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The differences between help desk supervisors and help desk administrators 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 help desk administrator. Additionally, a help desk supervisor has an average salary of $64,297, which is higher than the $49,798 average annual salary of a help desk administrator.
The top three skills for a help desk supervisor include customer service, technical support and operational procedures. The most important skills for a help desk administrator are customer service, desk support, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Supervisor | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $64,297 | $49,798 |
| Hourly rate | $30.91 | $23.94 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 72,240 | 130,180 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| 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.
Help desk administrator is responsible for handling activities related to system support for their company or organization. They are in charge of providing superb client experiences and working in resolving support issues in a professional and timely manner. One of their primary tasks includes providing login resets and passwords for end-users. In addition, they will also perform innovative systems and network repairs, as well as assist computer information responses as required. Moreover, they support complete equipment set-up, renewal, or termination of a user account, handle server, and domain account changes.
Help desk supervisors and help desk administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Supervisor | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Average salary | $64,297 | $49,798 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $94,000 | Between $34,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Houlihan Lokey |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a help desk supervisor and a help desk administrator in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Supervisor | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between help desk supervisors' and help desk administrators' demographics:
| Help Desk Supervisor | Help Desk Administrator | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.4% Female, 33.6% | Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7% |
| 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, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 8.8% White, 63.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 9% |