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The differences between technical support technicians and technician support tiers 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 support tier. Additionally, a technician support tier has an average salary of $54,889, which is higher than the $40,210 average annual salary of a technical support technician.
The top three skills for a technical support technician include customer service, technical support and patients. The most important skills for a technician support tier are customer service, technical support, and phone calls.
| Technical Support Technician | Technician Support Tier | |
| Yearly salary | $40,210 | $54,889 |
| Hourly rate | $19.33 | $26.39 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 165,677 | 109,671 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| 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.
A technician support tier focuses on providing technical support to clients or employees within a company. Typically working in a team setting, a technician support tier addresses technical problems and troubleshoots to identify the root of the issues and perform necessary corrective measures or repairs. Their responsibilities also revolve around responding to inquiries, answering calls and correspondence, conducting regular maintenance of systems and networks, maintaining records of all transactions, and supporting software and networks. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with all team members while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Technical support technicians and technician support tiers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Support Technician | Technician Support Tier | |
| Average salary | $40,210 | $54,889 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $64,000 | Between $38,000 And $78,000 |
| Highest paying City | Philadelphia, PA | Benicia, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | New York |
| Best paying company | Ropes & Gray | Scantron |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical support technician and a technician support tier in terms of educational background:
| Technical Support Technician | Technician Support Tier | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between technical support technicians' and technician support tiers' demographics:
| Technical Support Technician | Technician Support Tier | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% | Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9% |
| 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, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |