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The differences between support specialists and network engineers 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 specialist and a network engineer. Additionally, a network engineer has an average salary of $83,557, 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 a network engineer are switches, troubleshoot, and network infrastructure.
| Support Specialist | Network Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $40,782 | $83,557 |
| Hourly rate | $19.61 | $40.17 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 125,740 | 72,346 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A network engineer is responsible for managing a network system, monitoring its performance, and upgrading its features to optimize performance and boost efficiency. Network engineers also create new systems, designing them based on clients' specifications and business needs. They also check network defects, perform troubleshooting, improve data security systems, and install security updates. A network engineer must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, as well as a broad understanding of system codes, programming languages, and network configurations.
Support specialists and network engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Specialist | Network Engineer | |
| Average salary | $40,782 | $83,557 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $64,000 | Between $62,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Menlo Park, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a support specialist and a network engineer in terms of educational background:
| Support Specialist | Network Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between support specialists' and network engineers' demographics:
| Support Specialist | Network Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4% |
| 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, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.7% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 9% |