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The differences between senior support technicians and technical support engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior support technician and a technical support engineer. Additionally, a technical support engineer has an average salary of $85,716, which is higher than the $74,459 average annual salary of a senior support technician.
The top three skills for a senior support technician include customer service, technical support and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a technical support engineer are technical support, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Senior Support Technician | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $74,459 | $85,716 |
| Hourly rate | $35.80 | $41.21 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 113,499 | 184,542 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A technical support engineer is responsible for responding to customer issues, providing immediate resolutions to their system issues through remote assistance. Technical support engineers must have strong knowledge of software and hardware applications to diagnose system defects and process troubleshooting. They also assist customers with the installation of programs and updates to improve system performance, escalating high-level concerns to appropriate internal technology teams. A technical support engineer must have strong command with technical systems, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills to understand clients' issues while documenting procedures.
Senior support technicians and technical support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Support Technician | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $74,459 | $85,716 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $114,000 | Between $61,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | Durham, NC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Washington |
| Best paying company | Pacira BioSciences | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior support technician and a technical support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Support Technician | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior support technicians' and technical support engineers' demographics:
| Senior Support Technician | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.4% Female, 21.6% | Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |