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The differences between support specialists and information technology analysts 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 specialist, becoming an information technology analyst takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an information technology analyst has an average salary of $83,078, which is higher than the $40,782 average annual salary of a support specialist.
The top three skills for a support specialist include customer service, patients and mental health. The most important skills for an information technology analyst are infrastructure, customer service, and security policies.
| Support Specialist | Information Technology Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $40,782 | $83,078 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $39.94 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 125,740 | 145,565 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A support specialist is responsible for assisting technical and administrative support, depending on the business need. Support specialists must have extensive knowledge of the services of the organization they work for to assist customers with their inquiries and resolve complaints efficiently. A support specialist maintains documents of issue resolution, providing recommendations to improve business strategies and procedures. Support specialists must be well-versed on technology systems, perform basic troubleshooting, and secure databases. They should also have impeccable customer service and communication skills to attend with customers' needs and requests.
An information technology analyst is responsible for identifying business opportunities by creating and designing technology systems that would help business operations perform efficiently and accurately. Information technology analysts manage systems maintenance, upgrade and install updates for better optimization, and perform feature revisions and adjustments based on the end-user experience. They analyze client and business specifications and research a multiple system approach to generate technology solutions. An information technology analyst must have excellent analytical skills, as well as broad knowledge of the technology industry.
Support specialists and information technology analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Specialist | Information Technology Analyst | |
| Average salary | $40,782 | $83,078 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $62,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a support specialist and an information technology analyst in terms of educational background:
| Support Specialist | Information Technology Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between support specialists' and information technology analysts' demographics:
| Support Specialist | Information Technology Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 68.8% Female, 31.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 15.3% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |