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Administrative technical support vs desk support technician

The differences between administrative technical supports and desk support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an administrative technical support and a desk support technician. Additionally, an administrative technical support has an average salary of $46,753, which is higher than the $40,715 average annual salary of a desk support technician.

The top three skills for an administrative technical support include technical support, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a desk support technician are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.

Administrative technical support vs desk support technician overview

Administrative Technical SupportDesk Support Technician
Yearly salary$46,753$40,715
Hourly rate$22.48$19.57
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs186,858130,485
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does an administrative technical support do?

Administrative technical support maintains every technical set-up used in a company. Their primary responsibility is to inspect a company's systems, evaluate for issues, and repair any problems immediately. Administrative technical support is typically on call at the start of the day and, when they are not responding to calls, they conduct regular check-ups on all company systems. They are also responsible for creating technical reports and offering recommendations for improvements.

What does a desk support technician do?

A desktop support technician is responsible for assisting end-users with their network issues, grant authorization requests, and create user accounts. Desktop support technicians maintain the safety and security of networks, preventing unauthorized access and illegal dissemination of database information. They also handle the software configurations and upgrading the network infrastructure to avoid system downtimes and operational delays. A desktop support technician must have excellent communication and technical skills to monitor systems performance and enhance network navigation.

Administrative technical support vs desk support technician salary

Administrative technical supports and desk support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Administrative Technical SupportDesk Support Technician
Average salary$46,753$40,715
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $75,000Between $26,000 And $62,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSouth San Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyCalifornia
Best paying companyAIGBNY Mellon
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between administrative technical support and desk support technician education

There are a few differences between an administrative technical support and a desk support technician in terms of educational background:

Administrative Technical SupportDesk Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common majorComputer ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Administrative technical support vs desk support technician demographics

Here are the differences between administrative technical supports' and desk support technicians' demographics:

Administrative Technical SupportDesk Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 67.6% Female, 32.4%Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 12.4% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 11.7% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between administrative technical support and desk support technician duties and responsibilities

Administrative technical support example responsibilities.

  • Manage video teleconference sessions, troubleshoot connection issues.
  • Lead technical operations for an innovative workforce virtualization movement, including initial design and improvement of technical systems and processes.
  • Used Citrix remote access to demonstrate and diagnose software problems.
  • Perform automation of scripts for all the environments in UNIX.
  • Train new users, assist in maintenance and deployment of SLA.
  • Maintain DNS zones, virtual web sites and POP3 email client accounts.
  • Show more

Desk support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Use multiple monitor setup display and remote desktop applications via VPN to access associate computers.
  • Utilize desktop deployment tools in order to deploy and maintain inventory for PCs, monitors, and printers.
  • Assist with network connectivity with PCs, laptops, and mobile phones including TCP/IP settings and internet connections.
  • Provide administrative support and troubleshooting for VPN users.
  • Maintain company networks security systems and infrastructure hardware including firewalls and switches and install software security and firmware patches or upgrades.
  • Show more

Administrative technical support vs desk support technician skills

Common administrative technical support skills
  • Technical Support, 13%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Troubleshoot, 7%
  • Phone Calls, 6%
  • Data Entry, 5%
  • Desk Support, 5%
Common desk support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Technical Support, 8%
  • Troubleshoot, 7%
  • Phone Calls, 5%
  • Desk Side Support, 5%
  • Remote Troubleshooting, 4%

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