Can Agents Work?

Jobs / DevOps, SRE, and IT operations / 15-1232.00

Computer User Support Specialists

Provide technical assistance to computer users. Answer questions or resolve computer problems for clients in person, via telephone, or electronically. May provide assistance concerning the use of computer hardware and software, including printing, installation, word processing, electronic mail, and operating systems.

US jobs
717,190
Median wage
$61,860 a year
Job family
DevOps, SRE, and IT operations

Can agents do the work of computer user support specialists?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, DevOps, SRE, and IT operations:

  • Task levelPartialMixed. On SREGym, the best agent fixes 72.2% of injected faults end to end. On ITBench-AA, no model names the root cause of more than half of Kubernetes incidents (best 47%). Infrastructure as code has only generation tests with 2024-era results (IaC-Eval, 36.7%). We found no public benchmark with recent results that tests agents making Terraform changes to live infrastructure.
  • Project levelUnexploredNo benchmark in our collection tests operations work at project scale, such as a multi-day migration, a platform upgrade, or an on-call rotation.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in devops, sre, and it operations, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Oversee the daily performance of computer systems.
  • Set up equipment for employee use, performing or ensuring proper installation of cables, operating systems, or appropriate software.
  • Read technical manuals, confer with users, or conduct computer diagnostics to investigate and resolve problems or to provide technical assistance and support.
  • Answer user inquiries regarding computer software or hardware operation to resolve problems.
  • Install and perform minor repairs to hardware, software, or peripheral equipment, following design or installation specifications.
  • Confer with staff, users, and management to establish requirements for new systems or modifications.
  • Enter commands and observe system functioning to verify correct operations and detect errors.
  • Maintain records of daily data communication transactions, problems and remedial actions taken, or installation activities.
  • Refer major hardware or software problems or defective products to vendors or technicians for service.
  • Prepare evaluations of software or hardware, and recommend improvements or upgrades.
  • Develop training materials and procedures, or train users in the proper use of hardware or software.
  • Inspect equipment and read order sheets to prepare for delivery to users.
Other job titles for this occupation (80)

Computer Support Specialist · Computer Tech (Computer Technician) · Desktop Support Technician (Desktop Support Tech) · Help Desk Analyst · Help Desk Tech (Help Desk Technician) · IS Tech (Information Systems Technician) · IT Specialist (Information Technology Specialist) · IT Support Specialist (Information Technology Support Specialist) · IT Tech (Information Technology Technician) · Technical Support Specialist · Application Customer Service Representative (Application CSR) · Application Support Engineer · Applications Analyst · Automatic Data Processing Customer Liaison (ADP Customer Liaison) · Call Center Support Representative (Call Center Support Rep) · Cloud Operations Specialist · Computer Customer Support Specialist · Computer Hardware Technician (Computer Hardware Tech) · Computer Help Desk Representative (Computer Help Desk Rep) · Computer Help Desk Specialist · Computer Lab Assistant (Computer Laboratory Assistant) · Computer Operations Technician (Computer Operations Tech) · Computer Operator · Computer Specialist · Computer Support Tech (Computer Support Technician) · Computer System Tech (Computer Systems Technician) · Computer Systems Specialist · Computer Technical Specialist · Computer Technologist · Customer Liaison · Customer Service Technician (Customer Service Tech) · Customer Support Analyst · Customer Support Rep (Customer Support Representative) · Customer Support Specialist · Desktop Analyst · Desktop Support Analyst · Desktop Support Engineer · Desktop Support Manager · Desktop Support Specialist · Desktop Technician (Desktop Tech) · End User Support Specialist · Health Information Technology Specialist · Help Desk Coordinator · Help Desk Operator · Help Desk Representative (Help Desk Rep) · Help Desk Specialist · Help Desk Support Specialist · Help Desk Support Technician (Help Desk Support Tech) · IT Analyst (Information Technology Analyst) · IT Associate (Information Technology Associate) · IT Generalist (Information Technology Generalist) · IT Help Desk Tech (Information Technology Help Desk Technician) · IT Support Analyst (Information Technology Support Analyst) · IT Support Engineer (Information Technology Support Engineer) · IT Support Tech (Information Technology Support Technician) · LAN Applications Support Analyst (Local Area Network Applications Support Analyst) · Micro Computer Specialist · Micro Computer Support Specialist · Micro Computer Technician (Micro Computer Tech) · Operating Systems Specialist (OS Specialist) · Operations Support Technician (Operations Support Tech) · PC Consultant (Personal Computer Consultant) · PC Installation Engineer (Personal Computer Installation Engineer) · PC Specialist (Personal Computer Specialist) · PC Support Specialist (Personal Computer Support Specialist) · PC Support Tech (Personal Computer Support Technician) · PC Systems Coordinator (Personal Computer Systems Coordinator) · PC Tech (Personal Computer Technician) · Printer Technician (Printer Tech) · Product Support Consultant · Product Support Engineer · Product Support Specialist · Service Desk Analyst · Software Installer · Support Engineer · Support Specialist · Support Technician (Support Tech) · Technical Services Specialist · Technical Support Analyst · Technical Support Call Center Representative (Technical Support Call Center Rep)