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What does an application support specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
9 min read
Quoted expert
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.
What does an application support specialist do

An application support specialist's role is to utilize their technical expertise in responding to inquiries and addressing issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and effectively. They may communicate with clients through calls or correspondence, even arrange appointments when necessary. Moreover, one may work as a member of a company or independently. As an application support specialist in a company setting, it is essential to coordinate with different department personnel, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

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Application support specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real application support specialist resumes:

  • Help manage the design, development, and deployment of HL7 interfaces.
  • Lead, and manage CRM (Peoplesoft and Siebel) implementation technical teams on multiple engagements.
  • Assist users of varying PC and application skills levels and manage through a wide variety of customer scenarios.
  • Develop and automate network and mainframe system diagnostics as necessary using a variety of 3rd party software tools and utilities.
  • Develop and maintain existing Perl scripts to automate business process.
  • Manage multiple imaging-relate projects across both radiology and cardiology service lines, both inpatient and outpatient, to completion.
  • Perform computer software and hardware troubleshooting for remote users encountering problems with blood plasma proprietary computer database systems.
  • Submit remedy tickets for issues find.
  • Provide HIPAA consulting to healthcare facilities.
  • Network implementation, OS systems and software installation.
  • Maintain HIPAA compliance in file transfers and processes.
  • Escalate when need for emergencies and to avoid major customer impact.
  • Create SCCM packages, applications and distributions to be deploy globally.
  • Coordinate testing of application and interfaces with clients and EMR vendors as appropriate.
  • Create reports using PowerShell code, MunkiReportPHP, and SCCM for management review.

Application support specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 13% of Application Support Specialists are proficient in Application Support, Customer Service, and Troubleshoot. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Application Support Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Application Support, 13%

    Provided technical client service and custom application support in a fast paced and high volume support/ticketing/call center environment.

  • Customer Service, 10%

    Evaluate customer operations and recommend development of new product features, ensuring continuous quality and customer service.

  • Troubleshoot, 7%

    Analyze and troubleshoot complex loan servicing applications until resolved.

  • Technical Support, 5%

    Provided second level technical support for user system questions and issues and performed data resolution and maintenance for internal applications.

  • Java, 4%

    Analyze programming language that the interface components are written in: Mostly Java and XPATH.

  • Application Issues, 3%

    Identified and learned appropriate software applications used and supported by the organization and created codes when necessary to resolve application issues.

Common skills that an application support specialist uses to do their job include "application support," "customer service," and "troubleshoot." You can find details on the most important application support specialist responsibilities below.

Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for an application support specialist to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Additionally, an application support specialist resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "communicate with multiple teams including implementation and production support to provide customer support throughout program year"

Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform application support specialist duties is listening skills. Application support specialists responsibilities require that "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." Application support specialists also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "trained users for ehr use, performed troubleshooting, communicated with vendor to resolve incidents. "

Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of application support specialists is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday application support specialist duties, as "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "account liaison between customer support and account management to assure timely resolution of issues and customer satisfaction for grocer/fuel program clients. "

Speaking skills. For certain application support specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "speaking skills." The day-to-day duties of an application support specialist rely on this skill, as "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what application support specialists do: "verified information and reset password for users addressed customer service inquiries in a timely and accurate fashion. "

Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in application support specialist job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what application support specialists do. Application support specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." You can also see how application support specialist duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "performed technical support functions including installation of hardware and software, imaging and configuring of pc's, writing application documentation. "

All application support specialist skills

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Compare different application support specialists

Application support specialist vs. Support lead

A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members. They may also perform calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, as a support lead, it is essential to perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports, managing schedules, and maintaining records of transactions.

If we compare the average application support specialist annual salary with that of a support lead, we find that support leads typically earn a $4,996 higher salary than application support specialists make annually.Even though application support specialists and support leads are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require application support, customer service, and troubleshoot in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an application support specialist are more likely to require skills like "application issues," "strong problem-solving," "crm," and "user acceptance." On the other hand, a job as a support lead requires skills like "cash management," "sales floor," "infrastructure," and "math." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that support leads earn slightly differ from application support specialists. In particular, support leads are 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an application support specialist. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Application support specialist vs. Systems specialist

Systems specialists are professionals who maintain, troubleshoot, and install information and computer systems. They identify the software, data, and hardware needs of companies. Generally, they work in physically demanding indoor environments installing complicated networks. They manage, lead, and coordinate technical support for new software, upgrades, and products. Also, they configure systems for the users and assess data from different sources to make a decision.

On average, systems specialists earn a $4,200 higher salary than application support specialists a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both application support specialists and systems specialists have skills such as "customer service," "troubleshoot," and "technical support. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, application support specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "application support," "java," "application issues," and "strong problem-solving." Meanwhile, a systems specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "veterans," "patients," "project management," and "hvac." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, systems specialists earn a higher salary than application support specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, systems specialists earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $91,431. Whereas application support specialists have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $98,607.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Systems specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than application support specialists. In fact, they're 1.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for application support specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Babak Beheshti Ph.D.Babak Beheshti Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Dean, Professor, New York Institute of Technology

-The enormous growth of IoT and wearables. The number of connected devices is expected to be more than 26 billion in 2020. That includes things like household appliances, controllable lighting, and much more. This trend is likely to continue as it is expected to see the industry grow to 661 billion dollars by 2021.

-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.

-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.

Application support specialist vs. Help desk specialist

The primary role of help desk specialists is to maintain relationships between the company and its customers. Their duties and responsibilities include responding to guests' queries, providing technical computer support, and maintaining computer systems' performance. Help desk specialists are also responsible for following up with customers to resolve issues and train computer users. There are several requirements to be qualified for this position, which include having relevant customer service experience, problem-solving and analytical skills, and the ability to prioritize vital tasks.

On average scale, help desk specialists bring in lower salaries than application support specialists. In fact, they earn a $30,755 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on application support specialists and help desk specialists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "customer service," "troubleshoot," and "technical support.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, application support specialists are more likely to have skills like "application support," "java," "application issues," and "hr." But a help desk specialist is more likely to have skills like "desk support," "phone calls," "client facing," and "remote desktop."

Help desk specialists make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $60,916. On the other hand, application support specialists are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $98,607.When it comes to education, help desk specialists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to application support specialists. In fact, they're 2.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Application support specialist vs. Database specialist

A database specialist is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the databases to maintain the confidentiality of data. Database specialists determine business requirements and manage multiple operating systems to build the database's efficient structures and feasibility. They also install security protection software tools and programs to prevent unauthorized access and potential leak of restricted information. A database specialist coordinates with the system engineers to improve existing databases and upgrade the network infrastructure for optimization.

Database specialists average a lower salary than the annual salary of application support specialists. The difference is about $4,178 per year.While their salaries may vary, application support specialists and database specialists both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "troubleshoot," "technical support," and "java. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between application support specialists and database specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an application support specialist might have more use for skills like "application support," "customer service," "application issues," and "hr." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of database specialists require skills like "database management," "database design," "database administration," and "windows. "

In general, database specialists earn the most working in the finance industry, with an average salary of $95,518. The highest-paying industry for an application support specialist is the finance industry.database specialists reach similar levels of education compared to application support specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 2.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of application support specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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