What does a technical specialist do?
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.
Technical specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real technical specialist resumes:
- Install and manage LAN/WAN using TCP/IP protocol.
- Manage the development of a customize ERP system for the client.
- Design and manage studies for alternative API qualification for commercial products.
- Lead and assist in troubleshooting problems and assure appropriate communication with physicians and patients.
- Manage customer complaints and internal GMP audits for product manufacturing, coordinate FDA audits and recommend corrective actions.
- Develop HTML, CSS, JavaScript for commercial websites.
- Monitor and troubleshot LAN, install and configure routers and switches.
- Provide customer support for video, voice, LAN/WAN, and PC clients for mission critical command and control systems.
- Provide over-the-phone second tier technical support for high-speed internet and LAN troubleshooting.
- Design applications & support ERP systems.
- Update JavaScript files for use on FDIC.gov.
- Repair PCs and install/replace software programs and hardware.
- Support risk of supply initiatives via the alternate API program.
- Perform major network OS and core on-air hardware and software upgrade.
- Verify correct IP addresses are assign for all digital output devices.
Technical specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Technical Specialists are proficient in Customer Service, Technical Support, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Technical Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 13%
Demonstrated ability to manage information, and utilize exceptional customer service skills when interfacing with clients, peers and management.
- Technical Support, 6%
Maintained a high level of technical support, and performed root cause analysis for problems experienced within area of functional responsibility.
- Patients, 6%
Led and assisted in troubleshooting problems and assured appropriate communication with physicians and patients.
- Project Management, 6%
Associated with project management activities such as project coordination /planning /scheduling /appraisal process /developing and implementing process improvements using agile techniques.
- Customer Satisfaction, 4%
Provided customer satisfaction through effective and timely resolution of a variety of customer inquires * Met department productivity and quality standards.
- C++, 4%
Assisted to develop a software using C++ to convert accounting data from the old Turkish Lira to New Turkish Lira.
"customer service," "technical support," and "patients" are among the most common skills that technical specialists use at work. You can find even more technical specialist responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a technical specialist to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what technical specialists do because "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." Additionally, a technical specialist resume shows how technical specialists use customer-service skills: "managed customer complaints and internal gmp audits for product manufacturing, coordinated fda audits and recommended corrective actions. "
Listening skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling technical specialist duties is listening skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." According to a technical specialist resume, here's how technical specialists can utilize listening skills in their job responsibilities: "earned 100% marks in all categories including communication skills, listening skills, problem resolution and politeness"
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for technical specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how technical specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a technical specialist: "facilitated on-time implementation of diverse application solutions to fulfill stringent fda submission and software licensing deadlines. ".
Speaking skills. A big part of what technical specialists do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to technical specialist responsibilities because "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical technical specialist tasks: "answered calls from clients, enterprise sales agents, and spoke with dell customers. "
Writing skills. Another common skill required for technical specialist responsibilities is "writing skills." This skill comes up in the duties of technical specialists all the time, as "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." An excerpt from a real technical specialist resume shows how this skill is central to what a technical specialist does: "provide final tier of technical support writing, maintaining and updating software and procedure specific sops & work instructions. "
The three companies that hire the most technical specialists are:
- Microsoft175 technical specialists jobs
- Ernst & Young65 technical specialists jobs
- HCL Technologies65 technical specialists jobs
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Compare different technical specialists
Technical specialist vs. Administrative technical support
Administrative technical support maintains every technical set-up used in a company. Their primary responsibility is to inspect a company's systems, evaluate for issues, and repair any problems immediately. Administrative technical support is typically on call at the start of the day and, when they are not responding to calls, they conduct regular check-ups on all company systems. They are also responsible for creating technical reports and offering recommendations for improvements.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a technical specialist are more likely to require skills like "patients," "project management," "customer satisfaction," and "c++." On the other hand, a job as an administrative technical support requires skills like "troubleshoot," "phone calls," "data entry," and "desk support." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, administrative technical supports reach similar levels of education than technical specialists. Administrative technical supports are 3.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Technical specialist vs. Computer support specialist
A Computer Support Specialist is responsible for providing the highest customer service for clients with technical and system issues, resolving network failures, and creating support tickets for IT personnel. Computer Support Specialists utilize various system tools and applications to diagnose end-users network issues and conduct immediate troubleshooting. They also help the IT staff design and improve system features and infrastructures and create instructional manuals for deliverables. A Computer Support Specialist must have excellent technical and communication skills to document customers' requests and identify system solutions.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, technical specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "project management," "customer satisfaction," and "c++." Meanwhile, a computer support specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "computer support," "troubleshoot," "desk support," and "network printers." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Computer support specialists may earn a lower salary than technical specialists, but computer support specialists earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $75,865. On the other hand, technical specialists receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $92,419.In general, computer support specialists achieve similar levels of education than technical specialists. They're 5.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Technical specialist vs. Desktop support specialist
A Desktop Support Specialist is focused on troubleshooting different software packages, hardware devices, and other peripherals. They monitor the performance of the company's desktop infrastructure.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a technical specialist is likely to be skilled in "patients," "project management," "customer satisfaction," and "c++," while a typical desktop support specialist is skilled in "troubleshoot," "pc," "sccm," and "remote desktop."
Desktop support specialists earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $53,933. Comparatively, technical specialists have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $92,419.When it comes to education, desktop support specialists tend to earn lower degree levels compared to technical specialists. In fact, they're 6.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Technical specialist vs. Systems support specialist
A systems support specialist is responsible for assisting end-users on system issues, including network configuration and improving network infrastructure. System support specialists implement network strategies alongside the whole technology team to boost the system's efficiency and optimal performance. They create resolution reports for reference and write recommendations to prevent system defects and inconsistencies. A systems support specialist also handles network installations and upgrades, requiring them to have excellent technical skills and knowledge of programming languages.
Types of technical specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
