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The differences between production support engineers and senior support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a production support engineer and a senior support technician. Additionally, a production support engineer has an average salary of $78,599, which is higher than the $74,459 average annual salary of a senior support technician.
The top three skills for a production support engineer include java, infrastructure and linux. The most important skills for a senior support technician are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Production Support Engineer | Senior Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $78,599 | $74,459 |
| Hourly rate | $37.79 | $35.80 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 194,203 | 113,499 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A senior support technician is an individual specializing in diagnosing and resolving information technology (IT)-related problems in an organization, including virus issues, forgotten passwords, and software updates. The job requires knowledge about the installation, configuration, and testing of computer hardware and software. Possessing excellent customer service, listening, and problem-solving skills is also vital to qualify for the position. The job's education requirements include an associate or bachelor's degree in computer science, business, information technology, or a related field.
Production support engineers and senior support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Support Engineer | Senior Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $78,599 | $74,459 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $107,000 | Between $48,000 And $114,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Durham, NC |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Salesforce | Pacira BioSciences |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production support engineer and a senior support technician in terms of educational background:
| Production Support Engineer | Senior Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between production support engineers' and senior support technicians' demographics:
| Production Support Engineer | Senior Support Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% | Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6% |
| 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, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 11.1% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 11% |