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What does a senior support technician do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Ming Chow
What does a senior support technician do

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.

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Senior support technician responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior support technician resumes:

  • Manage the virtual platforms utilize in the office using VMWare.
  • Serve as a SME and the main point of contact when agents and other leads have questions.
  • Organize and maintain Linux labs.
  • Help resolve terminal server and citrix environment issues.
  • Research Linux server logs to find errors within applications.
  • Train customers in hardware and software on both the pc and mac.
  • Verify systems are up or down by pinging servers, routers and switches.
  • Provide DNS resolution support for large global customers on their internal and external networks.
  • Reboot the switches, reset spans, reset call controls, remotely power down switches
  • Create remedy tickets of problems users are having with computers, account, e-mail and software.
  • Trouble shoot network relate issues (hardwire, wireless, VPN) including toning and tracing network lines.
  • Perform regular troubleshooting with connectivity through the VPN software to remote desktop terminal sessions and home networking issues.
  • Assign and set up end users' VoIP desk phones using 3COM phone equipment and their NBX management system.
  • Walk through installation and configuration of mobile broadband devices, routers for at home networks and VOIP internet calling.
  • Train several new employees on application support, basic SQL commands, and technical on point responsibilities for software releases.

Senior support technician skills and personality traits

We calculated that 13% of Senior Support Technicians are proficient in Customer Service, Technical Support, and Troubleshoot. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Senior Support Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Customer Service, 13%

    Demonstrated excellent customer service in a resolution oriented and professional manner measured by call quality and evaluations.

  • Technical Support, 11%

    Provided technical support for telecommunications equipment including working with vendors, configuration, deployment and problem resolution.

  • Troubleshoot, 9%

    Manage and troubleshoot asset and customer accounts using Active Directory for classified and unclassified systems.

  • Desk Support, 4%

    Provided help desk support on hardware and software issues via telephone communication with the end users.

  • Phone Calls, 4%

    Researched, resolved and responded to questions received via telephone calls and callbacks in an effective and timely manner.

  • Mac, 4%

    Helped supervise approximately 15 technicians doing first and second level PC and Mac support Assigned and dispatched technicians to support cases.

"customer service," "technical support," and "troubleshoot" are among the most common skills that senior support technicians use at work. You can find even more senior support technician responsibilities below, including:

Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior support technician to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Additionally, a senior support technician resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "presented with awards of excellence for providing excellent customer support experience. "

Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform senior support technician duties is listening skills. Senior support technicians responsibilities require that "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." Senior support technicians also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated effectively via telephone to walk users through problem resolution with. "

Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for senior support technicians to perform their duties. For an example of how senior support technician responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a senior support technician: "resolved web application & workstation issues escalated from customer support and other departments with a 100% success rate. ".

Speaking skills. For certain senior support technician responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "speaking skills." The day-to-day duties of a senior support technician rely on this skill, as "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior support technicians do: "determined appropriate escalation path for customer issues, which needed to be addressed by other departments. "

Writing skills. A commonly-found skill in senior support technician job descriptions, "writing skills" is essential to what senior support technicians do. Senior support technician responsibilities rely on this skill because "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." You can also see how senior support technician duties rely on writing skills in this resume example: "experience with sql- writing queries from sql tables provide second level support for production application problem management and resolution. "

See the full list of senior support technician skills

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Compare different senior support technicians

Senior support technician vs. Systems support

A systems support agent is responsible for resolving system applications and network issues, performing technical configuration, and upgrading systems infrastructure. A systems support representative conducts regular maintenance and diagnostic tests on the computer applications to ensure its optimal performance and efficiency to support business operations and avoid delays in deliverables. They also assist the technology team in designing backup systems and improve existing networks according to business requirements and specifications. They write resolution reports for reference to prevent the reoccurrence of system malfunction and inconsistencies.

We looked at the average senior support technician salary and compared it with the wages of a systems support. Generally speaking, systems supports are paid $10,428 lower than senior support technicians per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between senior support technicians and systems supports are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like customer service, technical support, and troubleshoot.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior support technicians and systems support. For instance, senior support technician responsibilities require skills such as "desk support," "phone calls," "sql," and "phone support." Whereas a systems support is skilled in "pc," "provides technical support," "desktop support," and "end user support." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Systems supports earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $72,760. On the other hand, senior support technicians are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $75,924.On average, systems supports reach similar levels of education than senior support technicians. Systems supports are 2.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Senior support technician vs. Technical support engineer

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.

On average, technical support engineers earn a $11,257 higher salary than senior support technicians a year.A few skills overlap for senior support technicians and technical support engineers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "customer service," "technical support," and "troubleshoot. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior support technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "desk support," "phone calls," "sql," and "network printers." Meanwhile, a technical support engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "java," "database," "tcp ip," and "customer satisfaction." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Technical support engineers may earn a higher salary than senior support technicians, but technical support engineers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $82,316. On the other hand, senior support technicians receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $75,924.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Technical support engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than senior support technicians. In fact, they're 3.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior support technicians in the next 3-5 years?

Ming ChowMing Chow LinkedIn profile

Associate Teaching Professor, Tufts University

Infrastructure, including cloud and networking, Security, Machine Learning, and Data Science.

References:
1. cybersecurity
2. cybersecurity

Senior support technician vs. Support lead

A support lead is typically in charge of overseeing the performance of a technical support team, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around assessing the performance of the workforce, resolving complex issues, identifying customer needs and sales opportunities, and training new team members. They may also perform calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, and resolve issues promptly. Furthermore, as a support lead, it is essential to perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports, managing schedules, and maintaining records of transactions.

An average support lead eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of senior support technicians. The difference in salaries amounts to support leads earning a $12,357 higher average salary than senior support technicians.senior support technicians and support leads both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "customer service," "technical support," and "troubleshoot," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior support technician is likely to be skilled in "desk support," "phone calls," "mac," and "sql," while a typical support lead is skilled in "cash management," "sales floor," "payroll," and "infrastructure."

Most support leads achieve a higher degree level compared to senior support technicians. For example, they're 5.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior support technician vs. Technician support team leader

The Technician Support Team Leader is tasked with leading and training the technical support team. As a team leader, you will be required to organize scheduled staff reviews and communicate new procedures and policies with them. Your key role is to ensure that all goals are met. For all that you'll do, you'll have to ensure that the staff under you are highly productive, and you'd have to come up with ways to increase their productivity.

Technician support team leaders average a higher salary than the annual salary of senior support technicians. The difference is about $14,529 per year.While their salaries may vary, senior support technicians and technician support team leaders both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "customer service," "mac," and "sql. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior support technicians and technician support team leaders, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior support technician might have more use for skills like "technical support," "troubleshoot," "desk support," and "phone calls." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of technician support team leaders require skills like "printers," "desktop support," "lan," and "direct reports. "

The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for technician support team leaders, with average annual pay of $91,502. Comparatively, the highest senior support technician annual salary comes from the technology industry.In general, technician support team leaders hold similar degree levels compared to senior support technicians. Technician support team leaders are 1.6% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of senior support technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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