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The differences between application leads and lead technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an application lead, becoming a lead technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an application lead has an average salary of $112,992, which is higher than the $90,615 average annual salary of a lead technician.
The top three skills for an application lead include java, architecture and emerging technologies. The most important skills for a lead technician are java, architecture, and digital transformation.
| Application Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $112,992 | $90,615 |
| Hourly rate | $54.32 | $43.56 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 163,233 | 250,590 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A lead applications developer is in charge of directing the development department in applications design, creation, coding, debugging, and testing. Lead applications developers serve as mentors for lower-level or new software programmers or developers. They supervise the development team members in pair programming, code reviews, and good development principle promotions. Their duties include the coordination of the schedule of development staff. Also, they ensure effective communication between the team members and the other IT functions.
Lead technicians are technicians who oversee the technical needs of a specific project or department. They are usually tenured employees, and their familiarity with the company's technical and technological processes, software, and hardware would be a great advantage in succeeding in their role. Lead technicians are responsible for installing, updating, and maintaining various software and hardware components in the office. They often manage a group of technicians, and they ensure that the group they manage is properly trained and well-versed on the processes of the company. Lead technicians are expected to have strong analytical skills and decision-making skills.
Application leads and lead technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Average salary | $112,992 | $90,615 |
| Salary range | Between $86,000 And $147,000 | Between $67,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between an application lead and a lead technician in terms of educational background:
| Application Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between application leads' and lead technicians' demographics:
| Application Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.7% Female, 26.3% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 22.6% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 15.1% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |