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The differences between customer support engineers 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 customer support engineer and a desktop support technician. Additionally, a customer support engineer has an average salary of $82,674, which is higher than the $41,792 average annual salary of a desktop support technician.
The top three skills for a customer support engineer include customer support, technical support and customer service. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Customer Support Engineer | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $82,674 | $41,792 |
| Hourly rate | $39.75 | $20.09 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 138,641 | 108,944 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A customer support engineer is responsible for providing the highest customer service by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving their complaints regarding the technical products of the company. Customer support engineers handle escalated requests, determine technical solutions, and write resolution reports for reference. They also manage the installation and upgrades of network systems based on clients' specifications to ensure that their systems work with maximum performance. A customer support engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in recommending improvements to prevent system failures and minimize customers' complaints.
A desktop support technician is responsible for troubleshooting defective computer systems, affecting its performance and efficiency. Desktop support technicians must be highly familiar with the technology systems and programming codes to navigate system applications and locate the discrepancy of the system. They keep documentation of the ticket issue and the resolution for reference and quality improvement. A desktop support technician also configures and updates computer systems and networks for better optimization, as well as conducting regular inspections and monitoring the efficiency of installed programs and patches.
Customer support engineers and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Engineer | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $82,674 | $41,792 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $114,000 | Between $32,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Nokia | NTT Data International L.L.C. |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer support engineer and a desktop support technician in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Engineer | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Information Systems |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between customer support engineers' and desktop support technicians' demographics:
| Customer Support Engineer | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.7% 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 Percentage | 11% | 11% |