Desktop Support
Impact: Operational efficiency, User productivity
Provide technical assistance and support to computer systems, hardware, and software.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- 60% Team / 40% Solo
- Client facing
- Frequent
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- Minimal
- Schedule flexibility
- Structured
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 40 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $60,000
- Entry-level
- $40,000 - $50,000
- Senior
- $75,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 5% (average)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- Moderate to 50-70% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $15,000 - $25,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Troubleshooting
- Network Diagnostics
- OS Installation
- Hardware Repair
- Software Support
- Ticketing Systems
Soft skills
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Patience
- Customer Service
- Adaptability
Technical complexity: Moderate
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Associate's Degree
- Licensing
- Optional
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 6-9 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Help Desk Technician
- Desktop Support Specialist
- IT Support Engineer
- Systems Administrator
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 25% to some routine tasks can be automated, but complex problem-solving requires human intervention
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.4/10
- Meaning
- 3.2/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.5/10
- Prestige
- 5.5/10
- Social perception
- Moderate