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The differences between data support specialists and application specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a data support specialist and an application specialist. Additionally, an application specialist has an average salary of $84,635, which is higher than the $49,083 average annual salary of a data support specialist.
The top three skills for a data support specialist include qa testing, data support and data analysis. The most important skills for an application specialist are customer service, customer satisfaction, and technical support.
| Data Support Specialist | Application Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,083 | $84,635 |
| Hourly rate | $23.60 | $40.69 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 182,515 | 96,980 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The job of a data support specialist is to manage sensitive and confidential electronic data and ensure the accuracy of data being entered into the database. You will be responsible for assisting in the maintenance, implementation, and support of technology, assessment, and instruction that requires data entry. In addition, you will be developing and preparing user materials for instruction reference and documentation. Other duties that you will perform include identifying issues with software applications and resolving them, providing administrative support to the department director, and responding to inquiries related to software applications.
An application specialist is responsible for maintaining the optimal performance of system applications, ensuring smooth navigation by upgrading the features of existing applications, and performing multiple diagnostic tests before releasing the applications to the digital marketplace. Application specialists work closely with the design engineers to improve system codes, verify the efficiency of network infrastructure, and adjusting application functions based on the clients' specifications and business' needs. They should always consider the budget goals, target end-users, and current market trends to design applications, meeting users' demands and public interests.
Data support specialists and application specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Data Support Specialist | Application Specialist | |
| Average salary | $49,083 | $84,635 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $78,000 | Between $60,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Virtusa | Cheniere Energy |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a data support specialist and an application specialist in terms of educational background:
| Data Support Specialist | Application Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between data support specialists' and application specialists' demographics:
| Data Support Specialist | Application Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4% | Male, 53.7% Female, 46.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 11.1% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |