What does a customer support technician do?
A customer support technician is responsible for resolving customer complaints with their network issues through remote communication, providing the customers with a step-by-step procedure to fix their systems. Customer support technicians assist the customers in setting up their programs and applications, guiding them with the instructional manuals, and responding to the inquiries and concerns they have. They also escalate high-level complaints to the immediate supervisor as needed while monitoring system solutions and creating technical tickets.
Customer support technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real customer support technician resumes:
- Manage and maintain TCP/IP database and inventory control on hospital peripherals (printers and scanners).
- Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
- Install new IBM UNIX servers on site.
- Maintain the performance of the SQL server for optical use and scanning.
- Work with Microsoft servers and applications as well as company's proprietary Linux base web-hosting solutions.
- Used SCCM to move user's profiles and get the customer operational as quickly as possible.
- Support all customers in getting VOIP phones onto the network and any questions relate to the system.
- Work closely and extensively troubleshooting user's issues with hardware and software on multiple OS and hardware configurations.
- Serve as the primary contact for customers in resolving internet, VOIP, hardware, and software issues.
- Perform Linux system and process monitoring.
- Collaborate with telecommunication team to troubleshoot T1 lines and company-wide phone problems.
- Maintain general/advance understanding of OS and application operations relate to company offer services.
- Provide complex procedural instructions and technical troubleshooting to clients using POS equipment and software.
- Maintain, analyze, troubleshoot and repaired/replaced/ upgrade operating systems, application software, and computer hardware and peripherals.
- Provide domain management solutions regarding security, account administration, policy enforcement, printer management and remote VPN access permissions.
Customer support technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Customer Support Technicians are proficient in Customer Service, Customer Support, and SQL. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Customer Support Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 12%
Combined project management, technical, sales and customer service experience to implement proprietary advertising solutions for large-scale enterprise clients.
- Customer Support, 12%
Develop & maintain product support procedures & other documentation as required to ensure consistent quality customer support.
- SQL, 9%
Generated custom reports using BRIO, querying Access, SQL and Oracle databases.
- Customer Inquiries, 8%
Provided professional, accurate timely responses to all customer inquiries using established procedures.
- Java, 7%
Web design consisted of HTML web pages that incorporated Java Script, CGI Script, Swish, and Flash animations.
- Customer Issues, 7%
Maintained effective communication with team members to provide assistance in solving customer issues and contributes to improving department processes.
Common skills that a customer support technician uses to do their job include "customer service," "customer support," and "sql." You can find details on the most important customer support technician responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a customer support technician to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Additionally, a customer support technician resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "provided customer support for hardware and software related problems associated with dell products diagnosed pc problems in a telephone support atmosphere"
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform customer support technician duties is listening skills. Customer support technicians responsibilities require that "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." Customer support technicians also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "top notch listening skills take phone calls with irate customers"
Problem-solving skills. customer support technicians are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to customer support technician responsibilities, because "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." A customer support technician resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "provided excellent customer support for troubleshooting issues and quick problem resolution. "
Speaking skills. customer support technician responsibilities often require "speaking skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." This resume example shows what customer support technicians do with speaking skills on a typical day: "addressed general questions on domestic and international concerns and resolved technical problems as deemed necessary. "
Writing skills. Another crucial skill for a customer support technician to carry out their responsibilities is "writing skills." A big part of what customer support technicians relies on this skill, since "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." How this skill relates to customer support technician duties can be seen in an example from a customer support technician resume snippet: "conducted outbound calls resolved technical issues ticket writing"
The three companies that hire the most customer support technicians are:
- Applied Materials20 customer support technicians jobs
- SYKES
10 customer support technicians jobs
- AEG4 customer support technicians jobs
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Compare different customer support technicians
Customer support technician vs. Administrative technical support
Administrative technical support maintains every technical set-up used in a company. Their primary responsibility is to inspect a company's systems, evaluate for issues, and repair any problems immediately. Administrative technical support is typically on call at the start of the day and, when they are not responding to calls, they conduct regular check-ups on all company systems. They are also responsible for creating technical reports and offering recommendations for improvements.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, customer support technician responsibilities require skills like "sql," "customer inquiries," "java," and "customer issues." Meanwhile a typical administrative technical support has skills in areas such as "troubleshoot," "data entry," "desk support," and "sharepoint." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that administrative technical supports earn slightly differ from customer support technicians. In particular, administrative technical supports are 2.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a customer support technician. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Customer support technician vs. Technical support engineer
A technical support engineer is responsible for responding to customer issues, providing immediate resolutions to their system issues through remote assistance. Technical support engineers must have strong knowledge of software and hardware applications to diagnose system defects and process troubleshooting. They also assist customers with the installation of programs and updates to improve system performance, escalating high-level concerns to appropriate internal technology teams. A technical support engineer must have strong command with technical systems, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills to understand clients' issues while documenting procedures.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, customer support technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "sql," "customer inquiries," "phone calls," and "desktop." Meanwhile, a technical support engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "troubleshoot," "database," "tcp ip," and "provides technical support." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, technical support engineers earn a higher salary than customer support technicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, technical support engineers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $82,316. Whereas customer support technicians have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $50,042.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Technical support engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than customer support technicians. In fact, they're 4.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for customer support technicians in the next 3-5 years?
Ming Chow
Associate Teaching Professor, Tufts University
References:
1. cybersecurity
2. cybersecurity
Customer support technician vs. Technical support representative
Technical Support Representatives specialize in customer support through calls or correspondence. Among the primary responsibilities of a Technical Support Representative involves receiving and making calls, address and troubleshoot issues raised by the client, assist when navigating through complicated applications, provide suggestions or recommendations, or elevate the problem to personnel with higher expertise when necessary. Furthermore, a Technical Support Representative must coordinate with supervisors at all times, remain patient and proactive, and as well as maintain and organize records of each handled calls.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from customer support technician resumes include skills like "java," "technical support," "post sales," and "debugging," whereas a technical support representative is more likely to list skills in "smartphones," "technical support calls," "work ethic," and "internet connectivity. "
Technical support representatives make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $37,278. On the other hand, customer support technicians are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $50,042.technical support representatives typically earn similar educational levels compared to customer support technicians. Specifically, they're 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Customer support technician vs. Technical support trainer
A technical support trainer specializes in creating training programs meant to mold workers into becoming valuable members of a company workforce. Their responsibilities revolve around identifying the trainees' needs, providing written and verbal instructions, addressing and resolving inquiries and concerns, conducting skills assessments, managing schedules, monitoring attendance and performance, and providing consultations to trainees. Furthermore, as a trainer, it is essential to lead and encourage trainees to achieve their goals, all while implementing and emphasizing the company's policies and regulations.
Types of customer support technician
Updated January 8, 2025
