---
title: "Dear customer support. You don’t need that technical degree. - The Intercom Blog"
description: "A customer support team for a software company does not need all members to hold technical degrees, according to a post from Intercom’s blog. The team, including Customer Support Representatives and Customer Support Engineers, boasts backgrounds from a TV editor to a Navy SEAL. Non-technical members offer empathy by relating to customers’ learning curves, reassuring them about technical tasks like checking the browser console. They also help technical colleagues become better teachers by demanding simple explanations of complex issues, crucial when the company ships daily updates and needs clear instructions for tasks like configuring DNS records. Fresh perspectives from non-technical backgrounds challenge established workflows and spark creativity, leading to more personal and enjoyable support."
---

# Dear customer support. You don’t need that technical degree. - The Intercom Blog

[Intercom](https://yomu.fyi/company/intercom) · Oct 8, 2026

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

A customer support team for a software company does not need all members to hold technical degrees, according to a post from Intercom’s blog. The team, including Customer Support Representatives and Customer Support Engineers, boasts backgrounds from a TV editor to a Navy SEAL. Non-technical members offer empathy by relating to customers’ learning curves, reassuring them about technical tasks like checking the browser console. They also help technical colleagues become better teachers by demanding simple explanations of complex issues, crucial when the company ships daily updates and needs clear instructions for tasks like configuring DNS records. Fresh perspectives from non-technical backgrounds challenge established workflows and spark creativity, leading to more personal and enjoyable support.

## Context

The author is a Customer Support Representative at Intercom who joined with a non-technical background as a TV editor, and she uses her team’s composition as an example.

## Takeaways

- Non-technical customer support team members offer high empathy because they understand the customer’s learning curve, using personal experience to reassure and avoid judgment.
- Less technical teammates encourage technical support engineers to deepen their expertise by practicing clear, simple explanations, which directly benefits customers.
- Team members from non-tech backgrounds bring fresh perspectives that challenge complacency and spark creative problem-solving, improving support quality.

## FAQ

### Why include non-technical team members in customer support?

They bring empathy from their own learning curves, enabling them to relate to confused customers and avoid judgment, which builds trust.

### How do non-technical teammates help technical staff get better?

They force technical engineers to explain complex issues simply, which deepens the engineers' understanding and turns them into better teachers.

### What creative benefit do non-technical backgrounds provide?

They offer fresh perspectives that challenge established workflows and spark new ideas, preventing complacency and improving the support experience.

**Tags:** [Customer Support](https://yomu.fyi/topic/customer-support), [Empathy](https://yomu.fyi/topic/empathy)

- Source: [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/blog/diverse-backgrounds-strengthen-support)
- Source URL: https://www.intercom.com/blog/diverse-backgrounds-strengthen-support
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-10-08T21:00:31.778Z

[Read original post](https://www.intercom.com/blog/diverse-backgrounds-strengthen-support)