Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between support associates and support representatives 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 associate, becoming a support representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a support associate has an average salary of $47,039, which is higher than the $33,372 average annual salary of a support representative.
The top three skills for a support associate include sales floor, computer system and POS. The most important skills for a support representative are patients, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Support Associate | Support Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $47,039 | $33,372 |
| Hourly rate | $22.61 | $16.04 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 100,892 | 246,710 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
The primary role of sales support associates is to help sales staff and customers during the sales process. A sales support associate also performs other tasks that include maintaining positive customer relations, responding to customers' requests for quotes, information, and specifications, and, initiating contact with prospective customers. They are also responsible for coordinating proposals, sales literature production, and presentations. Requirements for this position include a high school diploma or general education development, administrative and communication skills, and organizational skills.
The primary job of technical support representatives is to answer incoming calls and resolve customer problems or complaints related to computer hardware and software. They typically work in team environments and report directly to the technical department manager. Aside from answering phone calls, they also maintain the solutions database and respond to online chat requests and technical support emails. A successful technical support representative should have an in-depth knowledge of diagnosing and fixing computer problems, customer service skills, and problem-solving skills.
Support associates and support representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Associate | Support Representative | |
| Average salary | $47,039 | $33,372 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $83,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | Santa Barbara, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Apollo Global Management | Accenture |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a support associate and a support representative in terms of educational background:
| Support Associate | Support Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between support associates' and support representatives' demographics:
| Support Associate | Support Representative | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3% | Male, 44.4% Female, 55.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% 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, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |