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The differences between infrastructure support specialists and help desk specialists 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 support specialist and a help desk specialist. Additionally, an infrastructure support specialist has an average salary of $94,997, which is higher than the $51,065 average annual salary of a help desk specialist.
The top three skills for an infrastructure support specialist include infrastructure support, troubleshoot and cloud. The most important skills for a help desk specialist are customer service, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $94,997 | $51,065 |
| Hourly rate | $45.67 | $24.55 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 135,837 | 75,004 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An infrastructure support specialist generally plays a support role in the IT world, with "support" here not referring to an auxiliary role. They also help with the management and usability of organizational data and information. Their primary responsibility is to make sure the business goals of the company or enterprise are met by ensuring all data centers are functional, including elements such as network systems, software, hardware, and data storage facilities. They may also have to carry out complex technical evaluations and suggest proposed physical architectures along with elaborate designs.
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.
Infrastructure support specialists and help desk specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Average salary | $94,997 | $51,065 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $130,000 | Between $35,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Schulte Roth & Zabel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between an infrastructure support specialist and a help desk specialist in terms of educational background:
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between infrastructure support specialists' and help desk specialists' demographics:
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Help Desk Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% | Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 13.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |