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The differences between lead support technicians and technical support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a lead support technician and a technical support specialist. Additionally, a lead support technician has an average salary of $95,420, which is higher than the $48,667 average annual salary of a technical support specialist.
The top three skills for a lead support technician include database, customer service and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a technical support specialist are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Lead Support Technician | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $95,420 | $48,667 |
| Hourly rate | $45.88 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 115,952 | 157,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.6 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Lead support technicians test and troubleshoot onboard systems by using various interface tools and proprietary software. Besides following instructions, lead support technicians also work hand-in-hand with managers to ensure all quality standards are implemented. Lead support technicians also oversee and support different technical tasks, including brackets, building weldments, fabricating, and modifying support structures. Moreover, lead support technicians troubleshoot and resolve hardware and software problems.
A technical support specialist is responsible for assisting customer's and businesses' concerns and system issues by performing troubleshooting and remote solutions. These specialists must have extensive knowledge of system applications, including software and hardware database to handle complex processes that might affect the end user's experience or the business' daily operations. Technical support specialists should maintain excellent communication skills to guide the client and business on solving network problems. They must also document concerns and progress promptly for reference and quality checks.
Lead support technicians and technical support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Support Technician | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $95,420 | $48,667 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $140,000 | Between $30,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a lead support technician and a technical support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Lead Support Technician | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead support technicians' and technical support specialists' demographics:
| Lead Support Technician | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.1% Female, 18.9% | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 12.0% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |