Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between desktop support analysts and technical 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 desktop support analyst and a technical support specialist. Additionally, a desktop support analyst has an average salary of $48,674, which is higher than the $48,667 average annual salary of a technical support specialist.
The top three skills for a desktop support analyst include desktop support, customer service and computer system. The most important skills for a technical support specialist are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Desktop Support Analyst | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $48,674 | $48,667 |
| Hourly rate | $23.40 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 99,621 | 157,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.6 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A desktop support analyst's role is to develop strategies and systems to improve and coordinate desktop support efforts. Their responsibilities revolve around testing and modifying existing networks and systems, providing corrective measures on issues and concerns, performing regular inspections, troubleshooting, and maintaining inventories on software, hardware, and other applications. Furthermore, as a desktop support analyst, it is essential to respond to calls and correspondence from clients, all while adhering to the policies and regulations of the company.
A technical support specialist is responsible for assisting customer's and businesses' concerns and system issues by performing troubleshooting and remote solutions. These specialists must have extensive knowledge of system applications, including software and hardware database to handle complex processes that might affect the end user's experience or the business' daily operations. Technical support specialists should maintain excellent communication skills to guide the client and business on solving network problems. They must also document concerns and progress promptly for reference and quality checks.
Desktop support analysts and technical support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Desktop Support Analyst | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $48,674 | $48,667 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $65,000 | Between $30,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Cambridge Associates | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a desktop support analyst and a technical support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Desktop Support Analyst | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between desktop support analysts' and technical support specialists' demographics:
| Desktop Support Analyst | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 12.3% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |