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The differences between technical support specialists and support analysts 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 specialist and a support analyst. Additionally, a support analyst has an average salary of $75,989, 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 support analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and technical support.
| Technical Support Specialist | Support Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $48,667 | $75,989 |
| Hourly rate | $23.40 | $36.53 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,425 | 107,039 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.6 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
The role of support analysts is to resolve problems with hardware, computer programs, and peripherals. They may focus on a particular aspect of the information technology (IT) department or give technical support to end-users. They mainly detect issues with IT equipment and software and devise solutions to resolve these issues. Also, they are responsible for answering queries from users, preparing service records, and handling escalations. Support analysts also support the company's IT operations and best practices by creating and distributing relevant IT documents.
Technical support specialists and support analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Specialist | Support Analyst | |
| Average salary | $48,667 | $75,989 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $76,000 | Between $50,000 And $114,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a technical support specialist and a support analyst in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Specialist | Support Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical support specialists' and support analysts' demographics:
| Technical Support Specialist | Support Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% | Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9% |
| 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, 12.2% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 12.9% White, 54.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |