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The differences between help desk coordinators 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 a help desk coordinator and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a desktop support specialist has an average salary of $44,962, which is higher than the $40,262 average annual salary of a help desk coordinator.
The top three skills for a help desk coordinator include technical support, phone calls and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Coordinator | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $40,262 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $19.36 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 89,791 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Help desk coordinators are in charge of supervising help desk staff members who are responsible for helping customers privately either by phone, email, or in person. Generally, they are tasked to hire, schedule, and provide feedback and evaluations to employees. Also, they regularly examine the hardware and software to make sure that they are in good condition. Other tasks include initiating customer contact, resolving complaints, and responding to technical problems when they occur. Help desk coordinators are expected to be able to multi-task, work well under pressure, and advanced technical knowledge.
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.
Help desk coordinators and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Coordinator | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $40,262 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $57,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | Philadelphia, PA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Ecs Federal | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a help desk coordinator and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Coordinator | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between help desk coordinators' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Help Desk Coordinator | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.5% 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% |