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The differences between field technical specialists and technical support engineers 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 technical specialist and a technical support engineer. Additionally, a technical support engineer has an average salary of $85,716, which is higher than the $69,467 average annual salary of a field technical specialist.
The top three skills for a field technical specialist include technical support, troubleshoot and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a technical support engineer are technical support, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Field Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,467 | $85,716 |
| Hourly rate | $33.40 | $41.21 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 183,996 | 184,542 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Field technical specialist has the best skills necessary to provide technical support to any company who are having problems with applications or who wants to venture on new applications or operating systems. They also train staff on products and applications worth using for the betterment of the company. They also design and develop web pages to provide a digital presence and promote businesses' programs and products. They have the capability to troubleshoot hardware and software if problems arise.
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.
Field technical specialists and technical support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $69,467 | $85,716 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $95,000 | Between $61,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a field technical specialist and a technical support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Field Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between field technical specialists' and technical support engineers' demographics:
| Field Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.9% Female, 15.1% | Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |