Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between program support specialists and technical support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a program support specialist and a technical support specialist. Additionally, a technical support specialist has an average salary of $48,667, which is higher than the $39,327 average annual salary of a program support specialist.
The top three skills for a program support specialist include program support, veterans and powerpoint. The most important skills for a technical support specialist are customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Program Support Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $39,327 | $48,667 |
| Hourly rate | $18.91 | $23.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 169,855 | 157,425 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.6 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A program support specialist is responsible for monitoring the overall program aspects of an organization from the conceptualization to the final execution. Program support specialists negotiate contracts and transactions with the suppliers and vendors for resources that meet the funding and budget limitations. They process documents and assist the program staff in coordinating with other organizations for program plans and potential sponsorships. A program support specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling the program objectives and ensure client satisfaction.
A technical support specialist is responsible for assisting customer's and businesses' concerns and system issues by performing troubleshooting and remote solutions. These specialists must have extensive knowledge of system applications, including software and hardware database to handle complex processes that might affect the end user's experience or the business' daily operations. Technical support specialists should maintain excellent communication skills to guide the client and business on solving network problems. They must also document concerns and progress promptly for reference and quality checks.
Program support specialists and technical support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Support Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $39,327 | $48,667 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $58,000 | Between $30,000 And $76,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Government | Finance |
There are a few differences between a program support specialist and a technical support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Program Support Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between program support specialists' and technical support specialists' demographics:
| Program Support Specialist | Technical Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.7% Female, 75.3% | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 10.5% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |