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The differences between senior desktop support technicians and desktop 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 senior desktop support technician and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a senior desktop support technician has an average salary of $58,384, which is higher than the $44,962 average annual salary of a desktop support specialist.
The top three skills for a senior desktop support technician include desktop support, troubleshoot and PC. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Senior Desktop Support Technician | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $58,384 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $28.07 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 107,160 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A senior desktop support technician must look after customer projects and guide desktop technicians on their team. Customers often come to companies for troubleshooting issues with their computers. A senior desktop support technician maintains customer relationships, maintains hardware and software standards, and manages computer activities. This position requires a bachelor's degree.
A Desktop Support Specialist is focused on troubleshooting different software packages, hardware devices, and other peripherals. They monitor the performance of the company's desktop infrastructure.
Senior desktop support technicians and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Desktop Support Technician | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $58,384 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $85,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior desktop support technician and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Desktop Support Technician | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior desktop support technicians' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Senior Desktop Support Technician | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.5% Female, 7.5% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 11.4% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 12.3% White, 54.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |