What is the Practical Help Desk Associate Certification?
The Practical Help Desk Associate (PHDA) certification is a beginner-level exam that will prepare students for a career on the IT help desk. The exam requires students to resolve support tickets and create Knowledge Base documentation of the steps taken to complete the tickets. Students will have eight hours to complete the assessment, write their documentation, and submit a professional report.
Earning the PHDA certification demonstrates to employers that students have the practical skills required to succeed on a help desk team.
How to Pass the PHDA Exam
In order to receive the certification, a student must:
Act as an IT help desk employee to professionally respond to and resolve support tickets addressing common IT support questions.
Create a final report consisting of step-by-step Knowledge Base documentation for each ticket and how it was resolved. A detailed reporting template will be provided to students.
The PHDA exam voucher comes with lifetime access to the training materials the exam is based on. We highly recommend preparing before attempting the exam. If you don’t initially succeed, don’t worry! We never want to profit on failure and include one free retake with every exam voucher.
Practical Help Desk Associate Exam Format
Like all TCM Security certifications, the PHDA exam was designed to teach students how to apply their skills in a real-world situation. There are not any multiple choice questions on this exam. Our exams provide an experience that is similar to what employees will do in a professional environment.
In the PHDA, students are dropped right into the heart of an IT help desk where they receive credentials for a ticketing system and several support tickets that must be resolved. Students will be provided a VPN connection to a remote environment consisting of Windows and Linux hosts as well as an Active Directory environment. Students must satisfactorily complete each ticket and respond appropriately in the ticketing platform hosted in the environment.
In addition, students will need to write documentation for each ticket, outlining the steps taken to close the ticket. To pass the exam, students will be graded on how many tickets they successfully completed and the quality of the Knowledge Base documentation they write.
What is Included
17+ Hours of On-Demand Training (Lifetime Access)
1 Exam Attempt + 1 Free Retake (Lifetime)
8 Hours to Complete and Write Report
24/7/365 Course Support
System Requirements
Stable Internet Connection
Special Introductory Pricing!
$199
$149
Cannot be combined with other discounts or promotional offers.
Who Should Take the Practical Help Desk Associate Exam?
The PHDA is a practical introduction to IT help desk. It is appropriate for anyone looking to start their tech career and land an entry-level help desk or IT position. This exam and course are truly beginner level and cover everything needed to go from zero IT experience to completing the real-world tasks required to excel as a level 1 help desk technician. The PHDA will prepare students for jobs including:
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Help Desk Technician
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Help Desk Analyst
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IT Technician
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IT Support Desk
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Help Desk Associate
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IT Support Analyst
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How to Prepare for the PHDA Exam
In addition to the lifetime voucher and exam attempt, students who enroll in the Practical Help Desk Associate certification will receive lifetime access to the Practical Help Desk course from TCM Security Academy. This course will teach you everything you need to know to pass the exam.
Practical Help Desk
Students will receive lifetime access to over 17 hours of training materials in the Practical Help Desk course from TCM Security Academy. The PHDA exam was built from the information and resources that you will find delivered in this course material, including:
- Intro to IT
- Intro to Computing
- Desktop Computer Components and Repair
- Installing, Replacing and Troubleshooting laptops
- Operating Systems
- Virtualization
- Windows
- Linux
- Networking
- Security
- Remote Support
- Ticketing
- Windows Active Directory
All TCM Security Certifications Include:
Video Training
Receive access to video-led training that was developed to provide a hands-on learning experience.
Realistic Exams
Our certification exams are designed to provide the student with a real-world experience that simulates working as a IT help desk analyst.
Free Retake
Industry Recognized
Non-Invasive Experience
Stable Environments
Get unlimited access to our stable student exam environments. Hosted safely for you in the cloud.
Unbeatable Support
We proudly offer 24/7/365 customer support with the additional benefit of access to our community Discord with over 60,000+ students.
Discounts
Request Certification Reimbursement
Training doesn’t stop once you land a position. If your company offers a training budget or reimbursement for continuing education, consider using it on TCM Security live training and certifications! To make things easier, we’ve created a Training Budget Request Template—a customizable document designed to align your learning goals with your company’s objectives. Be sure to follow your company’s policies and procedures to increase the likelihood of your request being approved.
Training Options for Organizations
Are you a manager looking to upskill your team? We offer bulk discounts for organizations looking to purchase multiple certification vouchers. Ask us about our training bundle. We also conduct private group session training. Please reach out to us at info@tcm-sec.com if you are interested in learning more about those options!
Frequently Asked Questions
PHDA Exam FAQ
Who can take the PHDA?
Any individual from any country is eligible to sit for the PHDA exam. Individuals under the age of 18 years old must submit a Parental Consent Form prior to purchasing the exam voucher.
How is this exam and training different from others?
This is a practical certification that is designed to simulate a day in the life of a help desk technician. There are zero multiple choice questions and students will be entirely assessed on their ability to perform the tasks required to excel as an entry level help desk technician.
How long is the exam?
The exam environment permits eight hours to complete the tickets, write your report, and submit it for grading. We recommend taking screenshots and working on the documentation as you complete the tickets.
How difficult is the exam?
This exam was designed for beginners to gain practical IT support experience. If you have zero IT experience, complete the Practical Help Desk course in full to prepare for the exam. If you have some IT experience or have worked on a help desk before, the exam should be relatively easy.
What tools can I use on the exam?
All the tools required will be provided in the remote environment for the exam. The Practical Help Desk course will teach you how to use them.
General FAQ
Does the certification expire?
No, the Practical Help Desk Associate certification does NOT expire.
Does my exam voucher expire?
No, exam vouchers do not expire.
Does my training expire?
The PHDA comes with lifetime access to the training materials.
Will I receive a digital certification?
Yes! You can view an example of those here.
Do you offer any other discounts?
Yes! We are veteran-owned and want to thank you for your service.
We offer a 20% discount to current and former military as well as first responders (Police, EMTs, Firefighters, Nurses, Doctors, etc.), regardless of country. We also extend this discount to students and educators.
Please email support@tcm-sec.com with proof of first responder status, such as a discharge form, ID, etc. and we will issue you a coupon code to use on purchase. If you are a student or educator, please email us from a valid educational address or provide proof of current enrollment.
Is the exam proctored?
No. We do monitor network traffic in the exam environment and have detection mechanisms in place for cheating in the environment and the exam, but there will be no proctor or intrusive software to install on your machine.
Do you offer printed certifications?
In efforts to stay green, we do not offer printed certifications. However, our certifications come in a high quality printable format and you’re welcome to have them printed on your own accord.
Do you offer bulk discounts?
We do. If your organization would like to purchase several certification vouchers for your team members to learn more and upskill, please contact info@tcm-sec.com for more information.
