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The differences between service desk analysts and software support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a software support technician has an average salary of $79,670, 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 a software support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and java.
| Service Desk Analyst | Software Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $45,397 | $79,670 |
| Hourly rate | $21.83 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 55,828 | 117,059 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 37 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
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.
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.
Service desk analysts and software support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Desk Analyst | Software Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $45,397 | $79,670 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $67,000 | Between $55,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | RSM US |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a service desk analyst and a software support technician in terms of educational background:
| Service Desk Analyst | Software Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Information Technology | Computer Science |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between service desk analysts' and software support technicians' demographics:
| Service Desk Analyst | Software Support Technician | |
| Average age | 37 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 11% |