Technology

I work in support; not only is it hard to find someone competent but it's an incredibly draining job/career because of both management and customers. People are attracted to it because barrier to entry is low, and half the time the actual technical part isn't necessarily hard, it's the emotional baggage you're expected to carry essentially at all times. There's been multiple instances where I've been so burned out, I'm almost certain it's permanently altered my brain chemistry. On top of that you have low wages, long hours, some places are B2B calls, expected to handle multiple chats at once, and some managers really like to snoop to see what you're doing all day(I see your icon went idle for 3 seconds, you're not taking a bathroom break are you? We need all hands on deck at all times).

This will never go away as long as it's seen as a job any idiot can do. Companies need to change how they truly value support and only then will it get better for the customer. I agree with you; if you find someone good try to be appreciative because the bad ones are a dime a dozen and we are all paid shit.

In my experience, they always hire anyone with a pulse and pay them peanuts. Finding a competent and motivated person is a lot harder then.

The only one where they had some sort of screening was because it was support for the government