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The differences between support supervisors and support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a support supervisor, becoming a support specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a support supervisor has an average salary of $47,047, which is higher than the $40,782 average annual salary of a support specialist.
The top three skills for a support supervisor include excellent interpersonal, customer service and training materials. The most important skills for a support specialist are customer service, patients, and mental health.
| Support Supervisor | Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $47,047 | $40,782 |
| Hourly rate | $22.62 | $19.61 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 96,546 | 125,740 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A support supervisor is responsible for monitoring the daily operations of an organization, assisting the team members in resolving customer complaints, and managing process discrepancies to maintain the smooth delivery of services for customer satisfaction. Support supervisors conduct a one-on-one assessment with the team, identifying each member's challenges and strategizing techniques to address those difficulties and reach their maximum potentials. They also look for business opportunities according to industry trends and data analysis that would generate more resources for revenues and increase the company's profitability.
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.
Support supervisors and support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Supervisor | Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $47,047 | $40,782 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $69,000 | Between $25,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Cisco | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a support supervisor and a support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Support Supervisor | Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between support supervisors' and support specialists' demographics:
| Support Supervisor | Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.8% Female, 48.2% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |