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Computer test technician vs desktop support technician

The differences between computer test 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 computer test technician and a desktop support technician. Additionally, a computer test technician has an average salary of $44,148, which is higher than the $41,792 average annual salary of a desktop support technician.

The top three skills for a computer test technician include troubleshoot, PC and ESD. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.

Computer test technician vs desktop support technician overview

Computer Test TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Yearly salary$44,148$41,792
Hourly rate$21.23$20.09
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs53,180108,944
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Computer test technician vs desktop support technician salary

Computer test technicians and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Computer Test TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Average salary$44,148$41,792
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $63,000Between $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 computer test technician and desktop support technician education

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

Computer Test TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringComputer Information Systems
Most common collegeNortheastern UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Computer test technician vs desktop support technician demographics

Here are the differences between computer test technicians' and desktop support technicians' demographics:

Computer Test TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 84.4% Female, 15.6%Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 15.0% White, 56.2% 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 computer test technician and desktop support technician duties and responsibilities

Computer test technician example responsibilities.

  • Recreate and manage company website, maintain regular updates, manage DNS servers, administrate e-mail and outlook exchange server.
  • Assemble and test USB's.
  • Install, maintain, test, adjust, troubleshoot and repair relay and control equipment.
  • Assist other computer technicians as needed on complex PC assembly, integration and configuration projects.
  • Integrate and configure a wide variety of PC hardware, operating systems, software and peripherals.
  • Install and troubleshot hardware of laptops, printers, cameras, and other various computer-relate peripherals.
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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.
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Computer test technician vs desktop support technician skills

Common computer test technician skills
  • Troubleshoot, 19%
  • PC, 15%
  • ESD, 13%
  • Windows, 11%
  • Test Results, 7%
  • Desktop Computers, 7%
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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