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The differences between desktop support consultants 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 consultant and a technical support specialist. Additionally, a technical support specialist has an average salary of $48,667, which is higher than the $46,733 average annual salary of a desktop support consultant.
The top three skills for a desktop support consultant include desktop support, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a technical support specialist are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Desktop Support Consultant | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $46,733 | $48,667 |
| Hourly rate | $22.47 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 100,650 | 157,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.6 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The duties of a desk support consultant vary on their line of work or industry of employment. Most of their responsibilities are likely to revolve around reaching out to clients through calls and correspondence, answering inquiries, troubleshooting, and providing corrective measures, all to attain customer satisfaction. Moreover, a desk support consultant may devise strategies to better communicate with clients, produce progress reports, and maintain accurate records of all transactions. Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to all policies and regulations at all times.
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 consultants and technical support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Desktop Support Consultant | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $46,733 | $48,667 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $64,000 | Between $30,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | NTT Data International L.L.C. | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a desktop support consultant and a technical support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Desktop Support Consultant | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | 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 consultants' and technical support specialists' demographics:
| Desktop Support Consultant | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.0% Female, 15.0% | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 13.5% White, 54.4% 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% |