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The differences between customer support analysts and desktop support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a customer support analyst and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a customer support analyst has an average salary of $65,147, which is higher than the $44,962 average annual salary of a desktop support specialist.
The top three skills for a customer support analyst include customer service, customer support and technical support. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Customer Support Analyst | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $65,147 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $31.32 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 116,811 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A customer support analyst is responsible for assisting customers with their service issues, responding to their inquiries and concerns, and resolving their complaints. Customer support analysts strategize techniques in improving the customer's experience by providing outstanding customer services. They also review quality audits and logs to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of services and modify procedures as needed. A customer support analyst must have excellent communication and organizational skills to look for customer solutions that would highly improve the company's reputation to the market.
A Desktop Support Specialist is focused on troubleshooting different software packages, hardware devices, and other peripherals. They monitor the performance of the company's desktop infrastructure.
Customer support analysts and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Analyst | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $65,147 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $99,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | SAP | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer support analyst and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Analyst | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between customer support analysts' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Customer Support Analyst | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.9% Female, 40.1% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 12.3% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |