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Day 1: IT Support Pathway Exploration

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Explore the IT Support and Services pathway in H&L; investigate Help Desk Technician, IT Support Specialist, and Systems Administrator Hats; understand that not all IT careers require a 4-year degree
TEKS d(2)(A)
Deliverable Notes on 3 IT support careers (education, salary, daily tasks)
Materials H&L Workbook Ch 12, Chromebooks, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Think about the last time something went wrong with your technology (phone, computer, game console, school Chromebook). Who fixed it? How did they figure out what was wrong?

Quick share. Listen for: parent, sibling, "the IT guy at school," YouTube tutorial. Bridge: "Today you meet the people whose job it is to fix things for OTHER people, all day, every day. They are the help desk."

Activity 1: H&L Information Technology Support and Services Pathway (25 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 12, p. 192, IT Support and Services pathway (one of the 5 IT pathways)

[H&L PLATFORM] Direct students to the H&L IT cluster, then to the Information Technology Support and Services pathway. The workbook (Ch 12, p. 192) describes this pathway as: "Help people and businesses troubleshoot and fix computer, software, and network issues." Students use the Hat Finder to explore four specific Hats: Help Desk Technician, IT Support Specialist, Desktop Support Technician, and Systems Administrator. Students check education indicators and rate Perks/Quirks/Job Gear.

The 4 IT Support Hats to explore:

  1. Help Desk Technician: First line of support. Answers calls, emails, and chats from users with computer problems. Walks them through troubleshooting steps. Often the entry-level role.
  2. IT Support Specialist: Slightly more experienced. Handles harder problems that the help desk passes up. Sometimes goes to a user's desk to fix things in person.
  3. Desktop Support Technician: Specializes in physical hardware: replacing keyboards, swapping hard drives, installing software on individual machines.
  4. Systems Administrator: Senior IT support role. Manages servers, user accounts for the entire company, network configurations. Requires more experience and often a certification or degree.

Student task: Spend ~5 minutes per Hat. For each, write down on a notes sheet:

  • Hat name
  • Education needed (DEGREE / CERTIFICATION / BOTH)
  • DFW salary range
  • 1-2 daily tasks

Walk the room. Pay special attention to the education field. This is the key insight for the week. Most of these careers list "certification" or "associate degree" as acceptable, NOT a 4-year bachelor's.

Facilitation Tip

Students often assume "all good IT jobs need college." Stop the class when a student notices a Hat doesn't require a 4-year degree. Make a big deal of it: "Notice that Help Desk Technician says 'High school diploma + CompTIA A+ certification.' That is a path you could be on by age 19, making $40-50K. That is a lot of money for someone two years out of high school."

Activity 2: Not All IT Careers Need a Degree — Discussion (15 min)

Pull up TWO H&L Hat profiles side by side on the projector:

  • Help Desk Technician (entry-level IT support, no 4-year degree required)
  • Software Developer (typically requires a 4-year bachelor's)

Ask students to look at the differences:

  • Education time: 6-12 months for a certification vs. 4 years for a degree
  • Cost: $200-2,000 for a certification vs. $40,000-100,000+ for a degree
  • Starting salary: $40K-50K for help desk vs. $70K-90K for software developer
  • Earning ceiling: Help desk caps lower than software development, but the gap closes over time as help desk techs move up to network admin or sysadmin roles

Ask students: "Which path is BETTER?" The answer is "it depends on the person." A student who hates school but loves fixing things should go the certification route. A student who loves academic challenges and wants high earnings might pick the degree route.

DOK 2: How would you compare the education pathways for a Help Desk Technician versus a Software Developer? Which one allows you to start earning money sooner?

Exit Ticket (5 min)

EXIT TICKET (Comparison Matrix) · Printable PDF:

Pick TWO IT support careers from today (Help Desk Technician, IT Support Specialist, Desktop Support Technician, or Systems Administrator). Fill in the matrix using H&L data.

Career 1: ___ Career 2: ___
Education needed (circle) degree / cert / both degree / cert / both
DFW starting salary (rough)
One daily task

Bottom line: A student who wants to start earning money by age 19 (NO 4-year college) should pick which of your two careers, and why? Use one cell from the matrix. (d(2)(A))

Differentiation

  • Support: Pre-print a notes sheet with the 4 IT Support Hat names listed and a column for "Education" already labeled. Students fill in only the data, not generate the structure.
  • Extension: Students research a 5th IT support career not on the list: Network Operations Center (NOC) Technician, Field Service Technician, or Technical Account Manager.
  • ELL: Pre-teach: Soporte técnico = Tech Support, Mesa de ayuda = Help Desk, Especialista = Specialist, Administrador de sistemas = Systems Administrator.