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The differences between help desk administrators and technical 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 a help desk administrator and a technical support specialist. Additionally, a help desk administrator has an average salary of $49,798, which is higher than the $48,667 average annual salary of a technical support specialist.
The top three skills for a help desk administrator include customer service, desk support and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a technical support specialist are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Administrator | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,798 | $48,667 |
| Hourly rate | $23.94 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 130,180 | 157,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.6 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Help desk administrator is responsible for handling activities related to system support for their company or organization. They are in charge of providing superb client experiences and working in resolving support issues in a professional and timely manner. One of their primary tasks includes providing login resets and passwords for end-users. In addition, they will also perform innovative systems and network repairs, as well as assist computer information responses as required. Moreover, they support complete equipment set-up, renewal, or termination of a user account, handle server, and domain account changes.
A technical support specialist is responsible for assisting customer's and businesses' concerns and system issues by performing troubleshooting and remote solutions. These specialists must have extensive knowledge of system applications, including software and hardware database to handle complex processes that might affect the end user's experience or the business' daily operations. Technical support specialists should maintain excellent communication skills to guide the client and business on solving network problems. They must also document concerns and progress promptly for reference and quality checks.
Help desk administrators and technical support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Administrator | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $49,798 | $48,667 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $71,000 | Between $30,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Houlihan Lokey | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a help desk administrator and a technical support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Administrator | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between help desk administrators' and technical support specialists' demographics:
| Help Desk Administrator | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7% | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 8.8% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 11% |