Path to a Fulfilling Application Support Specialist Career in Singapore with in-depth Career Guide

An application support specialist works in a company's information technology (IT) department to help end users with the operation and functionality of software applications purchased from their company. The specialist may work with individual end users or corporate accounts in professional applications.

They likely work at a "help desk" in an office environment. This often involves heavy telephone traffic, although the specialist may be assisting customers through emails and messaging as well. It is of utmost importance that the specialist have extensive knowledge of the applications they support, and persons in this position likely must pass regular examinations that assess their application knowledge. Additionally, development and customer service departments require a set of scripted steps to application support, and the specialist must execute and document these steps with each support ticket. In some situations, application support specialists may be called upon to assist with these scripted help steps to maintain effectiveness of support and to adjust to customer needs.

The application support specialist may be assigned to a variety of applications, but, in many companies with multiple applications, they may specialize in one or two specific pieces of software. In any event, the support specialist must be familiar with the operation and all functions of the application, and understand areas where end users and corporate accounts may find difficulty.

To be an applications support specialist, one must have an educational background in information technology (IT). This may include a bachelor's degree in computer science or engineering degrees, or a similar technical school vocational education and certification. The specialist needs excellent communication skills, patience, and empathy.