Side-by-side distribution
Help Desk
$67,123
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 37.1%
- Live roles
- 415
SDR
$67,557
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33%
- Live roles
- 2,072
Highest-paying jobs
IT Support Specialist
Sr. IT Operations Specialist - Corporate Events & Executive Support
Senior IT Infrastructure Support Specialist-ICAM & PKI
IT Support Specialist
Manager, Senior Application Specialist - IT Lending Support
IT End User Support Specialist
IT End User Support Specialist
IT Support Specialist -Cleared
IT Support Specialist
Sr IT Desktop Support Specialist
Highest-paying jobs
Sales Development Representative - B2B Insurance
Sales Development Representative - Tax & Accounting SaaS
Sales Development Representative (Insurance Tech)
Sales Development Representative - Medical Equipment
Sales Development Representative (Insurance)
Sales Development Representative (Fall '26 - Spring '27 Graduates)
Sales Development Representative Lead
Lead RF Systems Engineer (Tactical Comms / SDR / DSP)
Senior DSP/SDR Engineer
Senior Electrical Engineer- SDR Hardware
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
GDIT
|
$69,992 | 15 |
Centene
|
$78,593 | 4 |
Washington University in St. Louis
|
$61,942 | 4 |
| AT AT&T | $59,800 | 4 |
| BI Beth Israel Lahey Health | $59,280 | 4 |
|
Astreya
|
$109,762 | 3 |
| UL Universal Logistics Holdings | $41,600 | 3 |
|
CACI
|
$107,450 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| CW Camping World | $45,000 | 49 |
memoryBlue
|
$39,655 | 8 |
Verkada
|
$62,500 | 7 |
ZoomInfo Technologies LLC
|
$60,008 | 7 |
Piston Technologies
|
$60,000 | 7 |
Instacart
|
$56,503 | 7 |
DoorDash USA
|
$41,787 | 7 |
Getwingapp
|
$10,942 | 7 |
Help Desk salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $110,000 | 3 |
| New York | $86,212 | 10 |
| Austin | $76,000 | 3 |
| Seattle | $70,512 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $69,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $54,532 | 6 |
SDR salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $90,000 | 84 |
| New York | $85,000 | 92 |
| Dublin | $83,161 | 4 |
| Seattle | $81,473 | 6 |
| London | $79,693 | 17 |
| Amsterdam | $79,351 | 4 |
| Berlin | $69,863 | 5 |
| Boston | $65,000 | 31 |
| Los Angeles | $62,500 | 5 |
| Chicago | $60,008 | 41 |
Help Desk vs SDR: which pays more?
The median for Help Desk is $67,123 per year (typically $55,215–$79,760), versus $67,557 for SDR ($55,000–$90,000). That puts SDR about 1% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Help Desk and SDR 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.