IT support might not be one of the most glamorous tech jobs, but it's a smart path to consider if you're looking for a career that pays well and offers strong job security.

Often overlooked as a behind-the-scenes job, IT support offers competitive salaries, diverse opportunities and flexibility that many fail to recognize, Lisa Gevelber, a vice president at Google and founder of Grow With Google, tells CNBC Make It.

With more companies moving online — and adopting new technologies, including artificial intelligence and cloud computing — the need for IT support has become more urgent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of IT support jobs will grow at least 15% in the next decade — more than three times faster than the average for all occupations.

There are more than 300,000 unfilled IT support jobs in the U.S. right now, Gevelber points out. 

On Google, searches for "IT support jobs" and "IT support skills" hit an "all-time high" in 2024, since the search engine started tracking such queries 20 years ago, she adds.

Here's how to land a job in IT support — and where to find the best opportunities:

Getting into IT support without a degree

Companies are increasingly hiring people without bachelor's degrees to address critical labor shortages in IT support. Most IT support jobs require at least a high school diploma or GED, as well as the completion of an online certification or training. 

Google offers an IT support certificate as part of its skilling initiative, Grow with Google, which Gevelber founded in 2017. One of the programs in this initiative, the Google Career Certificate Program, provides lessons and certifications for in-demand skills including IT support, cybersecurity and data analytics.

The IT support certificate can be completed in as little as 3 months and costs $49 monthly. Other organizations, including Amazon Web Services and CompTIA, offer comparable certificates.

Some of the most popular jobs in IT support include computer support specialists, help desk analysts and IT support technicians. 

Although the day-to-day responsibilities differ between each role, the core skills are consistent across jobs, says Gevelber. 

IT support professionals should be adept at diagnosing and resolving a technical issue, whether it's a malfunctioning server or a software glitch.

Strong communication and customer service skills are important. 

"You need to be both a techie and a people person," Gevelber explains. "It's a problem-solving role that requires active listening, understanding the problem at hand, communicating and documenting your findings and the solution to people with different technical comfortabilities."

If you can nail both those technical and soft skills, "you'll really excel in this field," Gevelber adds.

Opportunities to earn six figures and work from home

IT support professionals are needed across all industries, but there's a strong demand for talent in the manufacturing, health care, education, tech and business fields, according to recent research from Lightcast. 

Besides Google, companies like Wells Fargo, Verizon and Dell Technologies have all hired graduates from Google's IT support certificate program directly, Gevelber adds.

The average pay for several IT support jobs exceeds $100,000. According to Glassdoor, the median salary for system analysts is $135,000, while the median salary for database administrators is $118,000 a year. 

You can find dozens of remote IT support jobs on the market, too, some of which pay upwards of $150,000 a year.

Ultimately, "you want to go into a career field that's growing and where there's an absolute need in the organization for what you do," says Gevelber. "That's IT support — it's an incredibly important, rewarding skill set to have, and that's going to continue to be the case for a long, long time." 

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