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Infrastructure analyst vs desktop support technician

The differences between infrastructure analysts and desktop support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an infrastructure analyst and a desktop support technician. Additionally, an infrastructure analyst has an average salary of $70,283, which is higher than the $41,792 average annual salary of a desktop support technician.

The top three skills for an infrastructure analyst include customer service, troubleshoot and azure. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.

Infrastructure analyst vs desktop support technician overview

Infrastructure AnalystDesktop Support Technician
Yearly salary$70,283$41,792
Hourly rate$33.79$20.09
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs78,728108,944
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does an infrastructure analyst do?

An infrastructure analyst utilizes their computer systems expertise to identify issues and determine immediate corrective measures over a company's private network. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify vulnerabilities or areas needing improvements, monitoring the company's network, coordinating with different departments to gather data, responding to complaints and issues, troubleshooting, and implementing solutions in the system. Furthermore, as an infrastructure analyst, it is essential to produce progress reports and presentations, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

What does a desktop support technician do?

A desktop support technician is responsible for troubleshooting defective computer systems, affecting its performance and efficiency. Desktop support technicians must be highly familiar with the technology systems and programming codes to navigate system applications and locate the discrepancy of the system. They keep documentation of the ticket issue and the resolution for reference and quality improvement. A desktop support technician also configures and updates computer systems and networks for better optimization, as well as conducting regular inspections and monitoring the efficiency of installed programs and patches.

Infrastructure analyst vs desktop support technician salary

Infrastructure analysts and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Infrastructure AnalystDesktop Support Technician
Average salary$70,283$41,792
Salary rangeBetween $49,000 And $99,000Between $32,000 And $54,000
Highest paying CityBellevue, WAPhiladelphia, PA
Highest paying stateWashingtonPennsylvania
Best paying companyMetaNTT Data International L.L.C.
Best paying industryFinanceFinance

Differences between infrastructure analyst and desktop support technician education

There are a few differences between an infrastructure analyst and a desktop support technician in terms of educational background:

Infrastructure AnalystDesktop Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Information Systems
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Infrastructure analyst vs desktop support technician demographics

Here are the differences between infrastructure analysts' and desktop support technicians' demographics:

Infrastructure AnalystDesktop Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 82.9% Female, 17.1%Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 11.6% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 11.7% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between infrastructure analyst and desktop support technician duties and responsibilities

Infrastructure analyst example responsibilities.

  • Develop UNIX shell scripts to automate the monitoring and administration process.
  • Manage customer's trouble tickets through VMWARE ticketing system for resolving issues.
  • Manage the virtualization of physical servers in initial efforts to reduce data center footprint.
  • Conduct OS builds and manage day to day activities according to business requirements, for new application setups and configurations.
  • Design and manage Linux environment.
  • Manage LAN infrastructure configuring and maintaining all network hardware devices.
  • Show more

Desktop support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage and troubleshoot network connectivity with TCP/IP
  • Coordinate and manage a large-scale VOIP phone system conversion project for high-profile corporate customer.
  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Deploy WINTERMS on CITRIX platform.
  • Blackberry and android setup and activation.
  • Support a legacy system which requires a client certificate and a specific Java version and configuration.
  • Show more

Infrastructure analyst vs desktop support technician skills

Common infrastructure analyst skills
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Troubleshoot, 8%
  • Azure, 6%
  • PC, 6%
  • Desktop Support, 5%
  • Deskside Support, 4%
Common desktop support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Desktop Support, 10%
  • Troubleshoot, 8%
  • Technical Support, 6%
  • Remote Desktop, 3%
  • Laptop Computers, 3%

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