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The differences between service desk specialists and technical 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 technical support specialist. Additionally, a technical support specialist has an average salary of $48,667, 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 a technical support specialist are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Service Desk Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $48,332 | $48,667 |
| Hourly rate | $23.24 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 100,806 | 157,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.6 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| 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 technical support specialist is responsible for assisting customer's and businesses' concerns and system issues by performing troubleshooting and remote solutions. These specialists must have extensive knowledge of system applications, including software and hardware database to handle complex processes that might affect the end user's experience or the business' daily operations. Technical support specialists should maintain excellent communication skills to guide the client and business on solving network problems. They must also document concerns and progress promptly for reference and quality checks.
Service desk specialists and technical support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Desk Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $48,332 | $48,667 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $65,000 | Between $30,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Capgemini | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Finance |
There are a few differences between a service desk specialist and a technical support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Service Desk Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between service desk specialists' and technical support specialists' demographics:
| Service Desk Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.4% Female, 37.6% | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% |
| 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, 11.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |