Technical Support Engineer Certificate
Degree
Certificate (Eligible for federal aid as a stand-alone certificate or if combined with AS degree)
Overview
This certificate is designed to help someone get into the IT industry as quickly as possible. This certificate also prepares the student to sit for several industry certification exams. The final exam for some of these courses is an industry certification exam, which means that, if the student scores high enough on the final exams, they could receive an industry certification for each course. These industry certifications can be added to their resume.
Career Opportunities
The most common entry level job in IT is a technical support engineer or Help Desk professional. These people need to know how to troubleshoot and resolve all sorts of technical problems. For those students wanting to get into the technology field as quickly as possible, this will be the quickest option. Many IT professionals start in some sort of technical support role before moving on to other technical departments within the company.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the certificate, successful graduates will be able to:
- Install a Windows desktop environment and configure key desktop settings
- Identify and describe the function of key hardware in a desktop or laptop computer
- Design and configure a basic corporate network, identifying the key hardware and infrastructure devices needed to connect systems together
- Install a Windows Server environment and configure key security settings
- Troubleshoot basic networking and system configuration problems
Course Requirements
Students are responsible to examine the course description of each course listed below for details of prerequisites, which must be satisfied before registering for the course.
| CAR 201 | Career Success | 1 credit |
| CS 105 | Introduction to Programming | 3 credits |
| IT 102 | PC Hardware Technician | 3 credits |
| IT 125 | Introduction to Information Technology | 3 credits |
| IT 235 | Cloud Server Administration | 3 credits |
| IT 255 | Networking Fundamentals | 3 credits |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Graduation Requirements
1. Minimum of 16 total semester credits hours as outlined
2. Grade of C- or higher in all IT courses
3. Certificate grade-point average of 2.0 or higher
Recommended Sequence of Courses
Individual student circumstances, such as the need for a smaller course load or the number of preparatory English or Math courses a student must take, may require additional semesters to complete the program. Please see your academic advisor for assistance.
Note: While a student may choose to take all 6 Certificate Core courses at one time, caution is advised as each class does require significant amounts of study and project/assignment work. It is recommended you split this into at least 2 semesters. Please see your academic advisor for assistance. The following IT certifications can be obtained at the completion of the corresponding course (assuming final exam scores meet the established requirements.)
- PC Pro - Certification of proficiency in PC hardware, software, and Windows
- Client Pro - Certification of proficiency in Windows Client Operating System environments
- Network Pro - Certification of proficiency in basic networking technologies and environments
First Semester
CS 105, Introduction to Programming, 3 credits
IT 102, PC Technician, 3 credits
IT 125, Introduction to IT, 3 credits
Total Semester Minimum Hours 9
Second Semester
CAR 201, Career Success, 1 credit
IT 235, Windows Server Fundamentals, 3 credits
IT 255, Networking Fundamentals, 3 credits
Total Semester Minimum Hours 7
Total Technical Support Engineer Certificate Minimum Credit Hours 16