Help Desk Workers Suffer 2002 Salary Drop

U.S. help desk workers took it hard in the wallet last year, with the sluggish economy dragging down 2002 salaries across the board, according to a recent study by the Help Desk Institute.

The survey shows that salaries dipped in all service and support-related jobs last year. Directors and senior support managers took the hardest hit, though, with a 7% decrease in pay — or an average drop from $82,484 to $76,805. All salaries, according to the institute’s researchers, dropped about 3%.

It was a rosier picture to the North, however. The Help Desk Institute reports that Canadian help desk workers saw a slight salary increase last year.

The survey also shows that it doesn’t always pay — literally — to work for a larger company. Overall, companies with 11 or more employees pay lower salaries than those with fewer workers.

And not surprisingly, higher levels of education accompany higher salaries. The survey also shows that technical school degrees did not perform as well on the compensation scale as two- or four-year college degrees.

Customer service skills remain the most important factor in determining salary increases for entry-level staff, according to the institute. And entry-level worker can expect an average salary of $25,595. Managers averaged $59,589 last year.