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The differences between service desk specialists and information 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 an information specialist. Additionally, an information specialist has an average salary of $69,502, which is higher than the $48,332 average annual salary of a service desk specialist.
The top three skills for a service desk specialist include service desk, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for an information specialist are patients, data entry, and customer service.
| Service Desk Specialist | Information Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $48,332 | $69,502 |
| Hourly rate | $23.24 | $33.41 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 100,806 | 121,168 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| 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.
An information specialist is responsible for obtaining data through various strategies such as surveys, research, and analysis. It is essential to coordinate with different teams to learn their data needs and utilize them upon gathering. There may also be instances where an information specialist must work with other groups for tasks, such as building databases and networks. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure data integrity, protect their source's identities, adhere to all the company's policies and regulations, and abide by the state law when gathering information.
Service desk specialists and information specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Desk Specialist | Information Specialist | |
| Average salary | $48,332 | $69,502 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $65,000 | Between $40,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Trenton, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Capgemini | Crowell & Moring |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | - |
There are a few differences between a service desk specialist and an information specialist in terms of educational background:
| Service Desk Specialist | Information Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between service desk specialists' and information specialists' demographics:
| Service Desk Specialist | Information Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.4% Female, 37.6% | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% |
| 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, 11.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |