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Computer technical specialist vs computer support technician

The differences between computer technical specialists and computer 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 technical specialist and a computer support technician. Additionally, a computer technical specialist has an average salary of $51,859, which is higher than the $41,852 average annual salary of a computer support technician.

The top three skills for a computer technical specialist include CAD, mac and network printers. The most important skills for a computer support technician are customer service, technical support, and computer support.

Computer technical specialist vs computer support technician overview

Computer Technical SpecialistComputer Support Technician
Yearly salary$51,859$41,852
Hourly rate$24.93$20.12
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs130,207121,180
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Computer technical specialist vs computer support technician salary

Computer technical specialists and computer support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Computer Technical SpecialistComputer Support Technician
Average salary$51,859$41,852
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $72,000Between $34,000 And $51,000
Highest paying CityKirkland, WALompoc, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyCalifornia
Best paying companyBrillioLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Best paying industryEducationManufacturing

Differences between computer technical specialist and computer support technician education

There are a few differences between a computer technical specialist and a computer support technician in terms of educational background:

Computer Technical SpecialistComputer Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Computer technical specialist vs computer support technician demographics

Here are the differences between computer technical specialists' and computer support technicians' demographics:

Computer Technical SpecialistComputer Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 76.3% Female, 23.7%Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 11.0% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 11.7% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between computer technical specialist and computer support technician duties and responsibilities

Computer technical specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage customer complaints and internal GMP audits for product manufacturing, coordinate FDA audits and recommend corrective actions.
  • Initiate and implement projects for cost reduction, productivity improvement, and increase equipment availability/reliability and to meet ISO compliance.
  • Assist with daily documentation and tracking of each customer concern using a SharePoint remedy ticketing system.

Computer support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Used and become familiar with LINUX network file system.
  • Used Linux operating system to recover data from hard drives.
  • Support & troubleshoot VPN, Internet connections, email, browser and OS errors.
  • Network troubleshooting (proxy setting, TCP/IP configuration, DNS servers, etc . )
  • Install and configure new office computers to connect to the office network and the Internet via TCP/IP.
  • Show more

Computer technical specialist vs computer support technician skills

Common computer technical specialist skills
  • CAD, 13%
  • Mac, 8%
  • Network Printers, 8%
  • Technical Support, 6%
  • Desk Support, 6%
  • OS, 4%
Common computer support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Technical Support, 8%
  • Computer Support, 7%
  • Desk Support, 4%
  • Mac, 4%
  • Computer System, 4%

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