There are people with a natural gift for anything related to technology. These are the people who can easily understand tech-related stuff. Their learning agility when it comes to programs, systems, and networks is high. It's a bonus if you have a gift for technology and you can provide excellent customer service. If you fit this category, companies would surely want to hire you. One of the on-demand jobs for this type of person is the desktop support specialist. In this role, you will be on standby to help with ticket requests related to the users' computers. This may involve program, application, or network support needs. As such, if you wish to make a career in this role, you need to have patience. You should also know how to walk clients through solutions in case you won't be able to attend to their concerns physically.
Typically, information technology professionals are paid better than their peers in other fields. This role is no exception. So if you want a fulfilling role with lucrative pay, this would be the best for you!
How to Become a Desktop Support Technician
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a desktop support technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.75 an hour? That's $41,070 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 83,100 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Desktop Support Technician Do
There are certain skills that many desktop support technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed customer-service skills, listening skills and problem-solving skills.
How To Become a Desktop Support Technician
If you're interested in becoming a desktop support technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 45.5% of desktop support technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.3% of desktop support technicians have master's degrees. Even though some desktop support technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a desktop support technician. When we researched the most common majors for a desktop support technician, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on desktop support technician resumes include diploma degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a desktop support technician. In fact, many desktop support technician jobs require experience in a role such as computer technician. Meanwhile, many desktop support technicians also have previous career experience in roles such as technical support specialist or help desk analyst.
Desktop Support Technician Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of systems administrator you might progress to a role such as information technology manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title information technology director.
Average Salary for a Desktop Support Technician
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Desktop Support Technicians
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA • Private
5. New York University
New York, NY • Private
6. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
7. North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC • Private
8. Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, NJ • Private
9. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Private
10. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY • Private
Top Skills For a Desktop Support Technician
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 8.9% of desktop support technicians listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as customer-service skills and listening skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Desktop Support Technician Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Desktop Support Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Desktop Support Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Desktop Support Technician Demographics
Desktop Support Technician Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among desktop support technicians, 10.2% of them are women, while 89.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among desktop support technicians is White, which makes up 58.4% of all desktop support technicians.
- The most common foreign language among desktop support technicians is Spanish at 55.4%.
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Best States For a Desktop Support Technician
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a desktop support technician. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Massachusetts, California, and New Jersey. Desktop support technicians make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $56,569. Whereas in Massachusetts and California, they would average $55,952 and $55,656, respectively. While desktop support technicians would only make an average of $53,891 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. California
$55,656
Avg. Salary
2. Alaska
$56,569
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$55,952
Avg. Salary
How Do Desktop Support Technician Rate Their Jobs?
1.0
1.0
Avoid • March 2019What do you like the most about working as Desktop Support Technician?
Figuring out difficult issues and dealing with people. Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
Outsourcing, contract jobs, low pay, lack of respect from management. Show MoreTop Desktop Support Technician Employers
Most Common Employers For Desktop Support Technician
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IBM | $71,671 | $34.46 | 158 |
| 2 | Dell | $70,235 | $33.77 | 98 |
| 3 | Unisys | $60,773 | $29.22 | 68 |
| 4 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $50,922 | $24.48 | 37 |
| 5 | Siemens | $46,692 | $22.45 | 36 |
| 6 | Lockheed Martin | $44,988 | $21.63 | 66 |
| 7 | Northrop Grumman | $42,971 | $20.66 | 36 |
| 8 | Kaiser Permanente | $42,067 | $20.22 | 66 |
| 9 | AT&T | $41,657 | $20.03 | 44 |
| 10 | Computer Science Corporation | $41,231 | $19.82 | 56 |
Desktop Support Technician Videos
Becoming a Desktop Support Technician FAQs
How do I become a good desktop support technician?
To become a good desktop support technician, you need to accumulate the knowledge and skills needed to provide excellent customer or end-user support. This means you need a combination of technical expertise and customer service experience to be a good desktop support technician.
How do I get a job in desktop support?
You can get a job in desktop support by pursuing the necessary experience and educational qualifications. A person who wants to work in desktop support should gain at least an associate's degree in computer science, though a bachelor's degree is generally preferred.
How much do desktop support technicians make?
Desktop support technicians make an average salary of between $45,000 to $55,000 a year. Typically this means a person is making around $20 to $25 an hour.
This, however, can vary significantly depending on education level, experience, and industry. For example, an entry-level desktop support technician is likely to make around $40,000, while a desktop support technician with multiple years of experience might make closer to $60,000 in a year.
Is desktop support technician a good career?
Yes, desktop support is a good career option for many people. This job is an ideal position for entry-level people who want to get into big tech. While this position does not pay as well as other tech positions, it is an important stepping stone to promotion within the field.
What qualifications do you need to be an IT support technician?
The minimum base qualifications for an IT support technician are an associate's degree in computer science and some work experience. Typically companies prefer to hire people with a bachelor's degree and deep knowledge of various computer programs.