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The differences between technical support agents 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 support agent and a technical support engineer. Additionally, a technical support engineer has an average salary of $85,716, 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 support engineer are technical support, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $30,389 | $85,716 |
| Hourly rate | $14.61 | $41.21 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 177,918 | 184,542 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| 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.
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 support agents and technical support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $30,389 | $85,716 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $40,000 | Between $61,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | El Cajon, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | HP | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support agent and a technical support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical support agents' and technical support engineers' demographics:
| Technical Support Agent | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% | Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7% |
| 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, 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% |