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The differences between customer support engineers and product support engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a customer support engineer, becoming a product support engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product support engineer has an average salary of $90,379, which is higher than the $82,674 average annual salary of a customer support engineer.
The top three skills for a customer support engineer include customer support, technical support and customer service. The most important skills for a product support engineer are product support, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Customer Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,674 | $90,379 |
| Hourly rate | $39.75 | $43.45 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 138,641 | 201,554 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A customer support engineer is responsible for providing the highest customer service by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving their complaints regarding the technical products of the company. Customer support engineers handle escalated requests, determine technical solutions, and write resolution reports for reference. They also manage the installation and upgrades of network systems based on clients' specifications to ensure that their systems work with maximum performance. A customer support engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in recommending improvements to prevent system failures and minimize customers' complaints.
A product support engineer is responsible for resolving technical issues of end-users regarding the products and services offered by the company. Product support engineers conduct troubleshooting operations for system failures and write resolution reports for reference. They also support the product analysts in improving the product's features and processes to prevent the reoccurrence of defects and maintain optimal performance. A product support engineer designs automation procedures and runs multiple diagnostic tests to ensure high-quality outputs and avoid operational delays.
Customer support engineers and product support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,674 | $90,379 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $114,000 | Between $67,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Nokia | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a customer support engineer and a product support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between customer support engineers' and product support engineers' demographics:
| Customer Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% | Male, 80.7% Female, 19.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 13.0% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 5% |