Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between help desk representatives and services desk technicians 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 representative and a services desk technician. Additionally, a services desk technician has an average salary of $42,123, which is higher than the $37,449 average annual salary of a help desk representative.
The top three skills for a help desk representative include customer service, troubleshoot and technical support. The most important skills for a services desk technician are service desk, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Representative | Services Desk Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,449 | $42,123 |
| Hourly rate | $18.00 | $20.25 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 51,501 | 145,853 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
Service Desk Technicians are technicians who specialize in providing support to clients. They are usually in fields related to information technology, and they provide technical support to the employees of the organization. They usually help clients in installing, updating, repairing, or maintaining technical components. They are technology-savvy and should be able to communicate well. Most of the time, Service Desk Technicians are contacted through phone calls and thus should be able to guide callers over the phone. They are also expected to be patient and to be customer service-oriented.
Help desk representatives and services desk technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Representative | Services Desk Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,449 | $42,123 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $48,000 | Between $31,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Stow, OH | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | City of Jacksonville | Forum Energy Technologies |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Government |
There are a few differences between a help desk representative and a services desk technician in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Representative | Services Desk Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Information Technology |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between help desk representatives' and services desk technicians' demographics:
| Help Desk Representative | Services Desk Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% | Male, 79.0% Female, 21.0% |
| 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, 11.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.9% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |