Career growth in Customer Support - 3 minute survey

Research on how Customer Support professionals think about career development. No sales pitch, no email required.

By Renato and Senthila - two Customer Support professionals researching

career paths in this field.

1. What best describes your current (or most recent) role?

A

Customer Support/Technical Support

B

Solutions Consultant/Implementation/Onboarding

C

Customer Support Manager/Lead

D

Customer Experience (CX)

E

Product Support Specialist (supporting a specific product)

F

I recently transitioned out of CS or CX (within last 2 years)

G

None of the above

2. What type of company do you work for (or most recently worked for)?

A

B2B - business customers (you support other companies)

B

B2C - consumer customers (you support individual people)

C

Mixed - both types of customers

3. How long have you been in CS/CX roles (total)?

A

Less than 1 year

B

1-2 years

C

3-5 years

D

6-10 years

E

10+ years

4. Which statement best describes how you feel about your career right now?

A

I'm on a clear growth path and feel good about it

B

I feel like I'm plateauing - doing good work but not advancing

C

I'm actively looking for my next move (within or outside CS)

D

I'm planning to leave CS for a different function

E

I recently transitioned out of CS into a new role

5. If you could design your ideal next career step, which sounds closest? (Pick ONE)

A

A senior/leadership role within CS (Head of CS, VP CS)

B

A role closer to Product (PM, Product Ops, Product Analyst)

C

A role closer to Strategy or Operations (RevOps, BizOps)

D

A role closer to Data/Analytics

E

I'm happy staying in my current type of role

F

Something else - please tell us more

What role are you thinking of?

6. What feels like the BIGGEST barrier to your next career step? (Pick up to 2)

I don't know how to translate my CS skills for other roles

I lack specific technical skills (SQL, data, product tools)

I don't have the right credentials or certifications

I don't have a network in the function I want to move to

I lack confidence - I'm not sure I'm qualified

I don't even know what roles would be a good fit for me

Nothing - I feel well-equipped for my next step

7. In the past 12 months, which of these have you ACTUALLY done? (Select all that apply)

Taken an online course related to career development

Read books about career growth or new skills

Applied to roles outside of CS

Attended a webinar or workshop on professional development

Hired a career coach or mentor

Updated my CV/LinkedIn to target non-CS roles

Talked to my manager about a career path change

None of the above

8. Roughly how much have you spent on professional development (courses, books, coaching, certifications) in the past 12 months?

A

$0

B

$1-$50

C

$51-$200

D

$201-$500

E

$500+

9. If you DID invest in professional development, what format worked best for you? (Pick ONE - or skip if you picked $0 above)

A

Self-paced online course (Udemy, Coursera, etc.)

B

Live workshop or webinar

C

1-on-1 coaching or mentoring

D

Books or audiobooks

E

Community or peer group

F

Cohort-based course (live group learning over weeks)

G

Other

10. If you could have ONE resource to help you take the next step in your career, what would it be?

11. Would you be interested in any of the following? (Select all)

A free resource/template to help translate CS skills for other roles

Being notified when we publish career growth content for CS professionals

A 30-minute 1-on-1 conversation about your career experience (the research interview - we learn from YOU)

Nothing right now, thanks