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The differences between technical support specialists and requirements engineers 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 specialist, becoming a requirements engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a requirements engineer has an average salary of $87,170, which is higher than the $48,667 average annual salary of a technical support specialist.
The top three skills for a technical support specialist include customer service, technical support and troubleshoot. The most important skills for a requirements engineer are java, software development, and powerpoint.
| Technical Support Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $48,667 | $87,170 |
| Hourly rate | $23.40 | $41.91 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 157,425 | 166,444 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.6 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A technical support specialist is responsible for assisting customer's and businesses' concerns and system issues by performing troubleshooting and remote solutions. These specialists must have extensive knowledge of system applications, including software and hardware database to handle complex processes that might affect the end user's experience or the business' daily operations. Technical support specialists should maintain excellent communication skills to guide the client and business on solving network problems. They must also document concerns and progress promptly for reference and quality checks.
Requirements engineers are responsible for the analysis, documentation, coordination, and management of requirements regarding new software projects. They identify and understand the customer's project-specific demands and document them in a clear and binding way. Their duties and responsibilities also include preparing well-written and detailed documentation of the project and ensuring the project is designed and built within the legal parameters.
Technical support specialists and requirements engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average salary | $48,667 | $87,170 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $76,000 | Between $62,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support specialist and a requirements engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical support specialists' and requirements engineers' demographics:
| Technical Support Specialist | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% | Male, 64.5% Female, 35.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |