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The differences between computer repair technicians and technical 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 repair technician and a technical support technician. Additionally, a technical support technician has an average salary of $40,210, which is higher than the $32,627 average annual salary of a computer repair technician.
The top three skills for a computer repair technician include troubleshoot, laptop computers and computer system. The most important skills for a technical support technician are customer service, technical support, and patients.
| Computer Repair Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $32,627 | $40,210 |
| Hourly rate | $15.69 | $19.33 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 109,196 | 165,677 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A computer repair technician installs, repairs, and maintains different computer equipment. Computer repair technicians repair and maintain computers and their servers. The technicians are responsible for configuring and building new hardware as well as installing and updating software packages. They have to be updated on the ever-evolving technology for certain job analysis and troubleshooting. Good computer repair technicians are investigative who are introspective, inquisitive, and intellectual. They are also methodical, logical, rational, and curious.
Technical support technicians are skilled professionals who resolve computer or information technology-related concerns. They may do installations, repairs, or maintenance activities of various applications or computer hardware. They are sometimes assigned specific issues or concerns to resolve so that they will not be bombarded with various issues. This means that they can now specialize in a specific family of concerns. Technical support technicians may provide on-site support, going directly to the person who needs help and doing what needs to be done or troubleshoot the problem in person. They may also be offsite and would usually be manning helpdesk hotlines. Offsite technical support technicians walk the caller through the steps they should do to fix the issues. As such, when a technical support technician is offsite, they are expected to be good communicators and will be able to provide clear instructions.
Computer repair technicians and technical support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Computer Repair Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $32,627 | $40,210 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $41,000 | Between $24,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | Saint Paul, MN | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | Minnesota | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a computer repair technician and a technical support technician in terms of educational background:
| Computer Repair Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between computer repair technicians' and technical support technicians' demographics:
| Computer Repair Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0% | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 10.7% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |