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The differences between technical specialists 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 technical specialist and a technical support engineer. Additionally, a technical specialist has an average salary of $88,773, which is higher than the $85,716 average annual salary of a technical support engineer.
The top three skills for a technical specialist include customer service, technical support and patients. The most important skills for a technical support engineer are technical support, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $88,773 | $85,716 |
| Hourly rate | $42.68 | $41.21 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 121,151 | 184,542 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The role of technical specialists is to provide technical support for applications and programs to staff members and customers within an organization. They train staff and customers on products and apps and offer advice on the best practices for utilizing technical programs and applications. They also design training materials to teach other staff members the most effective methods of using its technology. It is also their job to reduce company costs by looking for ways to improve productivity and lessen expenses.
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.
Technical specialists and technical support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $88,773 | $85,716 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $126,000 | Between $61,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Washington |
| Best paying company | Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical specialist and a technical support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical specialists' and technical support engineers' demographics:
| Technical Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.2% Female, 28.8% | Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 12.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 11% | 11% |