what does a computer technician do

 There are many job offers that are published every day within the field of Information Technology and, within them, there is a wide range of professional categories that describe each of the positions that are offered. But what are the requirements that fit each of these categories? What level of knowledge and experience are necessary to be eligible for each of them?

Within the State Agreement of Consulting Companies, to which practically all the Information Technology Consultancies in Spain adhere, there is an expanded list of professional categories but, in job offers, this list is usually reduced to about 15 main categories. In this article we will try to give a generic description of each of these categories, so that the various candidates can better understand what are the requirements that are needed to qualify for the various offers. But you always have to take into account the specific characteristics of each job, so the minimum requirements for a specific offer may vary in each case what does a computer technician do 

We are going to divide this classification into three large groups: Programming, Systems and Consulting .

A) PROGRAMMING

It is the technical basis for the development of any project related to the field of Information Technology. Candidates must have a good training in the languages ??requested for the various projects, and time of experience is essential to be able to move up and assume tasks of greater responsibility.

1- Programmers: Within the programmers they are diversified between junior and senior, in which the time of experience is the key to their differentiation. With less than 6 months it is usually considered that it falls within the junior category, and as you approach 2 years of experience you can begin to qualify as a senior.

2- Programmer Analyst / Team Leader:After a few years of experience, and depending on the trajectory of each of the jobs, the programmer can assume responsibility tasks within the development of the project and move to the category of Programmer Analyst or Team Leader, with personnel under his / her responsibility and with a greater share of technical responsibility in the development of the project.

3- Analyst: The upper rung is framed within the analysts, which can be subdivided into Technical, Functional or Organic, as the level of responsibility for each of the positions grows, and the technical knowledge acquired and expanded through your career path.

4- Project Manager:He is the maximum technical person in charge of the development of the programming, and has diverse personnel in his charge. His tasks are more of team management and structuring, and he has to have a global vision of the work and the people who have to do it. 

B) SYSTEMS

In the systems section, in addition to a theoretical base of computer knowledge, a practical conception of the development of the functions of the equipment is requested, since a large part of the work will be limited to the maintenance and development of equipment and networks that are available of the users.

1- Microinformatics Technician: It is the first level, and his work focuses more on the daily maintenance of computer equipment and programs, although he must have a global vision of the state of computer systems in order to face the various problems that may arise in the day to day. A good deal of imagination and resolution skills are necessary.

2- Systems Technician:He is in charge of the maintenance and operation of all computer equipment. They must have extensive knowledge of the installed network as a whole, its architecture and location. Likewise, extensive technical knowledge of the environments in which the work of the network and equipment users takes place is necessary.

3- Administrator: According to its functions, it can be divided into three large groups: System Administrator, Network Administrator or Database Administrator. They are in charge of presenting the approach to the entire computer system necessary for users to carry out their work, as well as setting up the procedures for it to be implemented, through the work of the systems and micro-informatics technicians.

4- Systems Manager: It is the highest step of this level and his work focuses on the conception and design of the entire IT infrastructure, both in the local network and communications environment, the definition of security policies and control of access to resources. Full knowledge of the various work environments is necessary to adjust all equipment to the type of users and equipment, as well as the ability to anticipate future needs to anticipate problems.

C) CONSULTING

Technical knowledge is important in this area, but it is also necessary to have a much broader vision of the business field in which the applications are implemented. For this reason, a large part of the Consultants do not come from purely computer science careers, but are people who, after obtaining a university degree in other disciplines, have completed their practical and theoretical training in computer languages ??and applications, or as advanced users of these, providing an overview beyond the purely technical application development.

In addition, the need to manage the personnel in charge and deal directly with clients require that those who apply for these positions have the necessary skills to face all kinds of responsibilities. Some of the positions in this group have already been described within the scope of programming, so we will focus on the minimum experience necessary to be able to carry out their functions.

1- Programmer Analyst: It may take between one and three years of experience as a program user and have a solid technical base to be able to begin taking responsibility in a position of these characteristics.

2- Technical Analyst:The range is between 2 and four years of experience, which is usually required to take the step to become a technical analyst, climbing the level of decision-making and responsibility.

3- Functional Analyst: Between four and five years is the average experience required for these positions, where the level of knowledge and experience acquired opens the doors to comprehensive project management.

4- Junior Consultant: From five years old is the minimum experience that is required of a Consultant to be able to start carrying out tasks as such. Dealing with the client becomes one of the fundamental tasks of their daily work.

5- Senior Consultant:More than seven years is usually the average experience of the people who reach this position. It is the highest on the ladder and the goal of many professional careers.