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Contractor/technician vs desktop support technician

The differences between contractor/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 contractor/technician and a desktop support technician. Additionally, a contractor/technician has an average salary of $54,910, which is higher than the $41,792 average annual salary of a desktop support technician.

The top three skills for a contractor/technician include PC, network printers and desktop support. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.

Contractor/technician vs desktop support technician overview

Contractor/TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Yearly salary$54,910$41,792
Hourly rate$26.40$20.09
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs78,980108,944
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Contractor/technician vs desktop support technician salary

Contractor/technicians and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Contractor/TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Average salary$54,910$41,792
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $90,000Between $32,000 And $54,000
Highest paying CitySacramento, CAPhiladelphia, PA
Highest paying stateNew YorkPennsylvania
Best paying companyUnited Software GroupNTT Data International L.L.C.
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between contractor/technician and desktop support technician education

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

Contractor/TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 47%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorBusinessComputer Information Systems
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Contractor/technician vs desktop support technician demographics

Here are the differences between contractor/technicians' and desktop support technicians' demographics:

Contractor/TechnicianDesktop Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 78.0% Female, 22.0%Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 10.8% 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 contractor/technician and desktop support technician duties and responsibilities

Contractor/technician example responsibilities.

  • Develop Java base IAM system components to manage security and authorizations.
  • Utilize VMWare for testing various software/hardware configurations before deploying to production status.
  • Maintain government and/or vendor-manufacture telecommunications equipment, fiber optic modems, multiplexer, fiber optic/Ethernet cables, switches & telephone systems.
  • Install end user peripherals and troubleshot any issues.
  • Set up, install, and troubleshot peripheral equipment.
  • Edit and create knowledge base articles, complete all work satisfactorily within SLA's.
  • 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

Contractor/technician vs desktop support technician skills

Common contractor/technician skills
  • PC, 10%
  • Network Printers, 7%
  • Desktop Support, 6%
  • POS, 5%
  • Technical Assistance, 4%
  • SQL Server, 4%
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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