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Computer Network Support Specialists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Analyze, test, troubleshoot, and evaluate existing network systems, such as local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), cloud networks, servers, and other data communications networks. Perform network maintenance to ensure networks operate correctly with minimal interruption.

Related: Computer Network Architects Computer User Support Specialists Information Security Engineers Network & Computer Systems Administrators Software Developers

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Media & Communication Education

Summary
Details

Create or update technical documentation for network installations or changes to existing installations.
Install network software, including security or firewall software.
Create or revise user instructions, procedures, or manuals.
Configure and define parameters for installation or testing of local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), hubs, routers, switches, controllers, multiplexers, or related networking equipment.
Test repaired items to ensure proper operation.
Install or repair network cables, including fiber optic cables.
Troubleshoot network or connectivity problems for users or user groups.
Install and configure wireless networking equipment.
Document help desk requests and resolutions.
Back up network data.
Analyze network data to determine network usage, disk space availability, or server function.
Configure and define parameters for installation or testing of local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), hubs, routers, switches, controllers, multiplexers, or related networking equipment.
Configure security settings or access permissions for groups or individuals.
Evaluate local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) performance data to ensure sufficient availability or speed, to identify network problems, or for disaster recovery purposes.
Analyze and report computer network security breaches or attempted breaches.
Perform routine maintenance or standard repairs to networking components or equipment.
Test computer software or hardware, using standard diagnostic testing equipment and procedures.
Analyze network data to determine network usage, disk space availability, or server function.
Install new hardware or software systems or components, ensuring integration with existing network systems.
Install or repair network cables, including fiber optic cables.
Maintain logs of network activity.
Monitor industry Web sites or publications for information about patches, releases, viruses, or potential problem identification.
Troubleshoot network or connectivity problems for users or user groups.
Identify the causes of networking problems, using diagnostic testing software and equipment.
Configure wide area network (WAN) or local area network (LAN) routers or related equipment.
Test computer software or hardware, using standard diagnostic testing equipment and procedures.
Research hardware or software products to meet technical networking or security needs.
Document network support activities.
Install new hardware or software systems or components, ensuring integration with existing network systems.
Run monthly network reports.
Train users in procedures related to network applications software or related systems.
Provide telephone support related to networking or connectivity issues.

Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.

Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Education

Associate's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

94250/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

45.31/hr

Currently Employed

5,590

Yearly Projected Openings

510

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Cooperation
Analytical Thinking
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Adaptability/Flexibility

Access servers
Circuit tester
Computer servers
Hard disk arrays
Laser fax machine
Mainframe computers
Network analyzers
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Power meters
Screwdrivers
Server load balancer
Voltage or current meters

Access software
Administration software
Backup or archival software
Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Cloud-based management software
Cloud-based protection or security software
Clustering software
Communications server software
Computer aided design CAD software
Configuration management software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base management system software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop communications software
Development environment software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Enterprise system management software
Filesystem software
Helpdesk or call center software
Internet directory services software
Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
Network monitoring software
Network operating system enhancement software
Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software
Network security or virtual private network VPN management software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Platform interconnectivity software
Presentation software
Program testing software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Storage networking software
Transaction security and virus protection software
Transaction server software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

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Computer Network Support Specialists

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