Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between hardware support 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 hardware support specialist and a help desk specialist. Additionally, a hardware support specialist has an average salary of $61,209, which is higher than the $51,065 average annual salary of a help desk specialist.
The top three skills for a hardware support specialist include hardware support, technical support and computer system. The most important skills for a help desk specialist are customer service, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Hardware Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $61,209 | $51,065 |
| Hourly rate | $29.43 | $24.55 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 118,974 | 75,004 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Hardware support specialists and help desk specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hardware Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Average salary | $61,209 | $51,065 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $87,000 | Between $35,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Schulte Roth & Zabel |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a hardware support specialist and a help desk specialist in terms of educational background:
| Hardware Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between hardware support specialists' and help desk specialists' demographics:
| Hardware Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6% | Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 10.6% White, 57.2% 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% |