Additionally, a senior infrastructure engineer has the authority to make decisions, train and supervise junior engineers, establish goals and timelines, provide technical support, and implement policies and guidelines. On average, desktop support specialists reach similar levels of education than help desk engineers. Desktop support specialists are 2.1% less likely to earn a Master’s Degree and 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree. The annual salary of desktop support specialists is $7,482 lower than the average salary of help desk engineers.

For example, there are people who graduate college with a degree that start as SOC analysts and move up from there. Others are largely self-taught, migrating into cybersecurity after stints in other technology jobs. A help desk engineer provides technical support to end-users, both remotely or in-person. They are responsible for troubleshooting and resolving technical issues related to hardware, software, and network systems. Help desk engineers work in a variety of industries, including IT, healthcare, finance, and government.

Help desk engineer vs. Desktop support specialist

An average information engineer eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of help desk engineers. The difference in salaries amounts to information engineers earning a $52,559 higher average salary than help desk engineers. As an offensive-focused cybersecurity engineer, knowing the techniques and configurations used by defenders and attackers will help you get creative with how to test an environment, ultimately leading to a valuable assessment. A Network Operation Center Engineer or a NOC engineer is an expert in the management and monitoring of a network from any centralized location. Typically, NOC Engineers and IT professionals work in teams to watch the IT environment and ensure that the uptime and connectivity of the IT systems are operational 24/7.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real help desk engineer resumes. Even though help desk engineers and desktop support specialists are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require troubleshoot, help-desk support, and technical support in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities. On average, desk support technicians earn a lower salary than help desk engineers.

Cybersecurity Talent Gap Offers Job Opportunities

This allows them to experience the gratification of resolving intricate issues and assisting others in resuming their work. Staying current with technological advancements and software updates is an ongoing challenge faced by these professionals. Before you start to hire help desk engineers, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, https://remotemode.net/ job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee’s salary and benefits. While most companies that hire help desk engineers pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run. The future for NOC engineers is promising since the demand is constantly growing.

They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Speaking skills. Since a NOC engineer has no specific license requirements, the number of certification courses offered are extremely limited. There are certifications that can increase the employment opportunities available for a NOC engineer.

Career Paths to Cybersecurity Engineering

In contrast, someone who is technically proficient but without experience in customer service should focus on building their communication skills. You can work on both simultaneously with a foundational online course like Google’s Technical Support Fundamentals. For example, if you’ve worked in customer service before then you have a solid foundation, but you may need to build your technical skill set. If you enjoy working with people and technology, this position could be a great fit for you.

• He recommends setting up a home cybersecurity lab and seeing for yourself how a threat actor looks at an organization for cyber-weaknesses.
• There are also many online help desk engineer courses to help get the education required to be a help desk engineer.
• “Become familiar with tools like Nmap, Wireshark, or Nessus that can reveal your digital infrastructure from a hacker’s perspective,” he adds.
• While similarities exist, there are also some differences between help desk engineers and desktop support specialist.
• In this case, MSPs, or Managed Service Providers, contact the NOC team to quickly resolve any issues.

The general responsibilities of a NOC engineer include responding to alerts, supporting calls, and communicating with the technicians to ensure all incidents are resolved. Being a NOC technician help desk engineer means that they must maintain documentation for all queries and solutions related to technology. They are responsible for the maintenance and management of the customer’s infrastructure.