What is a field support engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted Expert
Dr. Ariful Azad Ph.D.

The Field Support Engineer, also known as a Field Service Engineers or just as Field Engineer, is an engineering specialist who is tasked with overseeing and performing repairs, tests, and other processes on-sight.

Amongst other things, the Engineer must perform maintenance, visit different sights, arrange and oversee schedules, work teams, and repairs of hardware, and report on progress and repairs performed. They are also meant to improve the efficiency of their crews, create and modify designs, deal with various issues as they come up, examine new and old equipment alike and test them for any irregularities or issues, and generally offer technical support and their technical knowledge as needed.

An appropriate-level of college education, usually a Bachelor's, in Electronics, Software, IT, or Civil Engineering, or a closely related, engineering field is a must for almost any Field Engineer job, as are communication, analytical, and scheduling skills. Further education, training, and certification may be necessary.

What general advice would you give to a Field Support Engineer?

D

Dr. Ariful Azad Ph.D.

Director of Graduate Studies for the Dept. of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Assistant Professor of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington

Look for a job that you would enjoy doing, even if it takes some time to find such a position. Internships are great to explore various options.
ScoreField Support EngineerUS Average
Salary
7.5

Avg. Salary $96,499

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
5.7

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 9.26%

Black or African American 9.22%

Hispanic or Latino 12.89%

Unknown 5.11%

White 63.21%

Gender

female 9.43%

male 90.57%

Age - 42
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 - 42
Stress Level
5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
6.7

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
7.1

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

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Field Support Engineer career paths

Key steps to become a field support engineer

  1. Explore field support engineer education requirements

    Most common field support engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    55.6 %

    Associate

    26.7 %

    Master's

    8.4 %
  2. Start to develop specific field support engineer skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Technical Support9.25%
    Troubleshoot7.61%
    Customer Satisfaction5.56%
    Provide Customer Support4.65%
    Customer Support3.59%
  3. Complete relevant field support engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New field support engineers 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 field support engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real field support engineer resumes.
  4. Research field support engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Lead technical operations for an innovative workforce virtualization movement, including initial design and improvement of technical systems and processes.
    • Install and troubleshot routers, switches, PC's, servers, phones, and cable infrastructure.
    • Load UNIX or Linux on the servers and set up the network connections for remote access.
    • Trouble shooting, maintenance and installation of PC and other peripherals for clients.
  5. Prepare your field support engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your field support engineer 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 field support engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Field Support Engineer Resume templates

    Build a professional Field Support Engineer 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 Field Support Engineer resume.
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    Field Support Engineer Resume
    Field Support Engineer Resume
  6. Apply for field support engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a field support engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Field Support Engineer Job

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Average field support engineer salary

The average Field Support Engineer salary in the United States is $96,499 per year or $46 per hour. Field support engineer salaries range between $65,000 and $142,000 per year.

Average Field Support Engineer Salary
$96,499 Yearly
$46.39 hourly

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How do field support engineers rate their job?

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Field Support Engineer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Nov 2023
Pros

You get to help a lot of people in many different ways as well as learning new things about technology

Cons

I have aids now due to the painfulness of sitting down all day


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020
Pros

I decided to go to technical support because I've been fascinated by technology all my life and I love working with the people as well. I want to use my technical know-how to solve directly the problems that customers have. I want to be the person who makes life easier and more enjoyable for people who have had a problem. This is what I like most as a technical Support.

Cons

I don't like sitting around being inactive. So I'll keep my self always busy


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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020
Pros

I enjoy the challenges and learning new things . Technology is always evolving.

Cons

Customer is unwilling to provide you with necessary information in order to assist them.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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