IT help desk technician — 4 out of 5 stars

• What it is: The first line of tech support inside a company or at a support provider: resetting passwords, fixing software problems, talking users through issues by phone and ticket, and escalating what you cannot fix.
• Certificate or training: CompTIA A+ is the standard entry credential — two exams covering hardware, operating systems, and troubleshooting. Some employers accept the Google IT Support certificate as a starting point, with A+ expected later.
• Cost to get qualified: $700–$1,500 for study materials and both A+ exam vouchers
• Time to job-ready: 3–6 months of part-time study
• Typical pay: $40,000–$60,000 a year full-time, more with experience and shift differentials
• Why it works for a blind person: Help desk work is voice, chat, and remote-control sessions — talking and typing, not looking. Most of the job is a queue of tickets you work in order, with documented fixes, on systems you learn once and then know cold.

Job 2 of 100 · Tech and IT support

Start here, step by step

1. Learn the words first: a ticket is one recorded request for help. Escalating means handing a problem to the next level of support with your notes attached. A knowledge base is the library of known fixes you search before improvising.
2. Check the tools before the exams: help desks run on ticketing software and remote-access tools, and their accessibility varies. Where you can, trial the big platforms with your screen reader so you know which employers' stacks you can actually work in.
3. Study for CompTIA A+ with accessible materials — the official study guides and well-regarded video courses come in text and audio forms. Book the exam with the screen-reader accommodation through the testing provider before you pay.
4. Practice the talk track: most of the job is calm phone manner under someone else's stress. Run mock calls with a friend playing the frustrated user until your questions come in a steady order.
5. Apply broadly: managed service providers (companies that run IT for many small businesses) hire entry-level techs constantly and train hard. Staffing agencies place many first help-desk jobs.
6. After a year, stack the next credential your employer's ladder rewards — Network+, Security+, or a cloud certificate — and move up a tier in pay.

How AI can help

Use AI to search your memory of error messages, draft ticket summaries, and turn your rough notes into clean escalation write-ups. AI cannot sit in the call, hear the panic, and decide the next question — the calm troubleshooting conversation is the job.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A proven on-ramp with constant hiring, an exam-only credential, and a clear ladder upward. It misses five stars because some ticketing and remote-access tools are rough with screen readers — you have to screen employers, literally — and entry shifts can include evenings.

Pros and cons — the honest version

Pros

• Employers hire for this role constantly, everywhere
• Clear ladder: each added certificate raises pay
• Skills transfer to every other tech job on this list

Cons

• Some ticketing platforms work poorly with screen readers — test before you commit
• Entry-level shifts can include nights and weekends
• You absorb other people's worst tech days, all day