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The differences between help desk managers and desk support technicians 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 manager and a desk support technician. Additionally, a help desk manager has an average salary of $96,278, which is higher than the $40,715 average annual salary of a desk support technician.
The top three skills for a help desk manager include customer service, technical support and help desk. The most important skills for a desk support technician are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Manager | Desk Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $96,278 | $40,715 |
| Hourly rate | $46.29 | $19.57 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 75,971 | 130,485 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A help desk manager oversees and coordinates the daily performance of help desk teams, ensuring clients get to receive optimal support and services. They are in charge of setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and timelines, performing assessments and inspections, and monitoring the progress of operations, resolving issues or conflicts should any arise. There are also instances when a help desk manager must facilitate the communication between internal and external parties, recruit and train new members of the workforce, and implement policies and procedures to optimize operations.
A desktop support technician is responsible for assisting end-users with their network issues, grant authorization requests, and create user accounts. Desktop support technicians maintain the safety and security of networks, preventing unauthorized access and illegal dissemination of database information. They also handle the software configurations and upgrading the network infrastructure to avoid system downtimes and operational delays. A desktop support technician must have excellent communication and technical skills to monitor systems performance and enhance network navigation.
Help desk managers and desk support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Manager | Desk Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $96,278 | $40,715 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $125,000 | Between $26,000 And $62,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | BNY Mellon |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a help desk manager and a desk support technician in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Manager | Desk Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between help desk managers' and desk support technicians' demographics:
| Help Desk Manager | Desk Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.3% Female, 29.7% | Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 11.7% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |