The IT help desk job in the United Kingdom is one of the greatest launching pads for IT careers available. Young professionals often choose help desk jobs because they allow them the broadest experience available in the IT job market. As well, help desk professionals are highly visible throughout a company and are likely to receive feedback for exemplary work. While help desk jobs may be great for some professionals, not every help desk job fits the bill for the aspiring IT professional.

Some IT help desk positions are housed in departments with hundreds of workers, making it difficult to stand above the competition for advancement opportunities. As well, there are just some help desk jobs that don't offer the promotional or financial opportunities available at other positions. Finding the ideal IT help desk job for an individual's needs can lead to great rewards down the road.

One of the best places to find IT help desk jobs is at universities throughout the United Kingdom. Universities have a significant number of students using public computer stations or their own computers attached to university networks in student housing. As such, there is a constant need for help desk professionals in the university setting. The benefit to these types of jobs is that if one does not work out, there are hundreds of others to compete for throughout the region. IT help desk professionals looking for high advancement opportunities need to look in the engineering field. There are few industries that are as reliant upon computers and networking and most engineering firms have top notch equipment available to help desk workers.

In addition to the financial benefits of working for an engineering firm, the ability to attach a prominent firm's name to a CV can increase the prestige of an individual candidate in future positions. A final area where IT help desk jobs are plentiful is in the telecommunications industry. Telecommunications firms throughout the United Kingdom, as well as satellite offices for international companies, offer plenty of opportunities for talented help desk professionals. Sales departments need their computers to be working at full strength in order to make deals with corporate clients.

Data networking professionals need assistance in maintaining office data streams, which can include monitoring issues from the help desk. In every aspect of telecommunications, technology is paramount to the success of individual professionals and the overall company. Help desk professionals can make the difference between a poor IT system and a great one.

Steve Bishop is the Managing Partner of Damia Group. The company specialise in information technology jobs and UK recruitment solutions as well as IT jobs in Europe.