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Break-fix technician vs desktop support technician

The differences between break-fix technicians and desktop 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 a break-fix technician and a desktop support technician. Additionally, a desktop support technician has an average salary of $41,792, which is higher than the $40,309 average annual salary of a break-fix technician.

The top three skills for a break-fix technician include desktop support, hand tools and PC. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.

Break-fix technician vs desktop support technician overview

Break-Fix TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Yearly salary$40,309$41,792
Hourly rate$19.38$20.09
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs66,061108,944
Job satisfaction51
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 35%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Break-fix technician vs desktop support technician salary

Break-fix technicians and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Break-Fix TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Average salary$40,309$41,792
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $67,000Between $32,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City-Philadelphia, PA
Highest paying state-Pennsylvania
Best paying company-NTT Data International L.L.C.
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between break-fix technician and desktop support technician education

There are a few differences between a break-fix technician and a desktop support technician in terms of educational background:

Break-Fix TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 35%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorInformation TechnologyComputer Information Systems
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Pennsylvania

Break-fix technician vs desktop support technician demographics

Here are the differences between break-fix technicians' and desktop support technicians' demographics:

Break-Fix TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 89.8% Female, 10.2%Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 10.8% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 11.7% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between break-fix technician and desktop support technician duties and responsibilities

Break-fix technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Install Microsoft SCCM on workstations.
  • Advise on hardware diagnosis and solution.
  • Stay up with old and new POS technologies.
  • Configure workstation IP addresseses and solve IP conflicts.
  • Replace any routers or switches that go bad.
  • Show more

Desktop support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage and troubleshoot network connectivity with TCP/IP
  • Coordinate and manage a large-scale VOIP phone system conversion project for high-profile corporate customer.
  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Deploy WINTERMS on CITRIX platform.
  • Blackberry and android setup and activation.
  • Support a legacy system which requires a client certificate and a specific Java version and configuration.
  • Show more

Break-fix technician vs desktop support technician skills

Common break-fix technician skills
  • Desktop Support, 10%
  • Hand Tools, 9%
  • PC, 8%
  • Network Connectivity, 8%
  • Laptop Computers, 7%
  • Network Printers, 6%
Common desktop support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Desktop Support, 10%
  • Troubleshoot, 8%
  • Technical Support, 6%
  • Remote Desktop, 3%
  • Laptop Computers, 3%

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