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The differences between support representatives and sales support representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a support representative, becoming a sales support representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales support representative has an average salary of $38,310, which is higher than the $33,372 average annual salary of a support representative.
The top three skills for a support representative include patients, customer service and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a sales support representative are sales support, phone calls, and POS.
| Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $33,372 | $38,310 |
| Hourly rate | $16.04 | $18.42 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 246,710 | 319,292 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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.
A sales support representative is responsible for assisting the complex operations of sales departments, performing administrative duties under the supervision of a direct manager. Sales support representatives' tasks include acknowledging and encoding customers' orders in the system, processing payments, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, writing sales reports, and updating the customer of the shipment details. They also support the sales representatives on selling goods and services to potential customers by creating marketing materials and communicating with customers over the phone and e-mail to generate revenues and increase profits.
Support representatives and sales support representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Average salary | $33,372 | $38,310 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $30,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Barbara, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | Accenture | NetApp |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a support representative and a sales support representative in terms of educational background:
| Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between support representatives' and sales support representatives' demographics:
| Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.4% Female, 55.6% | Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |