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The differences between technical 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 technical support specialist and a desktop support specialist. Additionally, a technical support specialist has an average salary of $48,667, which is higher than the $44,962 average annual salary of a desktop support specialist.
The top three skills for a technical support specialist include customer service, technical support and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a desktop support specialist are customer service, desktop support, and troubleshoot.
| Technical Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $48,667 | $44,962 |
| Hourly rate | $23.40 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,425 | 102,191 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.6 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| 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 Specialist is focused on troubleshooting different software packages, hardware devices, and other peripherals. They monitor the performance of the company's desktop infrastructure.
Technical support specialists and desktop support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $48,667 | $44,962 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $76,000 | Between $33,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Meta | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a technical support specialist and a desktop support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between technical support specialists' and desktop support specialists' demographics:
| Technical Support Specialist | Desktop Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% | Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4% |
| 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, 11.2% 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% |