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The differences between technical support representatives and customer support representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a technical support representative, becoming a customer support representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a customer support representative has an average salary of $37,404, which is higher than the $34,758 average annual salary of a technical support representative.
The top three skills for a technical support representative include customer calls, smartphones and technical support calls. The most important skills for a customer support representative are technical support, windows, and customer inquiries.
| Technical Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $34,758 | $37,404 |
| Hourly rate | $16.71 | $17.98 |
| Growth rate | 10% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 212,082 | 243,140 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
Technical Support Representatives specialize in customer support through calls or correspondence. Among the primary responsibilities of a Technical Support Representative involves receiving and making calls, address and troubleshoot issues raised by the client, assist when navigating through complicated applications, provide suggestions or recommendations, or elevate the problem to personnel with higher expertise when necessary. Furthermore, a Technical Support Representative must coordinate with supervisors at all times, remain patient and proactive, and as well as maintain and organize records of each handled calls.
A customer support representative is responsible for answering calls and correspondence, providing customer assistance in various technical issues, concerns, or difficulties. There are also instances when they must make calls to follow-up on the issues, or even sell products and services. Most of the time, a customer support representative has a certain quota to reach and works under a manager's supervision. Furthermore, it is essential to keep accurate records and report to managers or supervisors should there be any problems.
Technical support representatives and customer support representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Average salary | $34,758 | $37,404 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $44,000 | Between $29,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Alaska |
| Best paying company | HP | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a technical support representative and a customer support representative in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between technical support representatives' and customer support representatives' demographics:
| Technical Support Representative | Customer Support Representative | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.5% Female, 38.5% | Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 7.3% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |