Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical support specialists and desk 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 technical support specialist and a desk support technician. Additionally, a technical support specialist has an average salary of $48,667, which is higher than the $40,715 average annual salary of a desk support technician.
The top three skills for a technical support specialist include customer service, technical support and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a desk support technician are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Technical Support Specialist | Desk Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $48,667 | $40,715 |
| Hourly rate | $23.40 | $19.57 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,425 | 130,485 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.6 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A desktop support technician is responsible for assisting end-users with their network issues, grant authorization requests, and create user accounts. Desktop support technicians maintain the safety and security of networks, preventing unauthorized access and illegal dissemination of database information. They also handle the software configurations and upgrading the network infrastructure to avoid system downtimes and operational delays. A desktop support technician must have excellent communication and technical skills to monitor systems performance and enhance network navigation.
Technical support specialists and desk support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Specialist | Desk Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $48,667 | $40,715 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $76,000 | Between $26,000 And $62,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | South San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | BNY Mellon |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support specialist and a desk support technician in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Specialist | Desk Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical support specialists' and desk support technicians' demographics:
| Technical Support Specialist | Desk Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% | Male, 82.6% Female, 17.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 11.7% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |