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The differences between help desk supervisors and technical 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 supervisor and a technical support specialist. Additionally, a help desk supervisor has an average salary of $64,297, which is higher than the $48,667 average annual salary of a technical support specialist.
The top three skills for a help desk supervisor include customer service, technical support and operational procedures. The most important skills for a technical support specialist are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Help Desk Supervisor | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $64,297 | $48,667 |
| Hourly rate | $30.91 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 72,240 | 157,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.6 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| 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 technical support specialist is responsible for assisting customer's and businesses' concerns and system issues by performing troubleshooting and remote solutions. These specialists must have extensive knowledge of system applications, including software and hardware database to handle complex processes that might affect the end user's experience or the business' daily operations. Technical support specialists should maintain excellent communication skills to guide the client and business on solving network problems. They must also document concerns and progress promptly for reference and quality checks.
Help desk supervisors and technical support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Help Desk Supervisor | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $64,297 | $48,667 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $94,000 | Between $30,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a help desk supervisor and a technical support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Help Desk Supervisor | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between help desk supervisors' and technical support specialists' demographics:
| Help Desk Supervisor | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.4% Female, 33.6% | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% |
| 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, 11.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |