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The differences between technical support agents and information technology/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 support agent and an information technology/support technician. Additionally, an information technology/support technician has an average salary of $45,591, which is higher than the $30,389 average annual salary of a technical support agent.
The top three skills for a technical support agent include customer service, email clients and technical support issues. The most important skills for an information technology/support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and computer system.
| Technical Support Agent | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $30,389 | $45,591 |
| Hourly rate | $14.61 | $21.92 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 177,918 | 161,748 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A technical support agent specializes in providing computer and system support through calls and correspondence, ensuring optimal customer satisfaction. They are primarily responsible for assisting customers in troubleshooting and evaluating systems to figure out the cause of technical issues and talk them through its corresponding solution. Moreover, an agent must make follow-up calls to ensure that the problem no longer persists or forward them to higher authority personnel when necessary.
An information technology (IT) support technician is an individual who is responsible for providing support and troubleshoots software and hardware problems faced by customers. As for larger organizations that have their own IT department, technicians must work together internally with their IT staff members. IT support technicians are involved in inspecting and resolving minor local area network and wireless network issues, which include TCP/IP, DHCP, and VPN. They are also required to obtain an associate's degree in computer science or related field.
Technical support agents and information technology/support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Agent | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $30,389 | $45,591 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $40,000 | Between $31,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | El Cajon, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | HP | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support agent and an information technology/support technician in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Agent | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between technical support agents' and information technology/support technicians' demographics:
| Technical Support Agent | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% | Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 13.2% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |