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Job outlook for service desk managers in the United States
Service desk manager job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected service desk manager job growth rate is 16% from 2018-2028.
About 82,400 new jobs for service desk managers are projected over the next decade.
Service desk manager salaries have increased 11% for service desk managers in the last 5 years.
There are over 13,452 service desk managers currently employed in the United States.
There are 69,990 active service desk manager job openings in the US.
The average service desk manager salary is $101,229.
Are service desk manager jobs in demand?
Service desk manager job and salary trends over time
Service desk manager jobs over time
Service desk manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,452 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 12,764 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 12,285 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 11,255 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 10,615 | 0.00% |
Average service desk manager salary over time
Service desk manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $101,229 | $48.67 | +3.3% |
| 2025 | $98,021 | $47.13 | +2.7% |
| 2024 | $95,456 | $45.89 | +2.4% |
| 2023 | $93,239 | $44.83 | +2.5% |
| 2022 | $90,949 | $43.73 | +3.2% |
Service desk manager jobs by state
Most common states for service desk managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 390 | 56% |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,442 | 17% |
| 3 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 513 | 17% |
| 4 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 171 | 16% |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 170 | 16% |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,057 | 15% |
| 7 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 902 | 15% |
| 8 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 822 | 15% |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 196 | 15% |
| 10 | Delaware | 961,939 | 147 | 15% |
| 11 | Alaska | 739,795 | 100 | 14% |
| 12 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,614 | 13% |
| 13 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 955 | 13% |
| 14 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 717 | 13% |
| 15 | Florida | 20,984,400 | 2,421 | 12% |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 1,509 | 12% |
| 17 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,201 | 12% |
| 18 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,110 | 12% |
| 19 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 827 | 12% |
| 20 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 430 | 12% |
Most common cities for service desk managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbus | 1 | 2% | $90,204 |
| 2 | Pensacola | 1 | 2% | $96,060 |
| 3 | Washington | 4 | 1% | $104,370 |
| 4 | Farmington Hills | 1 | 1% | $95,066 |
| 5 | Hartford | 1 | 1% | $94,579 |
| 6 | Torrance | 1 | 1% | $103,597 |
| 7 | Colorado Springs | 1 | 0% | $80,538 |
| 8 | Denver | 1 | 0% | $78,885 |
| 9 | Fayetteville | 1 | 0% | $95,642 |
Service Desk Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of service desk manager experts
University of Illinois at Chicago
Loyola University Chicago
What general advice would you give to a Service Desk Manager?
Matthew Liotine Ph.D.: Most employers tell me that soft skills are equally, if not more important, than technical skills or domain knowledge. This translates into external/internal customer-facing skills, such as communication, team collaboration, writing, presentation, problem-solving, and being resourceful. (Many graduates overlook writing as a vital skill, but they fail to realize that in the course of their jobs, they will likely be required to write lots of memos and tons of emails.) The need to perfect these skills within the confines of a virtual world has become even more challenging and amplified with COVID. I teach in the information systems discipline, and when you view student resumes, many people look the same on paper. The soft skills will make a candidate stand out head and shoulders above the rest. That's why the candidate should pay attention to the screening interviews that they will undergo during the hiring process since employers will use these interviews to vet these skills.
What type of skills will young Service Desk Managers need?
Peter Dordal Ph.D.: I'm leaving off software developers, and answering about our Information Technology graduates.
IT students entering the business world will need to know how to get the maximum leverage out of business systems. In many cases, this will mean writing their own specialized queries to extract the precise business intelligence needed; general-purpose "canned" queries just won't cut it. They will need a broad understanding of what software can accomplish for the enterprise and how to deploy new software effectively; this applies to software used in the office as well as to software used in manufacturing and shipping. And they will need to understand how to lease storage and computing resources from the cloud to meet not only predictable, long-term demands but also sudden short-term business projects.
Students working in database administration and management will need to be able to manage much larger volumes of data than a few years ago. They will need to be familiar with the great variety of new databases in order to pick the best tool for the job.
Students working in network management will need to be able to ensure that everyone has the bandwidth and server access they need, as those demands expand to include extensive video, low-latency real-time connectivity, and the regular transfer of huge amounts of data.
Students in cybersecurity will need to be fully acquainted with all the recommended best practices. However, they will also have to be able to anticipate and guard against potential new vulnerabilities. "By the book" protection is no longer sufficient.