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The differences between help desk representatives and customer service representatives 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 representative, becoming a customer service representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a help desk representative has an average salary of $37,449, which is higher than the $32,260 average annual salary of a customer service representative.
The top three skills for a help desk representative include customer service, troubleshoot and technical support. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.
| Help Desk Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $37,449 | $32,260 |
| Hourly rate | $18.00 | $15.51 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 51,501 | 209,515 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
A help desk representative mainly provides client support services through face-to-face interactions, aiming to resolve issues and concerns to ensure client satisfaction. Their responsibilities include answering inquiries, assisting clients in filling up forms, identifying their needs, providing detailed solutions, and referring them to other services as needed. Aside from face-to-face interactions, there are also instances where a help desk representative may provide services through calls and correspondence, troubleshoot problems, and provide step-by-step instructions according to the clients' needs.
Customer service representatives are the first point of contact of the customers, acting as the frontiers of the company and help in driving customer loyalty and retention by leaving a great impression and resolving all of their concerns. They accommodate customer queries by providing useful and comprehensive information about any products or services. Some would use that as an opportunity to market and promote more sales. The most challenging issues they use to handle are customer complaints and processing of refunds and returns. They also assist in basic troubleshooting or accounts and payment setup with the use of specific guidelines or step by step procedures. At most, they help and solve customer issues on their own, but sometimes they would need support from supervisors or other departments.
Help desk representatives and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $37,449 | $32,260 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $48,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Stow, OH | Des Moines, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | City of Jacksonville | Oracle |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a help desk representative and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between help desk representatives' and customer service representatives' demographics:
| Help Desk Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |