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The differences between engineering support specialists and desktop 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 an engineering support specialist and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, an engineering support specialist has an average salary of $70,461, which is higher than the $44,962 average annual salary of a desktop support specialist.
The top three skills for an engineering support specialist include engineering support, CAD and data entry. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Engineering Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $70,461 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $33.88 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 159,095 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An engineering support specialist's role is vital, especially as it relates to security and databases. They ensure that all technicalities of the project, be it for the support, maintenance, or machines' operation instructions, function well. They perform troubleshooting and system updating if needed. They can also recommend ways to improve the operation by reviewing existing programs and applying new upgrades as allowed and suitable for the system. They should report any malfunctions to personnel concerned.
A Desktop Support Specialist is focused on troubleshooting different software packages, hardware devices, and other peripherals. They monitor the performance of the company's desktop infrastructure.
Engineering support specialists and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Engineering Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $70,461 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $104,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between an engineering support specialist and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Engineering Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between engineering support specialists' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Engineering Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.5% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 12.3% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |