What does a technical support representative do?
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.
Technical support representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real technical support representative resumes:
- Serve as a SME and the main point of contact when agents and other leads have questions.
- Answer eligibility and coverage questions from insurance agents pertaining to Medicare advantage plans and prescription drug plans.
- Manage mental health portion of health insurance policies including Medicaid and Medicare and other commercial insurance plans nationwide.
- Generate nationwide reservations provide customer service and negotiating customer dispute (inbound and outbound calls).
- Work with QA to identify problems and resolutions base on customer issues.
- Provide product information to customers inquiring about their iPhone, iPod, and iPad features.
- Assist iPhone, iPad & iPod customers with items such as setting up hardware repair and troubleshooting.
- Call center applications - CMS, BCMS and EAS.
- Service data transfer between android and mac systems.
- Promote within to lead sme and then to QA anaylst.
- Process repairs, orders, and replacements for the iPhone.
- Provide technical support and answer product questions for the iPhone.
- Provide technical support and customer service for Google customers and all android products.
- Have the ability to figure out how technology works and multitask across systems and applications.
- Transition to support top producers with marketing, telemarketing, client contact and application follow up.
Technical support representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Technical Support Representatives are proficient in Customer Calls, Smartphones, and Technical Support Calls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Writing skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Technical Support Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Calls, 14%
Resolved approximately 60 inbound customer calls daily in regard to company products and services through effective customer interactions and technical expertise.
- Smartphones, 9%
Used numerous applications for many smartphones and performed troubleshooting to correct technical problems.
- Technical Support Calls, 7%
Answer inbound technical support calls; investigate and address customer issues using remote access software and general open-ended questions
- Work Ethic, 6%
Received commendation from my supervisor thanking me for my great work ethic, insight and helpful suggestions.
- Internet Connectivity, 6%
Assist customers via telephone with troubleshooting internet connectivity, basic configuration as well as account registration and general customer service inquiries.
- Customer Service, 5%
Answered a high volume of incoming patient calls Assisted Diabetic Patients with Continuous Glucose Monitoring Troubleshooting and Customer service related inquiries.
"customer calls," "smartphones," and "technical support calls" are among the most common skills that technical support representatives use at work. You can find even more technical support representative responsibilities below, including:
Speaking skills. One of the key soft skills for a technical support representative to have is speaking skills. You can see how this relates to what technical support representatives do because "support workers must describe the solutions to computer problems in a way that a nontechnical person can understand." Additionally, a technical support representative resume shows how technical support representatives use speaking skills: "presented with peer-to-peer award for quality customer support and teamwork in mentoring peers. "
Writing skills. Another essential skill to perform technical support representative duties is writing skills. Technical support representatives responsibilities require that "strong writing skills are useful for preparing instructions and email responses for employees and customers, as well as for real-time web chat interactions." Technical support representatives also use writing skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "fielded inbound calls and provided technical assistance to court reporting industry clients using company-based stenography translation software and shorthand writing machines. "
Customer-service skills. technical support representatives are also known for customer-service skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to technical support representative responsibilities, because "computer support specialists must be patient and sympathetic." A technical support representative resume example shows how customer-service skills is used in the workplace: "handled inbound and outbound customer support with computer operating systems, home networking configurations and troubleshooting assistance for optimal customer usage. "
Listening skills. technical support representative responsibilities often require "listening skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "support workers must be able to understand the problems that their customers are describing and know when to ask questions to clarify the situation." This resume example shows what technical support representatives do with listening skills on a typical day: "provide customer support by asking questions and listening in order to understand their needs, and address any concerns. "
Problem-solving skills. Another crucial skill for a technical support representative to carry out their responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." A big part of what technical support representatives relies on this skill, since "support workers must identify both simple and complex computer problems, analyze them, and solve them." How this skill relates to technical support representative duties can be seen in an example from a technical support representative resume snippet: "answered 50+ customer support emails daily providing resolutions or gathering support information. "
The three companies that hire the most technical support representatives are:
- MCI World95 technical support representatives jobs
- Kelly Services60 technical support representatives jobs
- ContinuumGlobal51 technical support representatives jobs
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Compare different technical support representatives
Technical support representative vs. Customer support technician
A customer support technician is responsible for resolving customer complaints with their network issues through remote communication, providing the customers with a step-by-step procedure to fix their systems. Customer support technicians assist the customers in setting up their programs and applications, guiding them with the instructional manuals, and responding to the inquiries and concerns they have. They also escalate high-level complaints to the immediate supervisor as needed while monitoring system solutions and creating technical tickets.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, technical support representative responsibilities require skills like "smartphones," "technical support calls," "work ethic," and "internet connectivity." Meanwhile a typical customer support technician has skills in areas such as "java," "technical support," "post sales," and "debugging." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Customer support technicians earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $50,042. On the other hand, technical support representatives are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $37,278.The education levels that customer support technicians earn slightly differ from technical support representatives. In particular, customer support technicians are 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a technical support representative. Additionally, they're 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Technical support representative vs. Software support technician
A software support technician is responsible for resolving software application issues, diagnosing related system failures, and writing resolution reports for reference. Software support technicians must be highly-familiarized with the system's infrastructure and interface to immediately diagnose malfunctions and identify maintenance techniques to prevent the reoccurrence of downtimes and delays. They also assist the system engineers in the configuration and optimization of networks, including the installment of upgrades and patch updates. A software support technician must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially in navigating computer tools and applications to create support tickets and fix the customers' issues efficiently.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that technical support representative responsibilities requires skills like "customer calls," "technical support calls," "work ethic," and "internet connectivity." But a software support technician might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "troubleshoot," "java," "database," and "phone calls."
Software support technicians may earn a higher salary than technical support representatives, but software support technicians earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $86,283. On the other hand, technical support representatives receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $37,278.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Software support technicians tend to reach higher levels of education than technical support representatives. In fact, they're 5.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for technical support representatives in the next 3-5 years?
Babak Beheshti Ph.D.
Dean, Professor, New York Institute of Technology
-We will be witnessing a more widespread commercial deployment of 5G in 2020. With the implementation of the Standalone 5G devices based on the 3gpp release 16, we should be seeing the more robust mobile broadband deployment of 5G, wider availability of 5G smartphones, and a push towards an all 5G Network in select urban areas around the world.
-Significant growth in AI-based technologies, from face recognition and voice recognition to business intelligence and market predictions. As machines and deep learning algorithms get integrated into many applications, many industries will undergo substantial changes. AI systems will continue to interact with our phones; cars will interpret and analyze their surroundings and intelligently drive themselves. Online vendors will monitor our browsing habits, and Google decides what kind of search results to give us, based on who it thinks we are.
Technical support representative vs. Desktop support technician
A desktop support technician is responsible for troubleshooting defective computer systems, affecting its performance and efficiency. Desktop support technicians must be highly familiar with the technology systems and programming codes to navigate system applications and locate the discrepancy of the system. They keep documentation of the ticket issue and the resolution for reference and quality improvement. A desktop support technician also configures and updates computer systems and networks for better optimization, as well as conducting regular inspections and monitoring the efficiency of installed programs and patches.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from technical support representative resumes include skills like "customer calls," "technical support calls," "work ethic," and "internet connectivity," whereas a desktop support technician is more likely to list skills in "desktop support," "troubleshoot," "technical support," and "remote desktop. "
Desktop support technicians earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $49,591. Technical support representatives earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $37,278.When it comes to education, desktop support technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to technical support representatives. In fact, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Technical support representative vs. Desk support technician
A desktop support technician is responsible for assisting end-users with their network issues, grant authorization requests, and create user accounts. Desktop support technicians maintain the safety and security of networks, preventing unauthorized access and illegal dissemination of database information. They also handle the software configurations and upgrading the network infrastructure to avoid system downtimes and operational delays. A desktop support technician must have excellent communication and technical skills to monitor systems performance and enhance network navigation.
Types of technical support representative
Updated January 8, 2025
