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The differences between supports and systems support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a support and a systems support specialist. Additionally, a systems support specialist has an average salary of $61,744, which is higher than the $36,227 average annual salary of a support.
The top three skills for a support include customer service, cash management and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a systems support specialist are customer service, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Support | Systems Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,227 | $61,744 |
| Hourly rate | $17.42 | $29.68 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 136,788 | 159,364 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A support employee is responsible for assisting the business operations and responding to customers' inquiries and concerns regarding its goods and services. Support logs all customers' interaction and escalates potential complaints to the appropriate department. They also help with implementing strategic procedures to improve operations and reach maximum productivity. A support employee must have excellent communication and customer service skills, ensuring clients' satisfaction with the services and maintain good feedback to boost the company's brand, attract more clients, and increase revenues.
A systems support specialist is responsible for assisting end-users on system issues, including network configuration and improving network infrastructure. System support specialists implement network strategies alongside the whole technology team to boost the system's efficiency and optimal performance. They create resolution reports for reference and write recommendations to prevent system defects and inconsistencies. A systems support specialist also handles network installations and upgrades, requiring them to have excellent technical skills and knowledge of programming languages.
Supports and systems support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support | Systems Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,227 | $61,744 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $54,000 | Between $41,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Centreville, VA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Virginia |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Koch Industries |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a support and a systems support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support | Systems Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between supports' and systems support specialists' demographics:
| Support | Systems Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.4% Female, 48.6% | Male, 73.4% Female, 26.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |