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The differences between senior support engineers and product 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 senior support engineer, becoming a product support engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior support engineer has an average salary of $107,037, which is higher than the $90,379 average annual salary of a product support engineer.
The top three skills for a senior support engineer include java, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a product support engineer are product support, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Senior Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $107,037 | $90,379 |
| Hourly rate | $51.46 | $43.45 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 215,312 | 201,554 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A senior support engineer specializes in providing technical support to clients. They are typically in charge of working on complicated technical issues, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Their responsibilities include communicating with clients, addressing their needs, troubleshooting, and providing step by step solutions. They may also arrange repair appointments or refer clients to other services. Furthermore, as a senior support engineer, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior engineers, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A product support engineer is responsible for resolving technical issues of end-users regarding the products and services offered by the company. Product support engineers conduct troubleshooting operations for system failures and write resolution reports for reference. They also support the product analysts in improving the product's features and processes to prevent the reoccurrence of defects and maintain optimal performance. A product support engineer designs automation procedures and runs multiple diagnostic tests to ensure high-quality outputs and avoid operational delays.
Senior support engineers and product support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $107,037 | $90,379 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $137,000 | Between $67,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior support engineer and a product support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior support engineers' and product support engineers' demographics:
| Senior Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9% | Male, 80.7% Female, 19.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 15.2% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 13.0% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 5% |