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The differences between junior help desk technicians and software 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 a junior help desk technician and a software support technician. Additionally, a software support technician has an average salary of $79,670, which is higher than the $48,069 average annual salary of a junior help desk technician.
The top three skills for a junior help desk technician include escalate, help-desk support and technical support. The most important skills for a software support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and java.
| Junior Help Desk Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $48,069 | $79,670 |
| Hourly rate | $23.11 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 104,343 | 117,059 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A junior helpdesk technician is responsible for providing technical support to clients through calls or correspondence, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction. They typically assist customers by identifying their needs, troubleshooting problems, providing step by step solutions, and forwarding complicated issues to helpdesk engineers. They may also refer customers to other services should it require. Furthermore, a junior helpdesk technician must maintain records of all transactions, produce progress reports, and develop strategies to help the company build positive relationships with customers.
A software support technician is responsible for resolving software application issues, diagnosing related system failures, and writing resolution reports for reference. Software support technicians must be highly-familiarized with the system's infrastructure and interface to immediately diagnose malfunctions and identify maintenance techniques to prevent the reoccurrence of downtimes and delays. They also assist the system engineers in the configuration and optimization of networks, including the installment of upgrades and patch updates. A software support technician must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially in navigating computer tools and applications to create support tickets and fix the customers' issues efficiently.
Junior help desk technicians and software support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Help Desk Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $48,069 | $79,670 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $65,000 | Between $55,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | Freehold, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | California |
| Best paying company | Prolifics | RSM US |
| Best paying industry | Utilities | Finance |
There are a few differences between a junior help desk technician and a software support technician in terms of educational background:
| Junior Help Desk Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Computer Science |
| Most common college | SUNY Farmingdale | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between junior help desk technicians' and software support technicians' demographics:
| Junior Help Desk Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.8% Female, 16.2% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |