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The differences between software support specialists and software support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a software support specialist and a software support technician. Additionally, a software support technician has an average salary of $79,670, which is higher than the $62,663 average annual salary of a software support specialist.
The top three skills for a software support specialist include customer service, software support and database. The most important skills for a software support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and java.
| Software Support Specialist | Software Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $62,663 | $79,670 |
| Hourly rate | $30.13 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 122,134 | 117,059 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The software support specialist works on installing, repairing, maintaining, and troubleshooting software systems used by customers. The software support specialist provides expert services for customers to resolve issues and problems. A software support specialist must have expertise in the software handled and can effectively provide easy to follow instructions for clients and customers to follow. Customer software support is essential to service customers' needs, especially in digital products prone to bugs and performance issues.
A software support technician is responsible for resolving software application issues, diagnosing related system failures, and writing resolution reports for reference. Software support technicians must be highly-familiarized with the system's infrastructure and interface to immediately diagnose malfunctions and identify maintenance techniques to prevent the reoccurrence of downtimes and delays. They also assist the system engineers in the configuration and optimization of networks, including the installment of upgrades and patch updates. A software support technician must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially in navigating computer tools and applications to create support tickets and fix the customers' issues efficiently.
Software support specialists and software support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Support Specialist | Software Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $62,663 | $79,670 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $90,000 | Between $55,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Amdocs | RSM US |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a software support specialist and a software support technician in terms of educational background:
| Software Support Specialist | Software Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between software support specialists' and software support technicians' demographics:
| Software Support Specialist | Software Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |