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The differences between product support analysts and software analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a product support analyst, becoming a software analyst takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a software analyst has an average salary of $78,400, which is higher than the $59,531 average annual salary of a product support analyst.
The top three skills for a product support analyst include product support, escalate and technical support. The most important skills for a software analyst are java, C++, and software development.
| Product Support Analyst | Software Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $59,531 | $78,400 |
| Hourly rate | $28.62 | $37.69 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 165,138 | 274,053 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Product support analysts provide support to clients by addressing their issues through phone calls or emails. They assess the failures, systemic problems, hardware, and bugs. Their responsibilities include application and operating system configuration, recovery and maintenance, database backup, and SQL modifications. They test the products, communicate the mistakes or related issues to QA, and establish customer workarounds. Logical thinking, solving problems, and providing solutions are necessary for this job.
A software analyst is responsible for creating and designing software programs and applications, as well as modifying existing ones for optimization according to business requirements. Software analysts work with the technical team to draw system codes, analyze programming languages, and ensure the stability and efficiency of software navigation by running multiple quality checks to the system. They inspect the application's performance, configure servers, and improve software infrastructure according to quality findings. A software analyst records resolution reports and provides progress updates, ensuring that the project adheres to budget limitations and set timetables.
Product support analysts and software analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Support Analyst | Software Analyst | |
| Average salary | $59,531 | $78,400 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $81,000 | Between $61,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Meta | ConocoPhillips |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a product support analyst and a software analyst in terms of educational background:
| Product Support Analyst | Software Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between product support analysts' and software analysts' demographics:
| Product Support Analyst | Software Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% | Male, 67.7% Female, 32.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 14.1% White, 53.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 17.2% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |