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The differences between engineering support specialists and support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an engineering support specialist and a support specialist. Additionally, an engineering support specialist has an average salary of $70,461, which is higher than the $40,782 average annual salary of a support specialist.
The top three skills for an engineering support specialist include engineering support, CAD and data entry. The most important skills for a support specialist are customer service, patients, and mental health.
| Engineering Support Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $70,461 | $40,782 |
| Hourly rate | $33.88 | $19.61 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 159,095 | 125,740 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An engineering support specialist's role is vital, especially as it relates to security and databases. They ensure that all technicalities of the project, be it for the support, maintenance, or machines' operation instructions, function well. They perform troubleshooting and system updating if needed. They can also recommend ways to improve the operation by reviewing existing programs and applying new upgrades as allowed and suitable for the system. They should report any malfunctions to personnel concerned.
A support specialist is responsible for assisting technical and administrative support, depending on the business need. Support specialists must have extensive knowledge of the services of the organization they work for to assist customers with their inquiries and resolve complaints efficiently. A support specialist maintains documents of issue resolution, providing recommendations to improve business strategies and procedures. Support specialists must be well-versed on technology systems, perform basic troubleshooting, and secure databases. They should also have impeccable customer service and communication skills to attend with customers' needs and requests.
Engineering support specialists and support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Engineering Support Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $70,461 | $40,782 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $104,000 | Between $25,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | New York |
| Best paying company | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Inc. | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an engineering support specialist and a support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Engineering Support Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between engineering support specialists' and support specialists' demographics:
| Engineering Support Specialist | Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.5% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |