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The differences between production support engineers and applications support engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a production support engineer, becoming an applications support engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an applications support engineer has an average salary of $89,928, which is higher than the $78,599 average annual salary of a production support engineer.
The top three skills for a production support engineer include java, infrastructure and linux. The most important skills for an applications support engineer are java, application support, and database.
| Production Support Engineer | Applications Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,599 | $89,928 |
| Hourly rate | $37.79 | $43.23 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 194,203 | 222,780 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Product support engineers are in charge of managing the technical requests ordered by the customer. Their primary role is to repair and resolve errors, constantly register details for later reports, and update customers with the improvements. They help other engineers by enhancing processes and assisting in product development. Also, they provide recommendations for feature improvements and efficiency enhancement based on the customers' preference. These specialists are critical and analytical thinkers as well as technical experts. They are able to communicate well to customers while doing multiple tasks and pay attention to detail to track errors and record them.
An applications support engineer is responsible for monitoring the efficiency and optimal performance of the application and network systems to support business operations and functions. Applications support engineers work on the installation of updates, upgrade system infrastructure, and resolve technical process issues and gaps. They also analyze the condition of existing applications and modify procedures to improve stability and configuration. An applications support engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills to identify failure sources and create resolution manuals to prevent downtime reoccurrence.
Production support engineers and applications support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Support Engineer | Applications Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,599 | $89,928 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $107,000 | Between $67,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | Salesforce | ICE Mortgage Technology |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a production support engineer and an applications support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Production Support Engineer | Applications Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between production support engineers' and applications support engineers' demographics:
| Production Support Engineer | Applications Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% | Male, 80.8% Female, 19.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.1% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |