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The differences between help desk specialists and desktop support specialists 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 specialist and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a help desk specialist has an average salary of $51,065, which is higher than the $44,962 average annual salary of a desktop support specialist.
The top three skills for a help desk specialist include customer service, troubleshoot and technical support. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $51,065 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $24.55 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 75,004 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The primary role of help desk specialists is to maintain relationships between the company and its customers. Their duties and responsibilities include responding to guests' queries, providing technical computer support, and maintaining computer systems' performance. Help desk specialists are also responsible for following up with customers to resolve issues and train computer users. There are several requirements to be qualified for this position, which include having relevant customer service experience, problem-solving and analytical skills, and the ability to prioritize vital tasks.
A Desktop Support Specialist is focused on troubleshooting different software packages, hardware devices, and other peripherals. They monitor the performance of the company's desktop infrastructure.
Help desk specialists and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $51,065 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $73,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Schulte Roth & Zabel | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a help desk specialist and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between help desk specialists' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Help Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 11.6% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 12.3% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |