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The differences between help desk supervisors and customer support engineers 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 supervisor and a customer support engineer. Additionally, a customer support engineer has an average salary of $82,674, which is higher than the $64,297 average annual salary of a help desk supervisor.
The top three skills for a help desk supervisor include customer service, technical support and operational procedures. The most important skills for a customer support engineer are customer support, technical support, and customer service.
| Help Desk Supervisor | Customer Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $64,297 | $82,674 |
| Hourly rate | $30.91 | $39.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 72,240 | 138,641 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Help Desk Supervisor oversees and evaluates the daily operations of help desk teams to ensure that customers receive optimal services. They have the authority to set short and long-term goals, establish guidelines and employee schedules, liaise with external business partners, delegate tasks among staff, and monitor operations' progress, resolving complicated issues and concerns. They also review documents and reports that employees regularly submit to ensure that all operations run smoothly and efficiently. Moreover, a Help Desk Supervisor leads and encourages teams to reach goals while implementing its policies and regulations.
A customer support engineer is responsible for providing the highest customer service by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving their complaints regarding the technical products of the company. Customer support engineers handle escalated requests, determine technical solutions, and write resolution reports for reference. They also manage the installation and upgrades of network systems based on clients' specifications to ensure that their systems work with maximum performance. A customer support engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in recommending improvements to prevent system failures and minimize customers' complaints.
Help desk supervisors and customer support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Supervisor | Customer Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $64,297 | $82,674 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $94,000 | Between $59,000 And $114,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Nokia |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a help desk supervisor and a customer support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Supervisor | Customer Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between help desk supervisors' and customer support engineers' demographics:
| Help Desk Supervisor | Customer Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.4% Female, 33.6% | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |