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The differences between student technicians 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 student technician and a software support technician. Additionally, a software support technician has an average salary of $79,670, which is higher than the $28,926 average annual salary of a student technician.
The top three skills for a student technician include java, javascript and SQL. The most important skills for a software support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and java.
| Student Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $28,926 | $79,670 |
| Hourly rate | $13.91 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 82,671 | 117,059 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A student technician is responsible for assisting the school personnel and faculty on utilizing class technologies and other learning equipment. Student technicians accept school requests for setting-up audio-visual equipment during school events, class presentations, and related technical support services. They run multiple diagnostic tests on the systems before actual usage to prevent any defects and inconsistencies during operations. A student technician must have excellent knowledge of the technology and mechanical processes to identify preventive maintenance efficiently.
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.
Student technicians and software support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Student Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $28,926 | $79,670 |
| Salary range | Between $16,000 And $50,000 | Between $55,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | Lakewood, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Vermont | California |
| Best paying company | Siemens | RSM US |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a student technician and a software support technician in terms of educational background:
| Student Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Duke University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between student technicians' and software support technicians' demographics:
| Student Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.7% Female, 39.3% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 14.4% White, 53.9% 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% |