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The differences between help desk engineers 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 engineer and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a help desk engineer has an average salary of $52,444, which is higher than the $44,962 average annual salary of a desktop support specialist.
The top three skills for a help desk engineer include troubleshoot, help-desk support and technical support. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Engineer | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $52,444 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $25.21 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 100,003 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Help desk engineers solve problems. They have the technical know-how and have the right troubleshooting tools. They are required to set up computer hardware and software for users and events. When individuals have a certain issue or problem relating to their computer, they bring it to the help desk engineer, who then analyzes and provides a solution. Furthermore, they attend to the issues registered by clients via emails, chats, instant messages, or phone calls.
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 engineers and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Engineer | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $52,444 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $74,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | Radnor, PA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Bain & Company | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a help desk engineer and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Engineer | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between help desk engineers' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Help Desk Engineer | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 12.2% White, 54.6% 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% |