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The differences between customer support associates and customer support specialists 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 support associate and a customer support specialist. Additionally, a customer support specialist has an average salary of $39,470, which is higher than the $34,878 average annual salary of a customer support associate.
The top three skills for a customer support associate include data entry, strong customer service and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a customer support specialist are customer support, phone calls, and compassion.
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $34,878 | $39,470 |
| Hourly rate | $16.77 | $18.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 242,521 | 259,592 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer support associate's responsibilities revolve around assisting walk-in customers by answering inquiries, offering recommendations, issuing refunds, addressing complaints, and resolving it promptly and professionally. They may also provide support to clients through calls and correspondence, offering them products or services when necessary. There are also instances when they must perform follow-up calls, troubleshoot problems, and arrange appointments. Furthermore, as a customer support associate, it is essential to interact with clients in a friendly and efficient manner, ensuring customer satisfaction and quality service.
A customer support specialist is responsible for assisting a customer's inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services the organization offers. Customer support specialists handle customer issues and resolve them promptly, escalating high-level complaints to the immediate supervisors. A support specialist will also replace products or process payment refunds as needed. Their goal is to maintain the highest customer satisfaction and keep a good reputation for the company while driving revenues and increasing profitability. A customer support specialist must have outstanding communication skills, as well as the ability to multi-task to record customer complaint cases while providing resolution.
Customer support associates and customer support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $34,878 | $39,470 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $48,000 | Between $28,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Adobe | Micron Technology |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a customer support associate and a customer support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer support associates' and customer support specialists' demographics:
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.2% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |