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The differences between operations support technicians and junior 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 a junior technician. Additionally, a junior technician has an average salary of $39,417, 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 a junior technician are customer service, HVAC, and fall protection.
| Operations Support Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $38,086 | $39,417 |
| Hourly rate | $18.31 | $18.95 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,716 | 103,780 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| 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.
A junior technician is responsible for supporting senior technicians on maintaining the efficiency and optimal performance of various hardware and software systems and applications. Junior technicians assist the end-users and employees on troubleshooting inconsistent programs, identifying its complexities, and reporting findings to the management for resolution. They also update the systems' features to increase its operational productivity and maintain system recoveries. A junior technician must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, as well as a strong command on programming language and system codes, especially on conducting system analysis and installing applications.
Operations support technicians and junior technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Support Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Average salary | $38,086 | $39,417 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $58,000 | Between $26,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | Menlo Park, CA | Alexandria, VA |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Apple | Citi |
| Best paying industry | Government | Technology |
There are a few differences between an operations support technician and a junior technician in terms of educational background:
| Operations Support Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between operations support technicians' and junior technicians' demographics:
| Operations Support Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2% | Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1% |
| 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, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |