IT Support Specialist Salary: Your 2024 Guide

Almost everyone uses some type of technology, whether that’s a smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer. And with this technology comes the occasional issue that can’t be solved on your own. Professionals with more expertise like IT support specialists help  guide uesrs toward a resolution. 

If you’re interested in a customer service role that involves figuring out solutions to technical issues, this could be a great career for you. Consider researching the average IT support specialist salary and factors that impact it. 

What is an IT support specialist?

IT support specialists have diverse jobs where they analyze, troubleshoot, and evaluate issues with technology, such as computers, Wi-Fi routers, smartphones, and more. In this role, you may support internal clients at an organization to help keep employees productive, or you may deal with external customers via telephone or chat interface. 

Some IT support specialist careers also include instructing customers on using programs and applications or working with on-site technicians to resolve issues. Others may involve solving simpler problems from non-business clients, such as reconnecting the internet or troubleshooting household IT products.

Read more: Entry-Level IT Support Jobs Overview: Skills, Education, Salaries

How much is the average IT support specialist salary?

According to Lightcast, the average salary for a computer user support specialist in the US is $57,657 per year [1]. This salary can vary based on where you work, your education and experience levels, and whether you have any certifications. Taking into account the data from several other job listing sites, the average IT support specialist income ranges from $45,591 to $57,657.60 [2, 3, 4, 5]

Factors that impact IT support specialist salary

As mentioned above, several factors can impact the average IT support specialist salary. These factors include years of experience, education level, local demand for the role, cost of living, and more. Let’s review how these and other factors impact the IT support specialist’s salary. 

Education

Customer user support specialists typically need at least an associate degree to land a job, but some also pursue a bachelor’s degree. However, you may find companies willing to hire high school graduates with the proper certifications. 

Here’s how education level can impact your potential IT support salary [2]: 

• Associate degree: $43,198

• Bachelor’s degree: $48,080

• Master’s degree: $56,947

Certifications 

IT support certifications and certificates help prove your expertise in specific systems so you can help internal and external clients quickly and accurately. Obtaining an IT support certificate may help increase your chances of landing a job and boosting your salary. Some IT support certificates to consider and their corresponding average salaries are as follows: 

*All salaries sourced from Payscale and ZipRecruiter are accurate as of November 2023.

• Microsoft Certified IT Professional: $78,000

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): $125,000

• IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation: $97,000

• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA): $86,000

• CompTIA A+: $70,000

• CompTIA Network+: $74,000

• Microsoft Azure Fundamentals: $123,409

• Google IT Support Professional Certificate: $61,984

Read more: 10 Essential IT Certifications 

Experience

As you work and gain new knowledge and skills that may allow you to solve problems faster and more efficiently. This may help increase your salary. Here’s how years of experience impact the average IT support specialist’s salary, according to Glassdoor [4]. 

• 0–1 years: $47,372

• 1–3 years: $49,373

• 4–6 years: $52,235

• 7–9 years: $54,467

• 10–14 years: $58,458

• 15 or more years: $64,538

Technical skills

Your IT support specialist skills and training can also impact your earning potential. As you gain more skills and experience, you can advance to higher IT support tiers. The levels of IT support go from tier 0, which is self-help for the end user, to tier 4, which is third-party support for products an organization may sell but not service. 

Let’s review the non-self-service tiers within one organization—tiers 1 through 3. Here are their differences and the average IT support specialist salary according to tier: 

• Tier 1 ($50,805 [6]): This is the first line of technical support, and their responsibilities include logging incidents and service requests, troubleshooting technical issues, helping users manage their accounts, and filtering out incidents for higher tier levels. 

• Tier 2 ($52,943 [7]): These representatives handle more advanced issues, such as managing data backup and recovery, backend issues, and troubleshooting problems and significant issues.

• Tier 3 ($56,668 [8]): The third tier of IT support specialists are the subject matter experts. They are responsible for monitoring support queues, solving problems and major incidents within their specialty areas, and providing knowledge articles for other support agents to refer to. 

Industry

Your salary will depend on the industry you work in, let’s review the eight highest-paying industries for IT support specialists [2]: 

1. Technology: $53,210

2. Finance: $52.347

3. Construction: $47,650

4. Health care: $46,837

5. Manufacturing: $46,274

6. Hospitality: $44,019

7. Education: $43,506

8. Professional: $43,438

Location

Location is another factor that can affect salaries, as companies will often compensate for varying costs of living, local demand for talent in certain roles, and even local income taxes. The IT support specialist is no exception to this trend. 

Highest-paying states 

If you’re willing to relocate to maximize your IT support specialist salary, you may want to consider one of these high-paying states [2]: 

1. Pennsylvania: $58,684

2. Maryland: $58,580

3. District of Columbia: $58,210

4. California: $57,696

5. Hawaii: $57,477

Keep in mind, if you live in a location with a high cost of living, you’ll require a higher salary than you would in a location with a lower cost of living to afford the same lifestyle.

IT support specialist outlook

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects demand for IT support specialists to remain relatively strong, growing at a rate of 5 percent between 2022 and 2032 [9]. This is about 66,500 job openings per year which is just as fast as other occupations in the US.

Related job titles

IT support specialist is one of several roles that handle this type of technical support. Here’s a list of similar jobs to consider, their responsibilities, and average annual salaries:

Read more: How to Get a Job in IT: 7 Steps

1. Help desk agent

Average US salary: $44,596 [10]

A help desk agent is another name for IT support specialist, so the roles are virtually identical and used interchangeably. Their main goal is to quickly help and solve end users’ needs and technical problems. 

2. Systems support specialist

Average US salary: $60,282 [10]

These specialists can work via chat and telephone but also perform on-site work for more complex issues. Their responsibilities include:

• Technical support

• Maintenance

• Troubleshooting problems

• Hardware and software installation and upgrades

• Cable repair and installation

• Data backup

• Virus and malware removal

• Training staff

3. Senior IT support specialist

Average US salary:  $53,987 [11]

After two to four years in an IT support specialist role, you may be ready to move into a senior role. You’ll have similar responsibilities as an IT support specialist but deal with more complex issues that need more advanced expertise. Your duties may include:

• Delivering reports to the operations team

• Creating monthly service ticket metrics

• Providing direction to the IT support team

• Communicating concerns to the team

Next steps

If you enjoy helping customers and have a knack for technology, becoming an IT support specialist may be a rewarding role for you. Enhance your IT support skills with IBM’s Introduction to Technical Support course on Coursera. This beginner-level course, allows you to learn at your pace and helps you acquire essential skills for an entry-level IT job. The Professional Certificate covers topics like technical support fundamentals, ticketing systems, and more.