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The differences between help desk managers and managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a help desk manager, becoming a manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a help desk manager has an average salary of $96,278, which is higher than the $58,651 average annual salary of a manager.
The top three skills for a help desk manager include customer service, technical support and help desk. The most important skills for a manager are customer service, payroll, and food safety.
| Help Desk Manager | Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $96,278 | $58,651 |
| Hourly rate | $46.29 | $28.20 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 75,971 | 1,236,194 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.57 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
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.
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
Help desk managers and managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Manager | Manager | |
| Average salary | $96,278 | $58,651 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $125,000 | Between $37,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Meta | - |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a help desk manager and a manager in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Manager | Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between help desk managers' and managers' demographics:
| Help Desk Manager | Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.3% Female, 29.7% | Male, 51.0% Female, 49.0% |
| 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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 10% |