Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between information specialists and information technology/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 an information specialist and an information technology/support technician. Additionally, an information specialist has an average salary of $69,502, which is higher than the $45,591 average annual salary of an information technology/support technician.
The top three skills for an information specialist include patients, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for an information technology/support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and computer system.
| Information Specialist | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $69,502 | $45,591 |
| Hourly rate | $33.41 | $21.92 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 121,168 | 161,748 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An information specialist is responsible for obtaining data through various strategies such as surveys, research, and analysis. It is essential to coordinate with different teams to learn their data needs and utilize them upon gathering. There may also be instances where an information specialist must work with other groups for tasks, such as building databases and networks. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure data integrity, protect their source's identities, adhere to all the company's policies and regulations, and abide by the state law when gathering information.
An information technology (IT) support technician is an individual who is responsible for providing support and troubleshoots software and hardware problems faced by customers. As for larger organizations that have their own IT department, technicians must work together internally with their IT staff members. IT support technicians are involved in inspecting and resolving minor local area network and wireless network issues, which include TCP/IP, DHCP, and VPN. They are also required to obtain an associate's degree in computer science or related field.
Information specialists and information technology/support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Information Specialist | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $69,502 | $45,591 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $118,000 | Between $31,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Trenton, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Crowell & Moring | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an information specialist and an information technology/support technician in terms of educational background:
| Information Specialist | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between information specialists' and information technology/support technicians' demographics:
| Information Specialist | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.9% Female, 66.1% | Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 13.2% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |