A senior support technician is a technical support specialist who provides his/her services to organizations that make use of computer and network systems. You must render assistance regarding the installation, upgrade, configuration, and testing of all computer hardware and software.

They are the first line of support when you encounter complex challenges with your system, such as virus attacks, attempted security breaches, software updates, and even just general maintenance. You will be expected to train staff on some basic IT skills and maintenance measures. You will also be expected to carry out maintenance checks and troubleshoot when necessary.

Senior support technicians make an average of $42.53 every hour or $88,467 yearly. You are expected to be an expert in technical support, customer service, troubleshooting, hardware, desk support, and active directory. The minimum educational qualification for this role is a bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field.

What Does a Senior Support Technician Do

There are certain skills that many senior support technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed customer-service skills, listening skills and problem-solving skills.

Learn more about what a Senior Support Technician does

How To Become a Senior Support Technician

If you're interested in becoming a senior support technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 48.0% of senior support technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.1% of senior support technicians have master's degrees. Even though most senior support technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Senior Support Technician

Senior Support Technician Career Paths

Average Salary for a Senior Support Technician

Senior Support Technicians in America make an average salary of $74,459 per year or $36 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $114,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $48,000 per year.
Average Senior Support Technician Salary
$74,459 Yearly
$35.80 hourly

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Roles and Types of Senior Support Technician

The role of a senior support technician includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general senior support technician responsibilities:

  • Provide technical support by communicating via phone, email
  • Work closely with the sales, account management
  • Provide technical leadership for new product launches, competitive benchmarking

There are several types of senior support technician, including:

Lead Technician

Role:

You've come to the right place if you're looking for a lot of job opportunities. Lead technicians are needed in several industries, which means your job outcome is looking pretty good. What you do as a lead technician will depend entirely upon what industry you decide to go into.

As a lead technician, you probably want to make sure you have good vision. So maybe you don't have 20/20 vision (only 35% of people actually do), but you'll at least need to be able to see what you're doing. Especially if you're going to be handling calipers, guages, or even inspection fixtures.

Education isn't necessarily a big thing when it comes down to being a lead technician. In fact, most employers are just interested in whether you have experience or not. With a high school degree, you could become a lead technician. You just need some experience under your belt.
  • Average Salary: $90,615
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Technical Support Engineer

Role:

If you're looking to work in a fast-paced industry, to make a difference, and thrive on new challenges while having the opportunity to grow, becoming a technical support engineer might be right up your alley. Starting a career as a technical support engineer is one of the most dynamic, fast-paced, and exciting roles. Technical support is a field that offers you valuable practical experience, expands your soft-skills, keeps you right on the cutting edge of technological advancement. You may frequently learn and engage with the latest technology solutions.

Working as a technical support engineer (or IT support engineer), you may provide first-hand technical assistance to clients experiencing technical faults. You might resolve issues within different computer systems such as software, hardware, and other network-related or IT-related problems. Typically, the technical support engineer is a mid-career position that provides high-level job satisfaction and diverse working environments. As an IT support engineer, you'll work in a wide range of industries, such as telecom, automobile, medical, healthcare services, information technology, aerospace, and many more. While providing technical support to the customers, you may work in shifts, on-call, or solve the issue in-person, via phone, or a computer. You might even work traditional nine-to-five weekday hours when providing services to the company employees.

To join the technical support field, most aspiring IT support engineers hold a bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, information technology, or a closely related discipline. However, you might be able to secure this role without a degree if you have a strong customer service background and proven experience as a technical support engineer or desktop support engineer. To excel in your role as a technical support engineer, you must have excellent problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and an ability to troubleshoot complex and diverse technical issues effectively. Working as an IT support engineer, you may earn an average annual wage of $70,000 along with compensation benefits. Besides offering higher wages, a position in technical support may offer more sophisticated opportunities to grow. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the employment opportunities for technical support engineers expect to grow 11 percent between 2016 and 2026, which is much faster than the nationwide average for all occupations. It means that more exciting opportunities are foreseeable in the future to you as a technical support engineer.
  • Average Salary: $85,716
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Support Lead

Role:

Support leads are in charge of supervising a customer support team. They do customer support to resolve complaints, answer questions, and develop programs for improving team performance and driving organizational goals. Additional responsibilities of a support lead include coordinating with a customer service team, providing direct customer support, reviewing complaints, and evaluating team members.

A support lead may assume other responsibilities of a team leader, like coordinating meetings and creating agendas. They're also involved in hiring employees and developing a training curriculum.

This position doesn't have any formal education requirements. However, most employers expect applicants to have a high school diploma or GED, at least. Some even insist on a higher degree in communications or a related field. Critical skills for successful support leads include leadership, organization, conflict resolution, and problem-solving.
  • Average Salary: $86,816
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Senior Support Technician Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active senior support technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where senior support technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Senior Support Technician Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California5,599$70,899
2Illinois2,794$65,005
3Texas2,474$60,943
4Georgia2,142$68,810
5Florida2,041$54,316
6Michigan1,720$66,495
7New York1,684$76,195
8Virginia1,380$71,837
9Washington1,380$49,251
10Missouri1,265$57,382
11Pennsylvania1,208$82,218
12North Carolina1,201$81,403
13Massachusetts1,121$75,976
14Ohio1,070$73,468
15Maryland1,036$70,339
16South Carolina950$60,919
17New Jersey949$81,776
18Indiana821$63,408
19Arizona786$64,119
20Minnesota770$62,783
21Colorado749$41,645
22Alabama733$55,042
23Kentucky728$69,980
24Kansas657$54,248
25Wisconsin632$65,904
26Tennessee629$61,826
27Oklahoma574$49,989
28Louisiana529$57,696
29Nebraska508$55,485
30Arkansas498$51,722
31Utah467$42,606
32Mississippi463$53,823
33Oregon461$48,039
34Nevada444$57,097
35Connecticut376$81,045
36New Mexico358$65,442
37Iowa320$60,487
38New Hampshire203$66,928
39South Dakota194$42,202
40Maine174$54,170
41Idaho172$36,530
42Rhode Island171$75,233
43West Virginia166$62,386
44Delaware165$81,872
45Hawaii115$61,391
46Vermont112$65,369
47Montana110$31,263
48Alaska97$23,656
49North Dakota80$51,621
50Wyoming54$40,402

Senior Support Technician Education

Senior Support Technician Majors

15.6 %

Senior Support Technician Degrees

Bachelors

48.0 %

Associate

33.0 %

High School Diploma

6.3 %

Top Colleges for Senior Support Technicians

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Computer Technical Support
Computer Science
Business
Education
Electrical Engineering

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Finance
Computer Technical Support
Business
Computer Science
Communication

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Computer Technical Support
Liberal Arts
Communication
Psychology

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Computer Technical Support
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Communication

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Education
Psychology
Criminal Justice

6. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Accounting
Psychology
Computer Technical Support
Computer Science
Business

7. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Liberal Arts
Criminal Justice
Communication

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Computer Technical Support
Communication
Computer Science
Psychology

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Computer Technical Support
Liberal Arts
Business
Psychology
Computer Information Systems

10. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,530

Enrollment

4,571

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Computer Technical Support
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Business
Education

Top Skills For a Senior Support Technician

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 13.2% of senior support technicians listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as customer-service skills and listening skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Senior Support Technician Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Senior Support Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Senior Support Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Senior Support Technician Demographics

Senior Support Technician Gender Distribution

Male
Male
78%
Female
Female
22%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among senior support technicians, 21.6% of them are women, while 78.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among senior support technicians is White, which makes up 56.1% of all senior support technicians.

  • The most common foreign language among senior support technicians is Spanish at 59.0%.

Online Courses For Senior Support Technician That You May Like

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1. Technical Support Fundamentals

coursera

This course is the first of a series that aims to prepare you for a role as an entry-level IT Support Specialist. In this course, you’ll be introduced to the world of Information Technology, or IT. You’ll learn about the different facets of Information Technology, like computer hardware, the Internet, computer software, troubleshooting, and customer service. This course covers a wide variety of topics in IT that are designed to give you an overview of what’s to come in this certificate program...

See More on Coursera

2. Technical Support Case Studies and Capstone

coursera

This course allows you to show what you’ve learned in the previous IT Technical Support professional certification courses and apply that knowledge to realistic situations. The IT Technical Support Capstone leads you through a series of technical support case studies that require hands-on work to resolve. You will practice analyzing user help requests and troubleshooting various issues. You’ll demonstrate your knowledge of hardware, software, networking, security, and cloud computing. You’ll...

See More on Coursera

3. Introduction to Technical Support

coursera

Gain the daily work skills and knowledge you’ll need for IT Technical Support career success. This course, part of the IBM Technical Support Professional Certificate, is designed for beginners with no prior IT experience or formal degree. Get an insider’s view into IT Support work. Learn about IT Support roles and levels, the support escalation matrix, ticketing systems, common support tools, and remote support software. Then, hear about career opportunities and career pathways from...

See More on Coursera
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Best States For a Senior Support Technician

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a senior support technician. The best states for people in this position are Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Senior support technicians make the most in Pennsylvania with an average salary of $82,218. Whereas in Delaware and New Jersey, they would average $81,872 and $81,776, respectively. While senior support technicians would only make an average of $81,403 in North Carolina, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Delaware

Total Senior Support Technician Jobs: 165
Highest 10% Earn:
$132,000
Location Quotient:
0.86

2. Kentucky

Total Senior Support Technician Jobs: 728
Highest 10% Earn:
$113,000
Location Quotient:
1.29

3. North Carolina

Total Senior Support Technician Jobs: 1,201
Highest 10% Earn:
$128,000
Location Quotient:
0.82
Full List Of Best States For Senior Support Technicians

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Top Senior Support Technician Employers

Most Common Employers For Senior Support Technician

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Apple$104,419$50.2016
2AT&T$97,181$46.7230
3Dell$93,936$45.1687
4American Family Insurance$93,202$44.8114
5General Dynamics$84,290$40.5212
6IBM$82,637$39.7332
7UPS$75,844$36.4627
8Fidelity Investments$75,456$36.2814
9T-Mobile$63,496$30.5331
10Stream Companies$61,821$29.7214

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