Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between customer support engineers and systems engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a customer support engineer and a systems engineer. Additionally, a systems engineer has an average salary of $82,834, 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 systems engineer are python, linux, and C++.
| Customer Support Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,674 | $82,834 |
| Hourly rate | $39.75 | $39.82 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 138,641 | 145,936 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
Systems engineers are responsible for creating and overseeing systems related to the overall operations of the organization. They are in charge of assessing the organization's needs in terms of systems and creating plans to address these needs. These systems are usually related to the production or manufacturing of company products. Systems engineers create end-to-end processes that ensure efficiency and effectiveness. They make sure that the processes they put in place adhere to safety and security policies and guidelines. They also do routine checks and continuously find ways to further improve production and other systems.
Customer support engineers and systems engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,674 | $82,834 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $114,000 | Between $62,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Nokia | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a customer support engineer and a systems engineer in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between customer support engineers' and systems engineers' demographics:
| Customer Support Engineer | Systems Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% | Male, 86.1% Female, 13.9% |
| 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, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |