Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between set up technicians and desktop support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a set up technician and a desktop support technician. Additionally, a desktop support technician has an average salary of $41,792, which is higher than the $36,486 average annual salary of a set up technician.
The top three skills for a set up technician include hand tools, CNC and safety procedures. The most important skills for a desktop support technician are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Set Up Technician | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $36,486 | $41,792 |
| Hourly rate | $17.54 | $20.09 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 53,072 | 108,944 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Set up technicians are skilled employees who assemble and disassemble manufacturing machines as well as perform preventative maintenance to ensure that the manufacturing firm can produce high-quality products. These technicians must inspect products so that they can locate malfunctions in machine operations and then inform their supervisor about the repairs needed. They must observe production equipment to ensure its correct operation and collaborate with the engineering team to adjust the equipment when needed. Set up technicians must also assist in teaching new operators about the firm's standard operating procedures of production equipment.
A desktop support technician is responsible for troubleshooting defective computer systems, affecting its performance and efficiency. Desktop support technicians must be highly familiar with the technology systems and programming codes to navigate system applications and locate the discrepancy of the system. They keep documentation of the ticket issue and the resolution for reference and quality improvement. A desktop support technician also configures and updates computer systems and networks for better optimization, as well as conducting regular inspections and monitoring the efficiency of installed programs and patches.
Set up technicians and desktop support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Set Up Technician | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $36,486 | $41,792 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $46,000 | Between $32,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Manchester, NH | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Zoetis | NTT Data International L.L.C. |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between a set up technician and a desktop support technician in terms of educational background:
| Set Up Technician | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Information Systems |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between set up technicians' and desktop support technicians' demographics:
| Set Up Technician | Desktop Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9% | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 8.9% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 11.7% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |