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The differences between configuration 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 configuration technician and a technical support technician. Additionally, a technical support technician has an average salary of $40,210, which is higher than the $35,291 average annual salary of a configuration technician.
The top three skills for a configuration technician include troubleshoot, computer system and customer service. The most important skills for a technical support technician are customer service, technical support, and patients.
| Configuration Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $35,291 | $40,210 |
| Hourly rate | $16.97 | $19.33 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 91,456 | 165,677 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Configuration technicians are in charge of the installation, testing, and troubleshooting of operating systems and software. The technicians assess computer networks and make an analysis of security measures for the correct functioning. They take responsibility for the daily maintenance of the systems to prevent interruptions. Their tasks may include research of new systems as well as recommendations on network solutions to meet client needs. Skills in computer hardware, troubleshooting, computer system, and customer service are necessary for this job.
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.
Configuration technicians and technical support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Configuration Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $35,291 | $40,210 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $24,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | City National Bank | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a configuration technician and a technical support technician in terms of educational background:
| Configuration Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Computer Information Systems | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between configuration technicians' and technical support technicians' demographics:
| Configuration Technician | Technical Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 11.3% White, 56.2% 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% |