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The differences between archaeological technicians and lead field technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an archaeological technician and a lead field technician. Additionally, a lead field technician has an average salary of $40,838, which is higher than the $35,787 average annual salary of an archaeological technician.
The top three skills for an archaeological technician include GPS, GIS and excavations. The most important skills for a lead field technician are customer service, data collection, and GPS.
| Archaeological Technician | Lead Field Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $35,787 | $40,838 |
| Hourly rate | $17.21 | $19.63 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 7,638 | 88,080 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The archaeological technician is someone who operates all the necessary equipment in an archeological dig. The archeological technician will provide all of the equipment and tools needed for excavation and maintain it to reduce its wear and tear. Tools commonly carried by an archeological technician are digging tools, metal detectors, GPS equipment, and other miscellaneous articles needed for excavation. The archeological technician must have a solid background in archeology or a degree of the same nature in the humanities and social sciences.
The Lead Field Technician serves as the assistant of the Field Supervisor. Their responsibility includes taking immediate action and making decisions for instances that individuals or organizations need their help. They are the one who implements and monitors a company's guidelines and policy and maintains the standard procedure of all the systems. Also, being an assistant, they can act as an overseer to determine the employees and equipment types that need to work smoothly and orderly.
Archaeological technicians and lead field technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Archaeological Technician | Lead Field Technician | |
| Average salary | $35,787 | $40,838 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $44,000 | Between $24,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Nevada |
| Best paying company | TRC Companies | Schneider Electric Industrial Services |
| Best paying industry | Government | Utilities |
There are a few differences between an archaeological technician and a lead field technician in terms of educational background:
| Archaeological Technician | Lead Field Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Anthropology | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between archaeological technicians' and lead field technicians' demographics:
| Archaeological Technician | Lead Field Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3% | Male, 87.2% Female, 12.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 9.5% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |