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The differences between support agents and customer support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a support agent, becoming a customer support specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a customer support specialist has an average salary of $39,470, which is higher than the $36,045 average annual salary of a support agent.
The top three skills for a support agent include reservations, customer service and data entry. The most important skills for a customer support specialist are customer support, phone calls, and compassion.
| Support Agent | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,045 | $39,470 |
| Hourly rate | $17.33 | $18.98 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 106,016 | 259,592 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
As the name entails, the job of a customer support agent is to provide excellent support and assistance to both new and existing customers. You will provide customers with information on products or services, oversee and resolve customer complaints, cancellations, errors, and other issues, assist in maintaining customer satisfaction and retention. Additionally, a customer support agent is responsible for encouraging customers to purchase a product or service and educating them about the product. You are also expected to accurately process emails and fax communications with customers.
A customer support specialist is responsible for assisting a customer's inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services the organization offers. Customer support specialists handle customer issues and resolve them promptly, escalating high-level complaints to the immediate supervisors. A support specialist will also replace products or process payment refunds as needed. Their goal is to maintain the highest customer satisfaction and keep a good reputation for the company while driving revenues and increasing profitability. A customer support specialist must have outstanding communication skills, as well as the ability to multi-task to record customer complaint cases while providing resolution.
Support agents and customer support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Agent | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,045 | $39,470 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $59,000 | Between $28,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hamilton, NJ | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Salesforce | Micron Technology |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a support agent and a customer support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support Agent | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between support agents' and customer support specialists' demographics:
| Support Agent | Customer Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.2% Female, 52.8% | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.2% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |