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Field support technician vs system technician

The differences between field support technicians and system technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a field support technician and a system technician. Additionally, a system technician has an average salary of $43,410, which is higher than the $42,440 average annual salary of a field support technician.

The top three skills for a field support technician include customer service, user support and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a system technician are customer service, hand tools, and preventative maintenance.

Field support technician vs system technician overview

Field Support TechnicianSystem Technician
Yearly salary$42,440$43,410
Hourly rate$20.40$20.87
Growth rate10%5%
Number of jobs161,037137,121
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 41%Associate Degree, 40%
Average age4243
Years of experience22

What does a field support technician do?

A field service technician is working on-call to provide emergency services and test equipment devices for safety purposes and quality control. They are responsible for working with clients to prevent, troubleshoot, and repair issues. They help clients on how to install, maintain, and diagnose equipment for repair. They also present to clients how to properly use their equipment. It is also part of their job to provide training to clients in line with safety standards and regulations.

What does a system technician do?

A system technician is an individual responsible for supporting users with issues related to the computer system. System technicians conduct appropriate diagnostics on computer issues and must be able to explain technical issues to clients or team members. They should carry out tests on the system so that they can generate error reports to identify and fix any computer system problems. System technicians also can write and maintain computer programs and work with computers and electronics, including circuit boards, computer hardware and software, and computer processors.

Field support technician vs system technician salary

Field support technicians and system technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Field Support TechnicianSystem Technician
Average salary$42,440$43,410
Salary rangeBetween $28,000 And $62,000Between $27,000 And $67,000
Highest paying CityBridgewater, NJSeattle, WA
Highest paying stateDelawareWashington
Best paying companyHPBristol-Myers Squibb
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalGovernment

Differences between field support technician and system technician education

There are a few differences between a field support technician and a system technician in terms of educational background:

Field Support TechnicianSystem Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 41%Associate Degree, 40%
Most common majorComputer Information SystemsElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyStanford University

Field support technician vs system technician demographics

Here are the differences between field support technicians' and system technicians' demographics:

Field Support TechnicianSystem Technician
Average age4243
Gender ratioMale, 89.5% Female, 10.5%Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage11%9%

Differences between field support technician and system technician duties and responsibilities

Field support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage and support all office computers, servers and POS machines and printers and other office equipment as needed.
  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Debug WLAN / LAN issues between PCs and/ or hand-held devices.
  • Remove and dispose hard drives from decommission PCs.
  • Fix all repairs consisting of all hardware and OS performance repairs.
  • Experience in testing SCCM for migration and imaging new systems and rebuilding existing Desktops/Laptops.
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System technician example responsibilities.

  • Install and manage approve software distributions using Microsoft SCCM.
  • Manage, support and maintain modern EMC SAN storage platform.
  • Manage 185 virtualize desktops running in a cluster VMware ESX environment.
  • Provide on-site construction support and lead system testing, debugging, and startup.
  • Develop and implement a weekly schedule on SQL databases to automate the execution of maintenance plans.
  • Plan and lead training programs on new software development essential to the movement to a paperless travel department for DoD.
  • Show more

Field support technician vs system technician skills

Common field support technician skills
  • Customer Service, 16%
  • User Support, 8%
  • Troubleshoot, 7%
  • Software Problems, 7%
  • Computer Equipment, 6%
  • Microsoft Windows, 6%
Common system technician skills
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Preventative Maintenance, 6%
  • Technical Support, 5%
  • Control Systems, 4%
  • Security Systems, 4%

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