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The differences between technical support agents and technical specialists 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 a technical specialist. Additionally, a technical specialist has an average salary of $88,773, 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 a technical specialist are customer service, technical support, and patients.
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $30,389 | $88,773 |
| Hourly rate | $14.61 | $42.68 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 177,918 | 121,151 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| 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.
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 support agents and technical specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Specialist | |
| Average salary | $30,389 | $88,773 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $40,000 | Between $62,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | El Cajon, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New York | Delaware |
| Best paying company | HP | Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support agent and a technical specialist in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical support agents' and technical specialists' demographics:
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% | Male, 71.2% Female, 28.8% |
| 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, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 12.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |