servers as well as some other related peripherals.

Computer technicians perform various tasks, including maintenance of the computer hardware, maintenance of other computer related equipment, troubleshooting computer problems, working with wires and electricity, assembling computers, and more.

They work in different settings, providing computer technical services for both private and public sectors.

To be successful as a computer technician, here are fifteen skills and qualities to develop:

1. Computer Diagnostics: Computer technicians need to know how to diagnose computer problems. This involves software problems such as virus and malicious software removal, and also hardware problems like determining if certain computer components are becoming defective and how to replace or repair them.

2. Active Listening: Computer technicians should give full attention to what other people are saying. They don’t need to ask inappropriate questions and should not interrupt unnecessarily. But they should take time to understand points being made before they can say or ask questions or act on the situation.

3. Communication Skills: Computer technicians need communication skills to be able to explain problems and solutions to clients in an easy-to-understand way. If they ask questions they should patiently wait for the answer. They should also help the user understand when an upgrade or replacement is a necessary requirement.

4. Problem Solving Skills: Computer technicians should be able to detect problems and look for ways to implement possible solutions. Their problem solving skills will help them a lot in conquering issues, working out solutions and smiling for their payment.

5. Software and Hardware Expertise: Computer technicians should have full knowledge and understanding of how a computer works. On the software side, they need skill at using antivirus software and tools to wipe away viruses, spyware and malware. Skills of differentiating between good and bad files and knowledge of which types of software programs are compatible with certain types of hardware are also required. They need to be aware of RAM and hard-drive space requirements, as well as how to install and upgrade the programs.

6. Professionalism: A serious computer technician comes to work on time and gives prior notice of his/her lateness to work as the case may be. He/she showers every day, dresses nicely, avoids foul language, and doesn’t chew gums while talking. As part of his/her struggles to look professional at all times, the computer technician treats every service call like a job interview, and makes clients keep coming back for more deals.

7. Operating Systems: Knowledge of operating system is critical for a computer technician when booting up the system, removing a virus or installing new hardware. Computer technicians should have knowledge of Windows and Mac operating systems, as well as Linux and Mobile operating systems.

8. Inquisitiveness: It is part of the computer technician’s job to ask questions such as “When did the problem start? Has anything changed since the problem began? What are the symptoms or error messages you’re seeing? How do you go about the problem? These questions will help the computer technician to be able to get the actual solution to the client’s computer problems.

9. Flexibility: Computer technicians can be flexible when they are able to work any hours, and when they can relocate for a better position. They are also flexible when they sacrifice their social life outside of the company, family responsibilities and hobbies for their career.

10. Security: Computer technicians need to know how to secure computer systems and networks, and how to protect computers from viruses and hackers with installation of anti-virus programs, security software and firewalls.

11. Interpersonal Skills: Computer technicians need interpersonal skills for achieving customer satisfaction so that their customers can trust them. With good interpersonal skills, computer technicians can communicate well with their clients. They need to use plain English to explain problems and solutions to clients.

12. Good Analytical Skills: With good analytical skills, computer technicians can easily solve problems through proper diagnosis of computer system issues. The skills are very important for getting good results and satisfying the client.

13. Troubleshooting: With troubleshooting skill, computer technicians can diagnose a problem and use the most appropriate approach to solving it. During troubleshooting, computer technicians can go further on with research skills to get perfect solutions.

14. Customer Service Skills: Having a friendly attitude is part of customer service skills, which is important in a computer technician’s job. With this skill, the technicians will be able to listen well to customers’ needs and place themselves in the customer’s position. This is one of the things that would make customers to always go back to such technician whenever they need their services.

15. Math Skills: With math skills, computer technicians can know that one bit of a data is binary digit, that is, a one or a zero, while eight bits make a byte. A kilobyte is equaled to 1,024 bytes and not 1,000 as most people think. Computer technicians should learn how many bytes are in a kilobyte (KB), megabyte (MB), gigabyte (GB), and so on. Once they have learned this, they should move on to learn binary, octal and hexadecimal, and how to convert one base to another.


If you are a computer technician who wants to be best on your job, developing the above qualities and skills will help you reach the goal.

Employers who need the services of a good and qualified computer technician can make some or all of the above qualities part of the job requirement. They can then pick those who meet them for consideration for the job.

Did you find the above skills and qualities useful in becoming a good computer technician? Please, share your thoughts about this post in the comment box below. You may also share addition skills you have found helpful to succeed as a computer technician.

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