Post job

Desktop support contractor vs desktop support technician

The differences between desktop support contractors 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 desktop support contractor and a desktop support technician. Additionally, a desktop support contractor has an average salary of $43,977, which is higher than the $41,792 average annual salary of a desktop support technician.

The top three skills for a desktop support contractor include desktop support, laptop computers and PC. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.

Desktop support contractor vs desktop support technician overview

Desktop Support ContractorDesktop Support Technician
Yearly salary$43,977$41,792
Hourly rate$21.14$20.09
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs110,472108,944
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Desktop support contractor vs desktop support technician salary

Desktop support contractors and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Desktop Support ContractorDesktop Support Technician
Average salary$43,977$41,792
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $65,000Between $32,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City-Philadelphia, PA
Highest paying state-Pennsylvania
Best paying company-NTT Data International L.L.C.
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between desktop support contractor and desktop support technician education

There are a few differences between a desktop support contractor and a desktop support technician in terms of educational background:

Desktop Support ContractorDesktop Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorComputer Information SystemsComputer Information Systems
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Desktop support contractor vs desktop support technician demographics

Here are the differences between desktop support contractors' and desktop support technicians' demographics:

Desktop Support ContractorDesktop Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 91.6% Female, 8.4%Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 10.9% White, 56.3% 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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between desktop support contractor and desktop support technician duties and responsibilities

Desktop support contractor example responsibilities.

  • Manage special projects, test and troubleshoot applications, images, etc.
  • Manage LAN infrastructure configuring and maintaining all network hardware devices.
  • Resolve hardware (PC, peripherals, network) and software issues.
  • Re-Establish a stable state for the PC and users.
  • Install and support Novell, Microsoft and Citrix servers.
  • Cloned computer using imaging software (DSM, SCCM).
  • Show more

Desktop support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage and troubleshoot network connectivity with TCP/IP
  • Coordinate and manage a large-scale VOIP phone system conversion project for high-profile corporate customer.
  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Deploy WINTERMS on CITRIX platform.
  • Blackberry and android setup and activation.
  • Support a legacy system which requires a client certificate and a specific Java version and configuration.
  • Show more

Desktop support contractor vs desktop support technician skills

Common desktop support contractor skills
  • Desktop Support, 9%
  • Laptop Computers, 8%
  • PC, 7%
  • Remote Desktop, 7%
  • Network Printers, 6%
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
Common desktop support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Desktop Support, 10%
  • Troubleshoot, 8%
  • Technical Support, 6%
  • Remote Desktop, 3%
  • Laptop Computers, 3%

Browse computer and mathematical jobs