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The differences between operations support representatives and customer support representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an operations support representative, becoming a customer support representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an operations support representative has an average salary of $39,977, which is higher than the $37,404 average annual salary of a customer support representative.
The top three skills for an operations support representative include operations support, data entry and customer service. The most important skills for a customer support representative are technical support, windows, and customer inquiries.
| Operations Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $39,977 | $37,404 |
| Hourly rate | $19.22 | $17.98 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 132,697 | 243,140 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
An operations support specialist is an administrative support role within operations and may cover roles like customer representatives or operations research analysts. You will be responsible for ensuring effective and efficient operations by reviewing and tracking processes and identifying problems. Within the larger operations team, operations support specialist assist in finding ways to improve processes. Operations support specialists work to optimize operations to better meet the needs of customers by assisting in information gathering and analysis.
A customer support representative is responsible for answering calls and correspondence, providing customer assistance in various technical issues, concerns, or difficulties. There are also instances when they must make calls to follow-up on the issues, or even sell products and services. Most of the time, a customer support representative has a certain quota to reach and works under a manager's supervision. Furthermore, it is essential to keep accurate records and report to managers or supervisors should there be any problems.
Operations support representatives and customer support representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Average salary | $39,977 | $37,404 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $69,000 | Between $29,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between an operations support representative and a customer support representative in terms of educational background:
| Operations Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between operations support representatives' and customer support representatives' demographics:
| Operations Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8% | Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 57.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 7.3% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |