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The differences between service desk specialists 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 service desk specialist and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a service desk specialist has an average salary of $48,332, which is higher than the $44,962 average annual salary of a desktop support specialist.
The top three skills for a service desk specialist include service desk, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Service Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $48,332 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $23.24 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 100,806 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A service desk specialist is responsible for assisting the end-users' technical issues, resolving concerns usually through remote communication. Service desk specialists should have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, including system and server navigation, to identify the problem source and write resolutions for reference to avoid reoccurrence. They assist in developing strategic techniques to improve the system's performance by upgrading and updating its features. A service desk specialist records the observations of the database and develops other alternative resources to assess troubleshooting processes.
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.
Service desk specialists and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $48,332 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $65,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Capgemini | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Finance |
There are a few differences between a service desk specialist and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Service Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between service desk specialists' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Service Desk Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.4% Female, 37.6% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% 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% |