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The differences between product support representatives and product specialists 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 representative, becoming a product specialist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product specialist has an average salary of $85,932, which is higher than the $36,865 average annual salary of a product support representative.
The top three skills for a product support representative include customer service, technical support and product knowledge. The most important skills for a product specialist are customer service, product knowledge, and sales floor.
| Product Support Representative | Product Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,865 | $85,932 |
| Hourly rate | $17.72 | $41.31 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 125,112 | 103,863 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Product support representatives are skilled employees who are responsible for performing tasks related to product support services. These representatives must provide excellent customer service as well as technical and product support by responding to phone calls and emails of their customers. They must advise their customers on preventative maintenance and configurations that may negatively affect product performance. Product support representatives are also required to document all activities and communications about problems related to product support services and report them with the development team for solutions.
A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.
Product support representatives and product specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Support Representative | Product Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,865 | $85,932 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $56,000 | Between $56,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Trenton, NJ | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Kronos Incorporated | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product support representative and a product specialist in terms of educational background:
| Product Support Representative | Product Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product support representatives' and product specialists' demographics:
| Product Support Representative | Product Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.0% Female, 35.0% | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.0% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 10% |