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Job outlook for help desk managers in the United States
Help desk manager job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected help desk manager job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 83,100 new jobs for help desk managers are projected over the next decade.
Help desk manager salaries have increased 9% for help desk managers in the last 5 years.
There are over 6,376 help desk managers currently employed in the United States.
There are 75,971 active help desk manager job openings in the US.
The average help desk manager salary is $96,278.
Are help desk manager jobs in demand?
Help desk manager job and salary trends over time
Help desk manager jobs over time
Help desk manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6,376 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 7,287 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 8,773 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 4,651 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 4,526 | 0.00% |
Average help desk manager salary over time
Help desk manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $96,278 | $46.29 | +3.4% |
| 2024 | $93,105 | $44.76 | +2.3% |
| 2023 | $90,997 | $43.75 | +1.5% |
| 2022 | $89,623 | $43.09 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $88,159 | $42.38 | +1.6% |
Help desk manager jobs by state
Most common states for help desk managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 472 | 68% |
| 2 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 207 | 20% |
| 3 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,557 | 18% |
| 4 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 1,078 | 18% |
| 5 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 539 | 17% |
| 6 | Alaska | 739,795 | 128 | 17% |
| 7 | Vermont | 623,657 | 100 | 16% |
| 8 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 849 | 15% |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 202 | 15% |
| 10 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 158 | 15% |
| 11 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 117 | 15% |
| 12 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 921 | 13% |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 891 | 13% |
| 14 | Delaware | 961,939 | 128 | 13% |
| 15 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 74 | 13% |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,476 | 12% |
| 17 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 667 | 12% |
| 18 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 225 | 12% |
| 19 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,192 | 11% |
| 20 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 733 | 11% |
Most common cities for help desk managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairfax | 1 | 4% | $102,065 |
| 2 | Ridgefield | 1 | 4% | $89,020 |
| 3 | Battle Creek | 1 | 2% | $80,765 |
| 4 | Severn | 1 | 2% | $86,049 |
| 5 | Washington | 5 | 1% | $87,810 |
| 6 | Schaumburg | 1 | 1% | $84,679 |
| 7 | Springfield | 1 | 1% | $87,709 |
| 8 | Baltimore | 3 | 0% | $86,153 |
| 9 | Atlanta | 1 | 0% | $88,335 |
| 10 | Chandler | 1 | 0% | $80,478 |
| 11 | Glendale | 1 | 0% | $80,756 |
| 12 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $80,254 |
| 13 | Los Angeles | 1 | 0% | $100,460 |
| 14 | New York | 1 | 0% | $90,344 |
| 15 | Phoenix | 1 | 0% | $80,729 |
| 16 | Saint Paul | 1 | 0% | $89,286 |
Help Desk Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of help desk manager experts
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Texas A&M University San Antonio
Arizona State University
Grand Valley State University
California State University - Long Beach
Centenary College of Louisiana
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Utah Valley University
Dominican University
Loyola University Chicago
Governors State University
New York Institute of Technology
Tufts University
Slippery Rock University
Stetson University
Saint Peter's University
American University
Iowa State University
What Help Desk Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Jaunelle Celaire: Never stop learning! This may consist of going back to school, earning new certifications in your field of study, attending conferences and seminars, and making sure that your time management is always at its finest level of excellence.
What will help Help Desk Managers increase their earning potential?
Jaunelle Celaire: 2. Leadership - the world needs more of these; the ability to lead, craft and grow. Digital literacy - this world is definitely turning digital and virtual is the new trend. Emotional intelligence - there is a vast number of personalities in our world today; individuals grow and it is our job to stay emotionally connected, so we can operate more effectively.
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Computer Information SystemsTexas A&M University San Antonio
Computer Information Systems Department
What skills stand out on Help Desk Manager resumes?
Robert Vinaja Ph.D.: The skills that stand out will depend on the job position you apply for. I do not think there is a set of universal skills that will stand out for any job. Instead, your resume skills must match the expected requirements for a specific job.
Robert Rucker
LecturerArizona State University
School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering
What skills stand out on Help Desk Manager resumes?
Robert Rucker: Being articulate/communicative is a real positive - being able to write up a coherent report is a big plus.
What soft skills should all Help Desk Managers possess?
Robert Rucker: Being able to learn a new technology very quickly is critical since that is what my students encounter.
What technical skills for a Help Desk Manager stand out to employers?
Chirag Parikh Ph.D.: If you ask me, I consider valuable experience over good paycheck. Once you have gained that experience the paycheck will follow. As soon as you are out of college, the knowledge gained is very fresh and raring to go. If put into the right place can enhance your technical skills and you can do wonders.
As a Computer Engineering professor, I would say the job opportunities are tremendous for students out of college as they can venture into hardware field (technical support, hardware engineer, test engineer and much more) as well as software field (software engineer, software developer, software tester and much more). The possibilities are endless.
With COVID and employees working remotely there is still ample opportunity to enhance your technical and interpersonal skills as I believe remote working might stay for a while till things get back to normal.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Help Desk Manager job market given the pandemic?
Chirag Parikh Ph.D.: The biggest trend according to me right now would be digital transformation of workplace. Workplace activities that were happening in-person has now become virtual and technology literacy is going to play a vital role. Cross disciplinary expertise is also going to be very crucial.
Biggest trends in job market according to me would be in the area of robotics, automation, AI, software development, cyber-security and healthcare for sure. This pandemic has created a sense of health awareness among people and we are seeing lot of students opting for healthcare programs (undergraduate and graduate).
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Help Desk Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Lesley Farmer: Many employees have trouble pivoting to online work so in the short term, tech support and instructional design jobs are in high demand. Data privacy and security are also hot topics and need ed tech expertise. Tech maintenance, including cloud services and networks, continue to be needed, rather like car maintenance. Thinking forward, software development is another area of need, particularly with more online-based education. If grads have data analytics expertise, they can find jobs on data management and learning analytics.
Disabilities continue to be an issue, particularly in terms of equity, so jobs dealing with assistive technology and other ed tech supports are possible. Finally, grads should broaden their concept of educational settings; informal education is more important than ever: in business/HR, libraries and museums, recreational and youth-serving clubs, mass media, government and non-profit agencies. All of these entities are involved in training, outreach, PR, and public awareness/education. Be creative and persistent.
Dr. Barbara Davis
William J. Atkins DeanCentenary College of Louisiana
Frost School of Business
What experience really stands out on Help Desk Manager resumes?
Dr. Barbara Davis: Graduates participating in internships related to their areas of interest. Internships spanning more than one semester at the same firm stand out as well.
What skills stand out on Help Desk Manager resumes?
Dr. Timothy Edwards: Writing and research skills. Analytical and critical thinking skills. Technical skills such as web design, graphic design, audio and video production skills. Employers are interested in potential employees knowledge, intelligence and skills.
Curtis Welborn
ProfessorUtah Valley University
Computer Science Department
What experience really stands out on Help Desk Manager resumes?
Curtis Welborn: That can really depend upon the company. Some companies want people with a strong background in machine learning right now. But I've met people who shy away from hiring people with too much machine learning on their resume even when the company wants someone to do machine learning because too many of these people only want to, or only can, do machine learning. They don't have a strong fundamental understanding of Computer Science (see No. 2). Our students who complete the Compiler course get jobs, not because companies are building a compiler but because companies know that someone who can build a compiler can most likely do anything they would want done. So people should not focus on finding that thing that makes their resume look good today. Just be great at everything you do. Take hard classes, and excel at them. Learn EVERYTHING you can, and companies will want you.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Help Desk Manager job market given the pandemic?
Kate Marek Ph.D.: Probably an acceleration of existing trends - remote working, skill-set based job openings (rather than degree-specific), along with an ongoing need for necessary skills such as writing, problem-solving, collaboration, and project management.
What type of skills will young Help Desk Managers need?
Peter Dordal Ph.D.: I'm leaving off software developers, and answering about our Information Technology graduates.
IT students entering the business world will need to know how to get the maximum leverage out of business systems. In many cases, this will mean writing their own specialized queries to extract the precise business intelligence needed; general-purpose "canned" queries just won't cut it. They will need a broad understanding of what software can accomplish for the enterprise and how to deploy new software effectively; this applies to software used in the office as well as to software used in manufacturing and shipping. And they will need to understand how to lease storage and computing resources from the cloud to meet not only predictable, long-term demands but also sudden short-term business projects.
Students working in database administration and management will need to be able to manage much larger volumes of data than a few years ago. They will need to be familiar with the great variety of new databases in order to pick the best tool for the job.
Students working in network management will need to be able to ensure that everyone has the bandwidth and server access they need, as those demands expand to include extensive video, low-latency real-time connectivity, and the regular transfer of huge amounts of data.
Students in cybersecurity will need to be fully acquainted with all the recommended best practices. However, they will also have to be able to anticipate and guard against potential new vulnerabilities. "By the book" protection is no longer sufficient.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Help Desk Manager job market given the pandemic?
Stephen Hyzny: Security, as more people need online services, the protection behind that technology will be needed.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Help Desk Managers in the next 5 years?
Stephen Hyzny: As everything involves technology, more educated people will need it in the future. As our cars, houses, and lives connect, people will be required to make it all work.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Help Desk Managers in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.: -The enormous growth of IoT and wearables. The number of connected devices is expected to be more than 26 billion in 2020. That includes things like household appliances, controllable lighting, and much more. This trend is likely to continue as it is expected to see the industry grow to 661 billion dollars by 2021.
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Help Desk Manager job market given the pandemic?
Ming Chow: -Need to hit the ground running as many employees and companies don't have the time, energy, and training infrastructure.
-The soft skills, including communications, how to deal with change and the basics are becoming more critical-things like using a calendar, following-up, etc.
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorSlippery Rock University
Department of Information Systems
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Help Desk Managers?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: It is obvious that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and transformed the lives of many people, including students all over the world. A major effect is requiring students to stay and learn from home because of the closure of educational institutions as a precautionary measure. Missing saying the traditional goodbye to friends, fraternities, and sororities, and having to watch commencement ceremonies in bedrooms online will leave an indelible mark in graduates.
This means a great U-shift in memories of college life, including physical interaction and learning environment, and systems adopting a new way of doing things. Graduates will enter the job market with uncertainties of availability of traditional jobs and how to work in a new normal. Many graduates will find themselves having to search for jobs virtually and having to start working remotely from the beginning in most cases and in most industries. What would have been a new beginning, along with the excitement of stepping through the doors of the new office and career, will not be there physically. This will have an impact on these graduates because of the transformation of society as a result of the pandemic.
How do you envision technology impacting Help Desk Managers in the next 5 years?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: The trend we have witnessed in the past two decades in terms of development in technology is unprecedented. This has a ripple effect on the field of information sciences and systems. Most traditional jobs have changed or rebranded. For example, consider how information and data processing and management (IDPM) has revolutionized into what is today information management or management information systems; business intelligence is almost transformed into business analytics, data science; high-performance computing, and grid computing is today predominantly engulfed by cloud computing services.
These are changing how data and information are managed. The decision-making process is changing in various information and knowledge-intensive and process-oriented industries such as healthcare, banking, transportation, engineering, education, security, just to name a few, despite the fact that roles and services still remain. New and emerging disciplines and services are added, driven by the advancement and greater capabilities of technology. Without a doubt, in the next few years, data and information services will be revolutionized by technology hugely. Consider the development in artificial intelligence, data science, blockchain, 5G, and broadband networks, all of which have huge potential to impact the discipline. This means that information sciences and information systems courses must adapt to take into consideration the emerging skills required by the professionals and businesses of the future. The education and training of professionals in this domain have to be continuously changing to prepare graduates adequately.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Help Desk Managers to find work opportunities?
Abdou Karim Jallow Ph.D.: Sometimes new graduates from college can find it hard to get the perfect or preferred job location. This may be different for those with information sciences or information systems and related degrees. Luckily there are big companies, multinational companies as well as some-sized enterprises who need skills in that discipline. Most of these can be found in some of the big cities beyond Silicon Valley such as NY, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Denver, Colorado, Philadelphia, Chicago, DC, Charlotte, Houston, Boston, Dallas, and Minneapolis, just to name a few.
Some of these locations are where some of the big tech companies reside, such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, IBM, HP, SAP, etc. The advantage of this degree is that graduates not only can work for tech companies but any company because of the need to manage data, information, process, and technology. Companies all over have or are putting together strategies to harness the potential of big data, and graduates with information sciences, information systems, and related degrees are sought after continuously.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Help Desk Managers?
Dr. Hala ElAarag: I didn't see any negative impact of coronavirus on our graduates. Our graduates did not have any problem finding internships and jobs during the pandemic. After the pandemic, there will be even more demand and opportunities for our graduates.
How do you envision technology impacting Help Desk Managers in the next 5 years?
Edward Moskal: Technology will have a significant impact over the next five years. While technology associated with the software, databases, blockchain, cloud computing, and cybersecurity will still have an impact, we are likely to see significant changes and advancements in fields such as artificial intelligence, combinations of augmented and mixed reality, and quantum computing. Industry and business will be driving these advancements, in particular, the healthcare industry and large tech companies like Google and Facebook that have already started establishing a strong presence in these fields.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Help Desk Managers to find work opportunities?
Kathleen Riley: My computer science students from the class of 2020 had a variety of experiences when they entered the job market after graduation. Those who had already signed on at companies like Amazon or Google, whose business stayed strong during the pandemic and whose workplace models adjusted easily to remote work, had a relatively easy time starting their industry jobs. Others, especially those who had planned to work for companies whose business depended on clients or industries which suffered under the pandemic, saw delays, changes in their work plans, and even cancellations of contracts; several found themselves job hunting again over the summer, interviewing remotely and having to assess companies without setting foot outside their own home. Fortunately, there are still a lot of jobs out there for Computer Science graduates, and most of the students I know have found other placements or are well into that process.
We all know about the abundance of computer science opportunities in the Silicon Valley, the Dulles Technology corridor, and other tech hubs, but there is also an abundance of computer science opportunities in large and small cities throughout the country. In addition to businesses whose focus or products are technology-related, many other businesses have significant technology and computer science needs that are provided in-house, and those who thrive and survive will continue to hire.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Help Desk Managers to find work opportunities?
Kevin Scheibe Ph.D.: Interestingly, the organizations that engage with our university to hire students for internships and full-time positions are still there. While hiring for some companies has declined, others have contacted us with more new posts. Our university career fair will be entirely virtual this year, so it will be interesting to see the data afterward. We have consistently seen the demand for students, in the Midwest, and I do not see that changing. There may be an increased interest as people can work in exciting and challenging careers without relocating to large metropolitan areas.