Understanding The Difference Between Computer Software And Hardware Technicians

My simple tips on how to distinguish a Software technician and Hardware technician. One can also read which of the two jobs best suited for you.

Software technicians act as troubleshooters for desktop operating systems and software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, and databases. Software companies such as Microsoft and Lotus are releasing new products or upgrades to existing products every day.

The people who use those programs require someone on site who understands how they work.
The software technician installs the software, keeps it running reliably, and may be required to train users or arrange alternate training for them. The

software technician spends the majority of his or her time helping users by answering questions about specific software packages and helping people become as productive as possible using the technology and software available to them.

Suppose a user is trying to create a spreadsheet of the corporate budget. He works all morning to create the perfect budget and then goes to lunch. When he returns from lunch, he tries to print the file but can't find it; he is faced with having to repeat all that work. What can he do? He calls the software technician. The technician relies on his or her knowledge of the software and operating system to recover the file and save the user a lot of extra work.

Since so much of the software technician's job involves interacting with people and dealing with stressful situations, it is best suited to people with excellent written and verbal communication skills and a calm demeanor. Though at times it can be stressful, work in software support offers an immediate reward whenever you can solve a problem or help someone use software more effectively. In addition to being able to work well with people, it's important

to maintain a thorough understanding of the software and equipment you're hired to support. This means being knowledgeable about all of the latest upgrades, revisions, and modifications to the software and knowing how and when to implement them as seamlessly as possible in your company's work environment.

While software technicians troubleshoot operating systems and software applications, hardware technicians spend their time repairing, supporting, and maintaining computers and computer-related equipment, such as printers, scanners, monitors, CD-ROM drives, modems, networking hardware, mass storage devices, hard disk drives, and floppy disk drives. As software programs become more and more powerful, computers must continually be upgraded to keep pace with those changes, and hardware technicians are responsible for making these changes.

Hardware technicians perform an initial system setup and check diagnostics to determine upgrade needs; install and adjust disk drives; test and install chips, circuit boards, modems, and interface cards; perform minor adjustments and repairs to monitors and printers; repair and replace cables; and perform preventive maintenance.

This type of job is best suited to people who enjoy puttering with electronics and solving problems. You need to listen to a user's problem, process the information, and propose solutions. Hardware technicians function in much the same way as auto mechanics. If a car owner tells the mechanic his car is stalling, the mechanic takes that information, recalls problems for which stalling might be a symptom, identifies the appropriate problem, and fixes it. Hardware technicians use the same analytical decision-making skills to identify solutions to computer problems.

note: originally posted at Exposeknowledge.com under the same author.