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The differences between technical advisors and technical support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a technical advisor and a technical support technician. Additionally, a technical advisor has an average salary of $106,686, which is higher than the $40,210 average annual salary of a technical support technician.
The top three skills for a technical advisor include java, customer service and provisioning. The most important skills for a technical support technician are customer service, technical support, and patients.
| Technical Advisor | Technical Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $106,686 | $40,210 |
| Hourly rate | $51.29 | $19.33 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 118,740 | 165,677 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Technical advisors are experts in a specific field of knowledge, offering information and advice to those in the field. They develop applications, coordinate the activities of technicians, and provide technical expertise. They offer advice and suggestions to specialists. The skills they need to possess include multitasking abilities, attention to detail, and exceptional customer service. They are also required to be savvy in terms of information technology, business practices, and have significant experience in this field.
Technical support technicians are skilled professionals who resolve computer or information technology-related concerns. They may do installations, repairs, or maintenance activities of various applications or computer hardware. They are sometimes assigned specific issues or concerns to resolve so that they will not be bombarded with various issues. This means that they can now specialize in a specific family of concerns. Technical support technicians may provide on-site support, going directly to the person who needs help and doing what needs to be done or troubleshoot the problem in person. They may also be offsite and would usually be manning helpdesk hotlines. Offsite technical support technicians walk the caller through the steps they should do to fix the issues. As such, when a technical support technician is offsite, they are expected to be good communicators and will be able to provide clear instructions.
Technical advisors and technical support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Advisor | Technical Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $106,686 | $40,210 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $143,000 | Between $24,000 And $64,000 |
| Highest paying City | Kentfield, CA | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | California | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Perkins Coie | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a technical advisor and a technical support technician in terms of educational background:
| Technical Advisor | Technical Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical advisors' and technical support technicians' demographics:
| Technical Advisor | Technical Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.7% Female, 27.3% | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 11.7% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |