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The differences between technical support specialists and technical support engineers 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 technical support engineer. Additionally, a technical support engineer has an average salary of $85,716, 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 technical support engineer are technical support, customer service, and troubleshoot.
| Technical Support Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $48,667 | $85,716 |
| Hourly rate | $23.40 | $41.21 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,425 | 184,542 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.6 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| 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.
A technical support engineer is responsible for responding to customer issues, providing immediate resolutions to their system issues through remote assistance. Technical support engineers must have strong knowledge of software and hardware applications to diagnose system defects and process troubleshooting. They also assist customers with the installation of programs and updates to improve system performance, escalating high-level concerns to appropriate internal technology teams. A technical support engineer must have strong command with technical systems, as well as excellent communication and time-management skills to understand clients' issues while documenting procedures.
Technical support specialists and technical support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $48,667 | $85,716 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $76,000 | Between $61,000 And $119,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support specialist and a technical support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical support specialists' and technical support engineers' demographics:
| Technical Support Specialist | Technical Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% | Male, 83.3% Female, 16.7% |
| 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, 9.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |