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The differences between help desk managers and support leads 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 support lead. Additionally, a help desk manager has an average salary of $96,278, which is higher than the $86,816 average annual salary of a support lead.
The top three skills for a help desk manager include customer service, technical support and help desk. The most important skills for a support lead are customer service, cash management, and POS.
| Help Desk Manager | Support Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $96,278 | $86,816 |
| Hourly rate | $46.29 | $41.74 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 75,971 | 98,872 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| 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 support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members. They may also perform calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, as a support lead, it is essential to perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports, managing schedules, and maintaining records of transactions.
Help desk managers and support leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Manager | Support Lead | |
| Average salary | $96,278 | $86,816 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $125,000 | Between $63,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Berkeley, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a help desk manager and a support lead in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Manager | Support Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between help desk managers' and support leads' demographics:
| Help Desk Manager | Support Lead | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.3% Female, 29.7% | Male, 52.3% Female, 47.7% |
| 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, 10.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 14.6% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |