Fix the laptop, reset the password, get the office printing again. The fastest way into an IT (information technology) career, and the ladder everyone else climbed.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Counsellors: send it to a student from your own email in one click.
Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.
The median pay is about $65,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $43,000 at the lower end to about $102,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
1 to 2 years after high school, on the usual route.
$900 to $13,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
No. There is no licence to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Moderate demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$65,000
Lower end
$43,000
Upper end
$102,000
Job Bank's national median is $31.47 an hour, about $65,000 a year at 40 hours a week. The lower end is $20.50 an hour and the upper end $49.00. The range covers everyone in the group.
$34.18 an hour
The median in Yukon, about $71,000 a year at 40 hours a week
Among the provinces, British Columbia's median is highest at $33.65 and Ontario's is $33.00. Nova Scotia's is the lowest, at $26.00 an hour (Job Bank).
Roughly, all in
$900 to $13,000
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is real: some people land a first help desk job on certifications and a customer service background alone, so the figure is the two CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) A+ exams at a few hundred US dollars each, plus no-cost online support certificates from Microsoft or Google. The high end is a two year Ontario college diploma at about $6,000 a year in tuition and fees, with those certifications on top. Employers supply the equipment beyond a screwdriver set. This is one of the cheapest ways into technology work, which also means plenty of competition for that first job.
This is one of the cheapest routes into tech. Some people get a first help desk job with only a certification and a customer-service background.
Public-sector pensions
Hospitals, school boards and governments employ support technicians with defined-benefit pensions and union contracts.
Health and dental
Standard at most employers.
Shift premiums
24-hour service desks pay extra for nights and weekends.
Paid certifications
Common, because employers want you to move up the ladder inside the company.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
One or two years of college, or a certification and a good attitude. Then learn on the job.
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Computer science, any technology course, and English. Be the person friends and family ask to fix their computers.
Certificate or diploma
1 to 3 years
A 1-year college certificate or 2-year diploma in computer systems, IT (information technology) support or network administration. A 3-year advanced diploma opens more doors later.
Certify
During college
CompTIA A+ is the entry credential many job ads name: two exams covering hardware, operating systems, networking and troubleshooting. Some students pass it before graduating.
Tier 1 help desk
1 to 2 years
Phone and chat support: password resets, software installs, printer problems. You escalate what you cannot fix.
Tier 2 or desktop support
Year 2 to 4
Harder problems, hands-on hardware, user accounts and devices. From here, most people specialize into systems, networking or security.
Computer science or computer engineering technology
How computers work and basic scripting.
English
Writing clear ticket notes and explaining problems calmly to stressed people.
Math
Basic networking involves binary and logic.
Any customer-facing job
Retail or restaurant work counts. Support is customer service with a screwdriver.
No licence and no professional body. Employers rely on vendor certifications instead. CompTIA A+ is the recognized starting point; Microsoft, Google and Cisco have entry-level credentials too. None are legally required, and a candidate who can calmly walk a frustrated caller through a fix will often beat one with more certificates. Nothing is provincial, so you can work anywhere in Canada.
Ontario
Computer Systems Technician diplomas (2 years) at Algonquin, Conestoga, Fanshawe, Mohawk, Seneca and most public colleges. Conestoga also has a 1 year Network Technical Support certificate.
Alberta
IT (information technology) programs at NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) and SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology).
BC (British Columbia)
BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) and the regional colleges.
Atlantic Canada
IT (information technology) programs at NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College) and NBCC (New Brunswick Community College).
Quebec has a high school level vocational diploma for this job, so you can start at 16 without finishing Secondary V.
Secondary IV courses
From age 16
No high school diploma needed. You need Secondary IV language of instruction, second language and math. With only Secondary III you take the missing courses alongside the program. At 18 you can enter by passing a general development test.
DEP (Diploma of Vocational Studies) in IT (information technology) support
About 16 months
1,800 hours. In English as Information Technology Support (5885) at the Aviron technical institute and the Pearson Electrotechnology Centre in Montreal and Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier in Laval. In French as Soutien informatique (5385).
Or the college route
3 years
The Computer Science Technology DEC (Diploma of College Studies, 420.B0) is 3 years at a CEGEP (public college) and includes user support. It leads to network and programming jobs too.
Certifications
Any time
The same as everywhere: CompTIA A+ is the usual first one. None are legally required.
Wage from Quebec's vocational training site, Inforoute FPT (vocational and technical training).
Things you don't need, but that help.
CompTIA Network+ and Security+
The next two rungs. Network+ leads to network jobs, Security+ to security operations.
Microsoft 365 and Azure fundamentals
Most offices run on Microsoft. Cheap exams that prove you can manage accounts and devices.
Apple and mobile device management
Schools, hospitals and design firms need people who can manage fleets of Macs, iPads and phones.
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) Foundation
The standard framework for running a service desk. Large employers and governments like to see it.
Patience and a calm voice
Half of every call is calming someone down.
A home lab
Old computers to take apart, a couple of virtual machines to break and rebuild.
Scripting basics
PowerShell or Python to automate the boring fixes. This is what gets you promoted off the desk.
Driver's licence
Field support and managed service providers send you to client sites.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Log in, check the ticket queue. A locked-out account, a laptop that will not connect to Wi-Fi, a printer everyone is angry at, a new hire who needs a computer set up by 9am. Phone calls and chats all morning, walking people through fixes while writing notes in each ticket. Afternoon: a walk to the third floor to swap a dead monitor, then imaging six laptops for next week's starts. The problems you cannot fix get escalated to the systems team, and you learn something from each one.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Job Bank counted about 119,200 IT (information technology) support technicians working in Canada in 2023. A quarter of them were 50 or older.
CompTIA (Computing Technology Industry Association) A+ means passing two exams, Core 1 and Core 2, from the same version. Each has up to 90 questions, and Core 1 gives you 90 minutes.
Quebec's 1,800 hour vocational diploma in IT (information technology) support takes students from age 16 with Secondary IV language and math courses. You do not need to finish high school first.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Support and testing first, then the rest of the field. See every career in tech.
Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.
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