Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between customer support technicians and desk 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 technician and a desk support technician. Additionally, a desk support technician has an average salary of $40,715, which is higher than the $36,361 average annual salary of a customer support technician.
The top three skills for a customer support technician include customer service, customer support and SQL. The most important skills for a desk support technician are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Customer Support Technician | Desk Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $36,361 | $40,715 |
| Hourly rate | $17.48 | $19.57 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 117,102 | 130,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A customer support technician is responsible for resolving customer complaints with their network issues through remote communication, providing the customers with a step-by-step procedure to fix their systems. Customer support technicians assist the customers in setting up their programs and applications, guiding them with the instructional manuals, and responding to the inquiries and concerns they have. They also escalate high-level complaints to the immediate supervisor as needed while monitoring system solutions and creating technical tickets.
A desktop support technician is responsible for assisting end-users with their network issues, grant authorization requests, and create user accounts. Desktop support technicians maintain the safety and security of networks, preventing unauthorized access and illegal dissemination of database information. They also handle the software configurations and upgrading the network infrastructure to avoid system downtimes and operational delays. A desktop support technician must have excellent communication and technical skills to monitor systems performance and enhance network navigation.
Customer support technicians and desk support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Technician | Desk Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $36,361 | $40,715 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $56,000 | Between $26,000 And $62,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Adobe | BNY Mellon |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a customer support technician and a desk support technician in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Technician | Desk Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between customer support technicians' and desk support technicians' demographics:
| Customer Support Technician | Desk Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.1% Female, 33.9% | Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 11.7% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |