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The differences between supports 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 support and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a desktop support specialist has an average salary of $44,962, which is higher than the $36,227 average annual salary of a support.
The top three skills for a support include customer service, cash management and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Support | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,227 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $17.42 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 136,788 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department. They also help with implementing strategic procedures to improve operations and reach maximum productivity. A support employee must have excellent communication and customer service skills, ensuring clients' satisfaction with the services and maintain good feedback to boost the company's brand, attract more clients, and increase revenues.
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.
Supports and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,227 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $54,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between a support and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between supports' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Support | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.5% 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% |