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The differences between field systems technicians and software support 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 systems technician and a software support technician. Additionally, a software support technician has an average salary of $79,670, which is higher than the $42,822 average annual salary of a field systems technician.
The top three skills for a field systems technician include troubleshoot, POS and support issues. The most important skills for a software support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and java.
| Field Systems Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $42,822 | $79,670 |
| Hourly rate | $20.59 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 175,599 | 117,059 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A Field system technician is the one responsible for the on-site installation, repairs, programming, and maintenance of the telecommunication wiring systems in various locations. They frequently travel to the sites where the telephone tower is positioned to provide their services. They possess good communication skills to work with and know the clients' complaints and solve them quickly as they can as well as the strength and agility to lift their equipment used. They can install various electrical accessories such as headphones to improve the clientele's experience.
A software support technician is responsible for resolving software application issues, diagnosing related system failures, and writing resolution reports for reference. Software support technicians must be highly-familiarized with the system's infrastructure and interface to immediately diagnose malfunctions and identify maintenance techniques to prevent the reoccurrence of downtimes and delays. They also assist the system engineers in the configuration and optimization of networks, including the installment of upgrades and patch updates. A software support technician must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially in navigating computer tools and applications to create support tickets and fix the customers' issues efficiently.
Field systems technicians and software support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Systems Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $42,822 | $79,670 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $61,000 | Between $55,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | RSM US |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a field systems technician and a software support technician in terms of educational background:
| Field Systems Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between field systems technicians' and software support technicians' demographics:
| Field Systems Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.1% Female, 6.9% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |