Post job

Computer engineering technician vs desk support technician

The differences between computer engineering technicians 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 a computer engineering technician and a desk support technician. Additionally, a computer engineering technician has an average salary of $75,071, which is higher than the $40,715 average annual salary of a desk support technician.

The top three skills for a computer engineering technician include technical support, DOD and CNC. The most important skills for a desk support technician are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.

Computer engineering technician vs desk support technician overview

Computer Engineering TechnicianDesk Support Technician
Yearly salary$75,071$40,715
Hourly rate$36.09$19.57
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs97,057130,485
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Computer engineering technician vs desk support technician salary

Computer engineering technicians and desk support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Computer Engineering TechnicianDesk Support Technician
Average salary$75,071$40,715
Salary rangeBetween $51,000 And $109,000Between $26,000 And $62,000
Highest paying CityCupertino, CASouth San Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleBNY Mellon
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between computer engineering technician and desk support technician education

There are a few differences between a computer engineering technician and a desk support technician in terms of educational background:

Computer Engineering TechnicianDesk Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringBusiness
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyStanford University

Computer engineering technician vs desk support technician demographics

Here are the differences between computer engineering technicians' and desk support technicians' demographics:

Computer Engineering TechnicianDesk Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 84.3% Female, 15.7%Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 13.8% White, 53.6% 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 computer engineering technician and desk support technician duties and responsibilities

Computer engineering technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage inventory and maintenance of POS equipment for retail locations including major corporations.
  • Set up PCs, laptops, tablets.
  • Configure PCs and establish DSL link.
  • Used Altiris software to remotely troubleshoot various PC, Macintosh, network and printer issues.
  • Prepare new & maintain existing workstations, set up printers & projectors, cleaning, painting and plumbing.
  • Engineer test next-generation printers including printer firmware upgrades, speed testing, toner-yield testing, power cycling, etc.
  • 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

Computer engineering technician vs desk support technician skills

Common computer engineering technician skills
  • Technical Support, 13%
  • DOD, 13%
  • CNC, 9%
  • OS, 9%
  • Linux, 8%
  • Java, 7%
Common desk support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Technical Support, 8%
  • Troubleshoot, 7%
  • Phone Calls, 5%
  • Desk Side Support, 5%
  • Remote Troubleshooting, 4%

Browse computer and mathematical jobs