NUIT Support Center Job Descriptions

NUIT User Support Services employs approximately forty student employees every year to serve as customer service consultants. These consultants work in the NUIT Support Center (SC) and various locations across campus, providing phone, e-mail, online chat, and face-to-face technical support for Northwestern students, faculty, and staff.

Consultants' primary goals entail delivering proactive and efficient customer service, such that users not only receive the help they need, but are better equipped to solve their problems in the future. While prior knowledge of and experience with Northwestern's computing and networking environment is helpful, it is not a necessary prerequisite for applying. Interpersonal skills and technical acumen are highly valued. Consultants will become proficient in Northwestern's technology environment with time and training. Weekly training sessions are held in order to help consultants gain the required knowledge needed for technical troubleshooting and to provide information on organizational policies and procedures.

While on shift in the Support Center, consultants assist users through one of four mediums: phone, e-mail, online chat, and in person. Questions fielded by SC cons usually concern connecting computers to Northwestern's network, retrieving e-mail, and using supported applications and services. Consultants do not support advanced technical troubleshooting in person while in the SC.

Consultants also provide personal computer assistance to students on locations across campus through the Laptop ER service. In these situations, individuals will walk in with their laptops and consultants are expected to troubleshoot network connectivity issues, virus and spyware remediation, NUTV configuration, as well as general operating system problems. Consultants do not provide hardware troubleshooting or operating system installation at Laptop ER or the Support Center.

During Wildcat Welcome each September consultants provide network connectivity troubleshooting for students moving into residence halls on campus. In addition, during the academic year consultants provide ad hoc support for students living in residence halls with desktop computers, performing the same assistance provided at Laptop ER.

Consultant base pay is $9.00 per hour. Depending on a consultant's performance during the year, pay may increase by as much as $0.50 per hour two times a year for a maximum possible raise of $1.00 a year. In addition, consultants have multiple opportunities for upward mobility towards roles requiring heightened responsibility and increased pay.

Consultants are expected to work 10-15 hours per week.

The NUIT Support Center staffs students throughout the calendar year, while the Laptop ER service is available at select times during the academic year. Please see the NUIT Support Center and Laptop ER Web pages for hours and locations.