Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between operations support technicians 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 operations support technician and an information technology/support technician. Additionally, an information technology/support technician has an average salary of $45,591, which is higher than the $38,086 average annual salary of an operations support technician.
The top three skills for an operations support technician include operations support, technical support and data entry. The most important skills for an information technology/support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and computer system.
| Operations Support Technician | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $38,086 | $45,591 |
| Hourly rate | $18.31 | $21.92 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,716 | 161,748 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
An operations support technician primarily performs support tasks to assist teams in various duties and maintain smooth workflow operations. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their industry or company of employment, it usually includes performing research and analysis, monitoring stock inventories, replenishing supplies, preparing and processing documentation, conducting installation and repairs, and liaising with internal and external parties. In some situations, an operations support technician may also handle and assist clients by answering inquiries and resolving issues.
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.
Operations support technicians and information technology/support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Support Technician | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $38,086 | $45,591 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $58,000 | Between $31,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Apple | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Government | Technology |
There are a few differences between an operations support technician and an information technology/support technician in terms of educational background:
| Operations Support Technician | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between operations support technicians' and information technology/support technicians' demographics:
| Operations Support Technician | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2% | Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 11.5% White, 55.4% 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% |