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The differences between systems support engineers and technical support 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 systems support engineer and a technical support engineer. Additionally, a technical support engineer has an average salary of $85,716, which is higher than the $82,561 average annual salary of a systems support engineer.
The top three skills for a systems support engineer include linux, troubleshoot and technical support. The most important skills for a technical support engineer are technical support, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Systems Support Engineer | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,561 | $85,716 |
| Hourly rate | $39.69 | $41.21 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 182,434 | 184,542 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Systems support engineers are information technology professionals who are responsible for building and maintaining the IT infrastructure of an organization. They are required to provide network administration and technical support to identify complex problem issues and come up with solutions to solve them. They must assist the system support engineers in accomplishing any projects they are working with. They must troubleshoot servers, personal computers, and peripheral equipment while liaising with their customers. They must also create and maintain user accounts and implement group policy management through an active directory.
A technical support engineer is responsible for responding to customer issues, providing immediate resolutions to their system issues through remote assistance. Technical support engineers must have strong knowledge of software and hardware applications to diagnose system defects and process troubleshooting. They also assist customers with the installation of programs and updates to improve system performance, escalating high-level concerns to appropriate internal technology teams. A technical support engineer must have strong command with technical systems, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills to understand clients' issues while documenting procedures.
Systems support engineers and technical support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Systems Support Engineer | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,561 | $85,716 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $109,000 | Between $61,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | Novato, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a systems support engineer and a technical support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Systems Support Engineer | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between systems support engineers' and technical support engineers' demographics:
| Systems Support Engineer | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.5% Female, 10.5% | Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 11.5% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 11% |