Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical support assistants 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 assistant and an information technology/support technician. Additionally, an information technology/support technician has an average salary of $45,591, which is higher than the $44,005 average annual salary of a technical support assistant.
The top three skills for a technical support assistant include troubleshoot, phone calls and data entry. The most important skills for an information technology/support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and computer system.
| Technical Support Assistant | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $44,005 | $45,591 |
| Hourly rate | $21.16 | $21.92 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 153,404 | 161,748 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A technical support assistant assists and supports technical staff members in their daily activities. These professionals execute technical support tasks for the client-server. Besides providing technical support for desktop applications, technical support assistants also help technicians resolve and troubleshoot technical issues. Moreover, technical support assistants answer and reply to emails and customer calls concerning their technical problems. They ensure the technical staff follows the required guidelines and procedures and update themselves on the technical aspects' solutions and latest trends.
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 assistants and information technology/support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Assistant | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $44,005 | $45,591 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $64,000 | Between $31,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Autodesk | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support assistant and an information technology/support technician in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Assistant | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | 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 assistants' and information technology/support technicians' demographics:
| Technical Support Assistant | Information Technology/Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.8% Female, 38.2% | Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 14.4% White, 54.1% 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% |