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The differences between technical support technicians and technicians 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 technician and a technician. Additionally, a technical support technician has an average salary of $40,210, which is higher than the $38,045 average annual salary of a technician.
The top three skills for a technical support technician include customer service, technical support and patients. The most important skills for a technician are patients, customer service, and patient care.
| Technical Support Technician | Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $40,210 | $38,045 |
| Hourly rate | $19.33 | $18.29 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 165,677 | 596,842 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Technical support technicians are skilled professionals who resolve computer or information technology-related concerns. They may do installations, repairs, or maintenance activities of various applications or computer hardware. They are sometimes assigned specific issues or concerns to resolve so that they will not be bombarded with various issues. This means that they can now specialize in a specific family of concerns. Technical support technicians may provide on-site support, going directly to the person who needs help and doing what needs to be done or troubleshoot the problem in person. They may also be offsite and would usually be manning helpdesk hotlines. Offsite technical support technicians walk the caller through the steps they should do to fix the issues. As such, when a technical support technician is offsite, they are expected to be good communicators and will be able to provide clear instructions.
Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with. They are usually working with electricity or with technological advancements. Technicians may be assigned to do the construction of equipment or materials related to their field of study. They may also be assigned to conduct diagnostics and other maintenance activities to ensure that the equipment works properly. Technicians may also be required to conduct basic repairs in case of problems. It is important that technicians have good analytical skills and decision-making skills.
Technical support technicians and technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Technician | Technician | |
| Average salary | $40,210 | $38,045 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $64,000 | Between $24,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | Philadelphia, PA | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a technical support technician and a technician in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Technician | Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between technical support technicians' and technicians' demographics:
| Technical Support Technician | Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% | Male, 75.2% Female, 24.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 4.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 2% |