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The differences between customer care specialists and customer support representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a customer care specialist and a customer support representative. Additionally, a customer support representative has an average salary of $37,404, which is higher than the $32,427 average annual salary of a customer care specialist.
The top three skills for a customer care specialist include customer care, customer service and outbound calls. The most important skills for a customer support representative are technical support, windows, and customer inquiries.
| Customer Care Specialist | Customer Support Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $32,427 | $37,404 |
| Hourly rate | $15.59 | $17.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 260,027 | 243,140 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer care specialist is responsible for assisting the customers with their inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services offered by the organization. A customer care specialist must be detail-oriented, as well as have excellent communication and time-management skills in responding to the customers' needs while documenting the processes on a specific computer program. Customer care specialists are responsible for processing payments, replacing defective items, and initiating refunds as needed. They must resolve complaints accurately and efficiently to ensure customer satisfaction to keep a good reputation for the organization.
A customer support representative is responsible for answering calls and correspondence, providing customer assistance in various technical issues, concerns, or difficulties. There are also instances when they must make calls to follow-up on the issues, or even sell products and services. Most of the time, a customer support representative has a certain quota to reach and works under a manager's supervision. Furthermore, it is essential to keep accurate records and report to managers or supervisors should there be any problems.
Customer care specialists and customer support representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Care Specialist | Customer Support Representative | |
| Average salary | $32,427 | $37,404 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $39,000 | Between $29,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Grand Forks, ND | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Axogen | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer care specialist and a customer support representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Care Specialist | Customer Support Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer care specialists' and customer support representatives' demographics:
| Customer Care Specialist | Customer Support Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8% | Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.5% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 7.3% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |