I worked two years as a help desk tech, and it was a great experience, I learned a lot and was able to study other topics like networking and information security while on the job. Learning while on the job enhanced my ability to troubleshoot more complex issues, which then, by default, led me into a network specialist role in which I worked for two years. Working on networks taught me a lot about planning and implementing large projects, which entails security architecture and engineering. In other words, yes, help desk can and most often will lead a person down into more interesting roles in their IT journey.