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The differences between support specialists 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 specialist and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a desktop support specialist has an average salary of $44,962, which is higher than the $40,782 average annual salary of a support specialist.
The top three skills for a support specialist include customer service, patients and mental health. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $40,782 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,740 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A support specialist is responsible for assisting technical and administrative support, depending on the business need. Support specialists must have extensive knowledge of the services of the organization they work for to assist customers with their inquiries and resolve complaints efficiently. A support specialist maintains documents of issue resolution, providing recommendations to improve business strategies and procedures. Support specialists must be well-versed on technology systems, perform basic troubleshooting, and secure databases. They should also have impeccable customer service and communication skills to attend with customers' needs and requests.
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.
Support specialists and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $40,782 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a support specialist and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between support specialists' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.4% 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% |