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The differences between help desk managers and help desk analysts 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 help desk analyst. Additionally, a help desk manager has an average salary of $96,278, which is higher than the $37,318 average annual salary of a help desk analyst.
The top three skills for a help desk manager include customer service, technical support and help desk. The most important skills for a help desk analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Help Desk Manager | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $96,278 | $37,318 |
| Hourly rate | $46.29 | $17.94 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 75,971 | 87,591 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| 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.
Help Desk Analysts generally provide technical support by assisting customers with their system issues. These analysts are expected to be highly knowledgeable about application processes and basic troubleshooting. Help Desk Analysts usually communicate with end-users through phone calls or e-mail and are required to attend on customers technical issues promptly. Depending on the expertise, the Help Desk Analysts are often categorized to support levels wherein the most complex issues are often handle by the highest tier. The Help Desk Analysts must have critical-thinking skills on solving network problems and document specific concerns and progress.
Help desk managers and help desk analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Manager | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Average salary | $96,278 | $37,318 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $125,000 | Between $26,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Meta | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Government |
There are a few differences between a help desk manager and a help desk analyst in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Manager | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Information Systems |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between help desk managers' and help desk analysts' demographics:
| Help Desk Manager | Help Desk Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.3% Female, 29.7% | Male, 71.8% Female, 28.2% |
| 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, 12.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 11.1% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |