Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between decision support analysts 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 decision support analyst and a desktop support technician. Additionally, a decision support analyst has an average salary of $81,227, which is higher than the $41,792 average annual salary of a desktop support technician.
The top three skills for a decision support analyst include data analysis, SAS and tableau. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Decision Support Analyst | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $81,227 | $41,792 |
| Hourly rate | $39.05 | $20.09 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 96,068 | 108,944 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A decision support analyst is a support staff who perform a variety of specialized analyses such as financial analyses and cost-benefit analyses. Your duties typically include documenting analytical findings, designing and developing data reporting systems tailored for business operations, and providing team members with processed data as needed. Additionally, you will be responsible for managing data integrity and accuracy, diagnosing and troubleshooting system errors, and providing recommendations for improvements of the decision support systems. You are also expected to train other team members on how to use the system.
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.
Decision support analysts and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Decision Support Analyst | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $81,227 | $41,792 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $112,000 | Between $32,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mountain View, CA | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | California | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Meta | NTT Data International L.L.C. |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a decision support analyst and a desktop support technician in terms of educational background:
| Decision Support Analyst | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Information Systems |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between decision support analysts' and desktop support technicians' demographics:
| Decision Support Analyst | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.1% Female, 50.9% | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 12.9% White, 55.8% 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% |