What does an operations support technician do?
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.
Operations support technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real operations support technician resumes:
- Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
- Operate the TCP/IP network, to solve any problem with print queues.
- Create SQL databases of test equipment.
- Conduct POS hardware audits and maintain system.
- Amass technical experience with TCP/IP and Ethernet wiring installation.
- Administer and perform backups as well as monitored Unix base platforms.
- Implement processing from PC LAN technology, mid-range technology and mainframe technology.
- Team leader for the LAN operations group select to service VIP staff including company CEO.
- Analyze and maintain all aspects Linux system administration, including shell scripting and cron job scripts.
- Perform installations, configurations, and maintenance on end-user desktops, network systems, and POS equipment.
- Validate test script release on Linux test host and documentation on procedures and process for contract manufacturing abroad.
- Provide assistance to new employees by teaching them to use the UNIX system with which they are unfamiliar.
- Document details and information of projects being work on SharePoint for team visibility
- Comply with all safety standards and regulatory requirements in an FDA regulate industry.
- Configure a VPN to secure external communications and implement an enterprise patch management system.
Operations support technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Operations Support Technicians are proficient in Operations Support, Technical Support, and Data Entry. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Operations Support Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Operations Support, 13%
Trained numerous fellow Operations Support Technicians.
- Technical Support, 12%
Provided technical support to computer users; identified and repaired problems; monitored computer configurations, installed hardware and software.
- Data Entry, 7%
Meet and exceed important performance standards including data entry accuracy, productivity, phone, schedule adherence, and attendance.
- OSHA, 5%
Experienced in OSHA standards and safety procedures.
- Linux, 5%
Monitored and Manage system logs, CPU, Memory, Hardware, on UNIX and LINUX.
- Customer Satisfaction, 4%
Consolidated support organizations from both companies (Octel and VMX) and met all performance objectives without degrading Customer Satisfaction.
Common skills that an operations support technician uses to do their job include "operations support," "technical support," and "data entry." You can find details on the most important operations support technician responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an operations support technician to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Operations support technicians often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "worked with a team to coordinate moving all data from one computer mainframe to another without interrupting communication with remote customers. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform operations support technician duties is listening skills. Operations support technicians responsibilities require that "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." Operations support technicians also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated and updated internal / external customer support on current issues. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of operations support technicians is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday operations support technician duties, as "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provided customer support, including addressing requests and problem resolution. "
Speaking skills. operations support technician responsibilities often require "speaking skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." This resume example shows what operations support technicians do with speaking skills on a typical day: "automated collection of other data from mainframe servers, processed the data, and presented the data in excel spreadsheets. "
Writing skills. Another crucial skill for an operations support technician to carry out their responsibilities is "writing skills." A big part of what operations support technicians relies on this skill, since "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." How this skill relates to operations support technician duties can be seen in an example from an operations support technician resume snippet: "trouble shooting plc's ladder logic as well as writing code, pls's and vfd's. "
The three companies that hire the most operations support technicians are:
- CenturyLink12 operations support technicians jobs
- PNMAC Holdings, Inc.8 operations support technicians jobs
- Northside Hospital5 operations support technicians jobs
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Operations support technician vs. Technical specialist
The role of technical specialists is to provide technical support for applications and programs to staff members and customers within an organization. They train staff and customers on products and apps and offer advice on the best practices for utilizing technical programs and applications. They also design training materials to teach other staff members the most effective methods of using its technology. It is also their job to reduce company costs by looking for ways to improve productivity and lessen expenses.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, operations support technician responsibilities require skills like "operations support," "data entry," "osha," and "payroll." Meanwhile a typical technical specialist has skills in areas such as "customer service," "patients," "project management," and "c++." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Technical specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $92,419. On the other hand, operations support technicians are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $40,898.On average, technical specialists reach similar levels of education than operations support technicians. Technical specialists are 4.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Operations support technician vs. Administrative technical support
Administrative technical support maintains every technical set-up used in a company. Their primary responsibility is to inspect a company's systems, evaluate for issues, and repair any problems immediately. Administrative technical support is typically on call at the start of the day and, when they are not responding to calls, they conduct regular check-ups on all company systems. They are also responsible for creating technical reports and offering recommendations for improvements.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that operations support technician responsibilities requires skills like "operations support," "osha," "customer satisfaction," and "payroll." But an administrative technical support might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "troubleshoot," "phone calls," and "desk support."
In general, administrative technical supports achieve similar levels of education than operations support technicians. They're 1.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for operations support technicians in the next 3-5 years?
Dean, Professor, New York Institute of Technology
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.
Operations support technician vs. Technical support engineer
A technical support engineer is responsible for responding to customer issues, providing immediate resolutions to their system issues through remote assistance. Technical support engineers must have strong knowledge of software and hardware applications to diagnose system defects and process troubleshooting. They also assist customers with the installation of programs and updates to improve system performance, escalating high-level concerns to appropriate internal technology teams. A technical support engineer must have strong command with technical systems, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills to understand clients' issues while documenting procedures.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, operations support technicians are more likely to have skills like "operations support," "data entry," "osha," and "pos." But a technical support engineer is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "troubleshoot," "java," and "database."
Technical support engineers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $82,316. On the other hand, operations support technicians are paid the highest salary in the government industry, with average annual pay of $40,898.When it comes to education, technical support engineers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to operations support technicians. In fact, they're 3.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Operations support technician vs. Systems support
A systems support agent is responsible for resolving system applications and network issues, performing technical configuration, and upgrading systems infrastructure. A systems support representative conducts regular maintenance and diagnostic tests on the computer applications to ensure its optimal performance and efficiency to support business operations and avoid delays in deliverables. They also assist the technology team in designing backup systems and improve existing networks according to business requirements and specifications. They write resolution reports for reference to prevent the reoccurrence of system malfunction and inconsistencies.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between operations support technicians and systems supports, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an operations support technician might have more use for skills like "operations support," "data entry," "osha," and "payroll." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of systems supports require skills like "customer service," "troubleshoot," "pc," and "provides technical support. "
In general, systems supports earn the most working in the professional industry, with an average salary of $72,760. The highest-paying industry for an operations support technician is the government industry.systems supports reach similar levels of education compared to operations support technicians, in general. The difference is that they're 2.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of operations support technician
Updated January 8, 2025











