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The differences between support leads and desktop support analysts 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 lead and a desktop support analyst. Additionally, a support lead has an average salary of $86,816, which is higher than the $48,674 average annual salary of a desktop support analyst.
The top three skills for a support lead include customer service, cash management and POS. The most important skills for a desktop support analyst are desktop support, customer service, and computer system.
| Support Lead | Desktop Support Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $86,816 | $48,674 |
| Hourly rate | $41.74 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 98,872 | 99,621 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members. They may also perform calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, as a support lead, it is essential to perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports, managing schedules, and maintaining records of transactions.
A desktop support analyst's role is to develop strategies and systems to improve and coordinate desktop support efforts. Their responsibilities revolve around testing and modifying existing networks and systems, providing corrective measures on issues and concerns, performing regular inspections, troubleshooting, and maintaining inventories on software, hardware, and other applications. Furthermore, as a desktop support analyst, it is essential to respond to calls and correspondence from clients, all while adhering to the policies and regulations of the company.
Support leads and desktop support analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Lead | Desktop Support Analyst | |
| Average salary | $86,816 | $48,674 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $118,000 | Between $36,000 And $65,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Apple | Cambridge Associates |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a support lead and a desktop support analyst in terms of educational background:
| Support Lead | Desktop Support Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between support leads' and desktop support analysts' demographics:
| Support Lead | Desktop Support Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.3% Female, 47.7% | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 14.6% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 12.3% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |