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Service desk analyst vs information technology/support technician

The differences between service desk analysts and information technology/support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an information technology/support technician has an average salary of $45,591, which is higher than the $45,397 average annual salary of a service desk analyst.

The top three skills for a service desk analyst include service desk, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for an information technology/support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and computer system.

Service desk analyst vs information technology/support technician overview

Service Desk AnalystInformation Technology/Support Technician
Yearly salary$45,397$45,591
Hourly rate$21.83$21.92
Growth rate-10%
Number of jobs55,828161,748
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age3742
Years of experience-2

What does a service desk analyst do?

Service Desk Analysts are information technology (IT) employees who usually oversee the helpdesk hotline of the IT department. They address the technical concerns of other employees or even clients of the company. They also help in installing, repairing, and maintaining the different IT systems in the company. Service Desk Analysts resolve issues related to software, hardware, and other related systems. They also manage information related to these concerns and analyze these concerns. They identify trends or patterns and anticipate concerns that might come in the future. Service Desk Analysts may recommend steps to ensure that these concerns will not come up again.

What does an information technology/support technician do?

An information technology (IT) support technician is an individual who is responsible for providing support and troubleshoots software and hardware problems faced by customers. As for larger organizations that have their own IT department, technicians must work together internally with their IT staff members. IT support technicians are involved in inspecting and resolving minor local area network and wireless network issues, which include TCP/IP, DHCP, and VPN. They are also required to obtain an associate's degree in computer science or related field.

Service desk analyst vs information technology/support technician salary

Service desk analysts and information technology/support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Service Desk AnalystInformation Technology/Support Technician
Average salary$45,397$45,591
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $67,000Between $31,000 And $66,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkPennsylvania
Best paying companyThe CitadelMicrosoft
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between service desk analyst and information technology/support technician education

There are a few differences between a service desk analyst and an information technology/support technician in terms of educational background:

Service Desk AnalystInformation Technology/Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorInformation TechnologyComputer Science
Most common college-University of Pennsylvania

Service desk analyst vs information technology/support technician demographics

Here are the differences between service desk analysts' and information technology/support technicians' demographics:

Service Desk AnalystInformation Technology/Support Technician
Average age3742
Gender ratioMale, 74.4% Female, 25.6%Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 12.3% White, 50.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7%Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 13.2% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage13%11%

Differences between service desk analyst and information technology/support technician duties and responsibilities

Service desk analyst example responsibilities.

  • Used SharePoint to manage and enter in help desk ticket information for health information exchange and electronic health record vendor issues.
  • Design and manage company wide imaging infrastructure.
  • Best-Inform administrator managing application from UNIX server.
  • Manage OS re-imaging and data recovery for rent equipment.
  • Manage security, reliability, and configurations for data backup and recovery for client workstations.
  • Diagnose, investigate and report operational systems errors using Citrix and ITSM.
  • Show more

Information technology/support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage DHCP entries, assign and reserve IP addresses for different sites and locations.
  • Manage companies ShoreTel VoIP telephone system.
  • Manage and maintain network peripherals including printers, workstations and network connections.
  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Furnish technical assistance with VoIP system maintenance.
  • Use SCCM to remotely support and install software allowing for a reduction in troubleshooting times.
  • Show more

Service desk analyst vs information technology/support technician skills

Common service desk analyst skills
  • Service Desk, 15%
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
  • Technical Support, 6%
  • Phone Calls, 3%
  • ITIL, 3%
Common information technology/support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Troubleshoot, 9%
  • Computer System, 6%
  • Desk Support, 5%
  • Phone Calls, 4%
  • Remote Desktop, 3%

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