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The differences between field service specialists and help desk 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 field service specialist and a help desk specialist. Additionally, a field service specialist has an average salary of $51,832, which is higher than the $51,065 average annual salary of a help desk specialist.
The top three skills for a field service specialist include customer satisfaction, provide customer support and customer support. The most important skills for a help desk specialist are customer service, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Field Service Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $51,832 | $51,065 |
| Hourly rate | $24.92 | $24.55 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 104,134 | 75,004 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A field service specialist is responsible for visiting sites and driving down to clients' locations to provide support for their technical and mechanical issues. Field service specialists identify maintenance problems by asking questions to the clients and personally fix those errors, informing the clients of technical solutions. They also perform installation and quality check services to ensure the stability and efficiency of the technical components and materials. A field service specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially the ability to work for extended hours in the field to achieve the highest customer satisfaction.
The primary role of help desk specialists is to maintain relationships between the company and its customers. Their duties and responsibilities include responding to guests' queries, providing technical computer support, and maintaining computer systems' performance. Help desk specialists are also responsible for following up with customers to resolve issues and train computer users. There are several requirements to be qualified for this position, which include having relevant customer service experience, problem-solving and analytical skills, and the ability to prioritize vital tasks.
Field service specialists and help desk specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Service Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Average salary | $51,832 | $51,065 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $81,000 | Between $35,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | SAP | Schulte Roth & Zabel |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a field service specialist and a help desk specialist in terms of educational background:
| Field Service Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between field service specialists' and help desk specialists' demographics:
| Field Service Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2% | Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 11.6% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |