💡 Why it matters: Every school, bank and office has computers that crash and passwords that get forgotten, so IT support is one of the easiest ways to start a tech career.
🌍 Around the world
- United States: Jobs are projected to decline 3% from 2025 to 2035 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦900k – ₦2.2M
- Mid-career
- ₦2.4M – ₦5.5M
- Senior
- ₦5.5M – ₦12M
≈ ₦200k – ₦458k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Closest Job Bank occupation: Computer network technician. Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Fix computers, printers and software problems
- Set up laptops and accounts for new staff
- Help people reset passwords
- Keep a record of problems and solutions
- Explain tech problems in plain language
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Troubleshooting
- Patience
- Communication
- Hands-on skills
- Organisation
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- CompTIA A+ certification
- Polytechnic OND or HND in Computer Science, or apprenticeship with a repair shop
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- IT support technician apprenticeship (Level 3)
- Applying for help desk roles with a certificate and home practice
🇺🇸 United States
- Entry-level help desk roles
- Registered apprenticeships in IT support (availability varies by state)
🇨🇦 Canada
- College co-op programs with paid placements
- Entry-level help desk roles
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Learn how computers, phones and Wi-Fi work
- 2Practise fixing family and friends' devices
- 3Get an entry-level certificate like CompTIA A+ or a diploma in IT support
- 4Apply for a help desk role
- 5Grow into network, cloud or security work
⏰ A day in the life
A teacher's projector won't connect before class. You walk over, find a loose cable setting, then help the accountant who lost her password, and log both fixes in your tracking system.