What does a Software Support Technician do?
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 technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real software support technician resumes:
- Manage desktop services team members to provide SLA agreements within network support services department.
- Manage trouble ticket queues in order to keep tickets within SLA's and to expedite high level issues.
- Install and configure multiple UNIX servers and databases using native utilities; configure internal network, configure and manage SSL certificates.
- Develop web base MySQL database using HTML, PHP and Java for affiliate program.
- Implement event handling using Java, Ajax and ExtJS.
- Support medium networks of multiple OS computers with design, configuration and maintenance services.
- store multi camera surveillance system for monitoring over iphones, and various pc & mac computers.
- Clarify QA team issues and review test plans to ensure all requirements are cover in scripts and are test properly.
- Direct contact with customer to provide support and resolve issues involve FalconStor software of virtual storage that runs on Linux platform.
- Administer system including UNIX kernel optimization, tuning, and monitoring system activity, CPU utility, and virtual memory statistics.
- Automate SuSE Linux installation and application debugging processes.
- Generate team base reports using Salesforce for management review.
- Work with vendors to troubleshoot implementation of proprietary business software.
- Provide programming and end-user PC support for applications programmers and end-users.
- Record detailed client interactions within Salesforce and software escalations in JIRA tracking system.
Software support technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Software Support Technicians are proficient in Customer Service, Troubleshoot, and Java. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Software Support Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 14%
Mentored telephone representatives to ensure execution and understanding of departmental quality standards, technical assistance and excellent customer service.
- Troubleshoot, 10%
Performed service calls to troubleshoot client network connectivity and replaced malfunctioned leased computer hardware.
- Java, 7%
Helped customers develop their program using our API in C/C++, Java, .NET, Visual Basic.
- Database, 6%
Performed query, added, edited or deleted an Alias Definition Interface by using database administration utility.
- Phone Calls, 5%
Fielded security related phone calls along with email and system-automated issues/requests for end-user resolution.
- Software Support, 3%
Assisted in the development and implementation of OS390 Problem Determination for newly recruited Software Support / Technical Support Analysts
Most software support technicians use their skills in "customer service," "troubleshoot," and "java" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential software support technician responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a software support technician to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Software support technicians often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "developed and presented to customer support department a process improvement course focused on troubleshooting and customer issue management. "
Listening skills. Many software support technician duties rely on listening skills. "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation.," so a software support technician will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways software support technician responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated with users, developers and sme's to assist in resolving issues with software applications. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for software support technicians to perform their duties. For an example of how software 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 software support technician: "investigated and resolved customer support issues related to mri property software".
Speaking skills. A big part of what software support technicians do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to software support technician responsibilities because "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical software support technician tasks: "presented exceptional customer support in every customer interaction. "
Writing skills. Another common skill required for software support technician responsibilities is "writing skills." This skill comes up in the duties of software support technicians all the time, as "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." An excerpt from a real software support technician resume shows how this skill is central to what a software support technician does: "provided software support to pagemaker users technical lead for research, testing and technical writing. "
The three companies that hire the most software support technicians are:
- Deloitte72 software support technicians jobs
- Stoneridge Software49 software support technicians jobs
- Accenture25 software support technicians jobs
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Compare different software support technicians
Software support technician vs. Administrative technical support
Administrative technical support maintains every technical set-up used in a company. Their primary responsibility is to inspect a company's systems, evaluate for issues, and repair any problems immediately. Administrative technical support is typically on call at the start of the day and, when they are not responding to calls, they conduct regular check-ups on all company systems. They are also responsible for creating technical reports and offering recommendations for improvements.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, software support technician responsibilities require skills like "java," "database," "os," and "sccm." Meanwhile a typical administrative technical support has skills in areas such as "technical support," "data entry," "sharepoint," and "email accounts." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, administrative technical supports reach similar levels of education than software support technicians. Administrative technical supports are 1.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Software 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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that software support technician responsibilities requires skills like "phone calls," "desk support," "sccm," and "software installation." But a technical support engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "technical support," "tcp ip," "customer satisfaction," and "crm."
Technical support engineers may earn a higher salary than software 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, software support technicians receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $86,283.In general, technical support engineers achieve similar levels of education than software support technicians. They're 0.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Software Support Technicians in the next 3-5 years?
Ming Chow
Associate Teaching Professor, Tufts University
References:
1. cybersecurity
2. cybersecurity
Software support technician vs. Technical support trainer
A technical support trainer specializes in creating training programs meant to mold workers into becoming valuable members of a company workforce. Their responsibilities revolve around identifying the trainees' needs, providing written and verbal instructions, addressing and resolving inquiries and concerns, conducting skills assessments, managing schedules, monitoring attendance and performance, and providing consultations to trainees. Furthermore, as a trainer, it is essential to lead and encourage trainees to achieve their goals, all while implementing and emphasizing the company's policies and regulations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from software support technician resumes include skills like "database," "sql server," "desk support," and "sccm," whereas a technical support trainer is more likely to list skills in "product support," "technical support," "sql," and "customer satisfaction. "
Technical support trainers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $44,355. On the other hand, software support technicians are paid the highest salary in the finance industry, with average annual pay of $86,283.When it comes to education, technical support trainers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to software support technicians. In fact, they're 1.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Software support technician vs. Technician support tier
A technician support tier focuses on providing technical support to clients or employees within a company. Typically working in a team setting, a technician support tier addresses technical problems and troubleshoots to identify the root of the issues and perform necessary corrective measures or repairs. Their responsibilities also revolve around responding to inquiries, answering calls and correspondence, conducting regular maintenance of systems and networks, maintaining records of all transactions, and supporting software and networks. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with all team members while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between software support technicians and technician support tiers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a software support technician might have more use for skills like "troubleshoot," "java," "database," and "sql server." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of technician support tiers require skills like "technical support," "lan wan," "cisco ios," and "tier ii. "
The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for technician support tiers, with average annual pay of $62,098. Comparatively, the highest software support technician annual salary comes from the finance industry.technician support tiers reach lower levels of education compared to software support technicians, in general. The difference is that they're 5.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of software support technician
Updated January 8, 2025
