Side-by-side distribution
Help Desk
$70,897
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 38.4%
- Live roles
- 216
Sales Engineer
$162,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.1%
- Live roles
- 922
Highest-paying jobs
IT Support Specialist
Subcontracts Specialist, IT Support, Software
IT Support Specialist
Senior IT VIP Support Specialist
IT Automation & Support Specialist
IT Support Specialist -Cleared
IT Support Specialist
IT Support Specialist
Sr. IT Support Specialist
IT Support Specialist
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Sales Systems Engineer
Field Sales Engineer
Senior Sales Systems Engineer, Kasten, West
Director, Enterprise Sales Engineer (West)
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (SF)
Sales Engineer (Bay Area)
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (NYC)
Principal Sales Engineer – Warehouse Robotics Systems
Forward Deployed AI Engineer (Post-Sales)
Solutions Engineer (AI/ML, Pre-Sales)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| ET ePlus Technology, inc. | $42,505 | 5 |
| VT Voyager Technologies, Inc. | $90,000 | 3 |
CyberSheath
|
$76,500 | 3 |
Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG)
|
$75,000 | 3 |
| DS Data Systems Analysts, Inc. | $102,500 | 2 |
Anduril Industries
|
$89,500 | 2 |
STR
|
$86,750 | 2 |
ABACUS
|
$62,500 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CaptiveAire
|
$85,000 | 33 |
Zscaler
|
$188,063 | 31 |
Samsara
|
$124,574 | 22 |
Datadog
|
$137,500 | 15 |
| RL Rithum LinkedIn Board | $130,000 | 15 |
|
Horizon3 AI
|
$232,500 | 12 |
| AX Axon | $146,250 | 12 |
|
Sierra
|
$215,000 | 10 |
Help Desk salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $110,000 | 3 |
| New York | $96,250 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $92,500 | 4 |
| Chicago | $52,850 | 3 |
| Toronto | $43,668 | 3 |
Sales Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | $215,000 | 12 |
| London | $203,842 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $195,460 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $195,000 | 59 |
| New York | $177,500 | 69 |
| Boston | $176,650 | 16 |
| Seattle | $176,350 | 12 |
| Toronto | $146,552 | 5 |
| Chicago | $142,500 | 6 |
| Austin | $138,175 | 5 |
Help Desk vs Sales Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Help Desk is $70,897 per year (typically $55,000–$92,500), versus $162,500 for Sales Engineer ($130,000–$205,793). That puts Sales Engineer about 129% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Help Desk and Sales Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.