Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical associates and technical services engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a technical associate, becoming a technical services engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a technical associate has an average salary of $86,489, which is higher than the $81,204 average annual salary of a technical services engineer.
The top three skills for a technical associate include customer service, java and patients. The most important skills for a technical services engineer are customer service, technical support, and technical service.
| Technical Associate | Technical Services Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $86,489 | $81,204 |
| Hourly rate | $41.58 | $39.04 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 83,261 | 217,103 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
The duties of a technical associate depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around installing and repairing software and applications, troubleshooting, and conducting regular tests and maintenance to ensure smooth workflow. They must also handle and address inquiries or concerns from clients, resolving them promptly and professionally. Moreover, a technical associate mostly works under the directives of a manager or a more experienced staff; they usually coordinate with team members and produce progress reports.
A technical services engineer is responsible for assisting customers on their systems and network issues, providing them the best technical solutions, and guiding them on step-by-step procedures for troubleshooting. Technical services engineers must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially on identifying customers' system failures by asking them a few questions. They also escalate high-level complaints to internal teams, ensuring that they present the client's issues for reference. A technical services engineer also handles systems configuration and recommending process improvement techniques to optimize network infrastructure.
Technical associates and technical services engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Associate | Technical Services Engineer | |
| Average salary | $86,489 | $81,204 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $122,000 | Between $57,000 And $115,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Washington |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical associate and a technical services engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Associate | Technical Services Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between technical associates' and technical services engineers' demographics:
| Technical Associate | Technical Services Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2% | Male, 88.0% Female, 12.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 11.4% White, 71.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 5% |