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The differences between infrastructure support specialists and support leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an infrastructure support specialist and a support lead. Additionally, an infrastructure support specialist has an average salary of $94,997, which is higher than the $86,816 average annual salary of a support lead.
The top three skills for an infrastructure support specialist include infrastructure support, troubleshoot and cloud. The most important skills for a support lead are customer service, cash management, and POS.
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Support Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $94,997 | $86,816 |
| Hourly rate | $45.67 | $41.74 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 135,837 | 98,872 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An infrastructure support specialist generally plays a support role in the IT world, with "support" here not referring to an auxiliary role. They also help with the management and usability of organizational data and information. Their primary responsibility is to make sure the business goals of the company or enterprise are met by ensuring all data centers are functional, including elements such as network systems, software, hardware, and data storage facilities. They may also have to carry out complex technical evaluations and suggest proposed physical architectures along with elaborate designs.
A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members. They may also perform calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, as a support lead, it is essential to perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports, managing schedules, and maintaining records of transactions.
Infrastructure support specialists and support leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Support Lead | |
| Average salary | $94,997 | $86,816 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $130,000 | Between $63,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between an infrastructure support specialist and a support lead in terms of educational background:
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Support Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between infrastructure support specialists' and support leads' demographics:
| Infrastructure Support Specialist | Support Lead | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% | Male, 52.3% Female, 47.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 13.4% White, 53.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 14.6% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |