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The differences between customer support analysts and help desk analysts 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 help desk analyst. Additionally, a customer support analyst has an average salary of $65,147, which is higher than the $37,318 average annual salary of a help desk analyst.
The top three skills for a customer support analyst include customer service, customer support and technical support. The most important skills for a help desk analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Customer Support Analyst | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $65,147 | $37,318 |
| Hourly rate | $31.32 | $17.94 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 116,811 | 87,591 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| 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.
Help Desk Analysts generally provide technical support by assisting customers with their system issues. These analysts are expected to be highly knowledgeable about application processes and basic troubleshooting. Help Desk Analysts usually communicate with end-users through phone calls or e-mail and are required to attend on customers technical issues promptly. Depending on the expertise, the Help Desk Analysts are often categorized to support levels wherein the most complex issues are often handle by the highest tier. The Help Desk Analysts must have critical-thinking skills on solving network problems and document specific concerns and progress.
Customer support analysts and help desk analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Analyst | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Average salary | $65,147 | $37,318 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $99,000 | Between $26,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | SAP | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Government |
There are a few differences between a customer support analyst and a help desk analyst in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Analyst | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Information Systems |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between customer support analysts' and help desk analysts' demographics:
| Customer Support Analyst | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.9% Female, 40.1% | Male, 71.8% Female, 28.2% |
| 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, 12.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 11.1% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |