How To Become A Software Support Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a software support specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Kate Marek Ph.D.

As a Software Support Specialist, you will work on mission-critical projects. You will provide solutions for customer-facing support requests, cooperate closely with IT business analysts, architects, developers, and quality assurance specialists. You will also need to know business subject matters in the software of your company.

A bachelor's degree in computer science, mathematics, statistics, or a business-related field is preferred. You need to know IT and demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving skills. You need experience with Microsoft SQL Server and also have basic knowledge of object-oriented test-driven development concepts. Your median annual salary can be $93,000.

What general advice would you give to a Software Support Specialist?

Kate Marek Ph.D.

Director and Professor, Dominican University

Choose an organization in tune with one's values. Look for a job in growth areas, such as data asset management, data analysis, etc.

ScoreSoftware Support SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.9

Avg. Salary $62,663

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.7

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.41%

Asian 10.61%

Black or African American 11.27%

Hispanic or Latino 15.73%

Unknown 5.34%

White 56.65%

Gender

female 38.84%

male 61.16%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.5

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.4

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a software support specialist

Explore software support specialist education requirements

Most common software support specialist degrees

Bachelor's

57.7 %

Associate

30.4 %

Master's

5.0 %

Start to develop specific software support specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	12.17%
Software Support	11.84%
Database	7.02%
Troubleshoot	6.92%
Technical Support	5.69%

Complete relevant software support specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New software support specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a software support specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real software support specialist resumes.

Research software support specialist duties and responsibilities

Provide second level desktop support, manage printers, and process SharePoint requests.
Research and troubleshot client technical issues; documented/tracked problems in JDS CRM system.
Possess fundamental knowledge of, and experience in, Java and HTML programming languages.
Work with XML and SQL coding.

Prepare your software support specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your software support specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a software support specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Software Support Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Software Support Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Software Support Specialist resume.