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The differences between computer consultants and software support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a computer consultant and a software support technician. Additionally, a computer consultant has an average salary of $94,331, which is higher than the $79,670 average annual salary of a software support technician.
The top three skills for a computer consultant include technical support, database and linux. The most important skills for a software support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and java.
| Computer Consultant | Software Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $94,331 | $79,670 |
| Hourly rate | $45.35 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 79,263 | 117,059 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Computer Consultants assist a company's staff with computer system usage and issues. Computer consultants can be software programmers, hardware system installers, networking specialists, database specialists, and others.
A software support technician is responsible for resolving software application issues, diagnosing related system failures, and writing resolution reports for reference. Software support technicians must be highly-familiarized with the system's infrastructure and interface to immediately diagnose malfunctions and identify maintenance techniques to prevent the reoccurrence of downtimes and delays. They also assist the system engineers in the configuration and optimization of networks, including the installment of upgrades and patch updates. A software support technician must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially in navigating computer tools and applications to create support tickets and fix the customers' issues efficiently.
Computer consultants and software support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Computer Consultant | Software Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $94,331 | $79,670 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $131,000 | Between $55,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Novartis | RSM US |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a computer consultant and a software support technician in terms of educational background:
| Computer Consultant | Software Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between computer consultants' and software support technicians' demographics:
| Computer Consultant | Software Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 13.2% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |