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Commissioning technician vs engineering technician lead

The differences between commissioning technicians and engineering technician leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a commissioning technician and an engineering technician lead. Additionally, an engineering technician lead has an average salary of $107,373, which is higher than the $72,504 average annual salary of a commissioning technician.

The top three skills for a commissioning technician include start-up, HVAC and cooling towers. The most important skills for an engineering technician lead are java, python, and C++.

Commissioning technician vs engineering technician lead overview

Commissioning TechnicianEngineering Technician Lead
Yearly salary$72,504$107,373
Hourly rate$34.86$51.62
Growth rate--
Number of jobs49,419102,504
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age5050
Years of experience1212

What does a commissioning technician do?

A commissioning technician will work closely with commissioning engineers in supervising the final phase of a project following the installation and testing of systems. You will be responsible for inspecting and correcting the functioning of the facilities, equipment, and plants and perform repairs and maintenance as necessary. As a commissioning technician, it is also your responsibility to create and conduct test procedures, and perform routine equipment maintenance. You will also be responsible for investigating and diagnosing problems and find solutions to address them.

What does an engineering technician lead do?

Engineering technician leads are technical professionals who lead a team to design and build prototypes of a planned product or equipment. These technician leads are required to provide advice and technical support to the engineering team to resolve technical issues as well as oversee system maintenance and enhancement. They must work with both product development and manufacturing engineers to improve the existing manufacturing processes. Engineering technician leads must also participate in activities related to maintenance and troubleshooting of equipment.

Commissioning technician vs engineering technician lead salary

Commissioning technicians and engineering technician leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

Commissioning TechnicianEngineering Technician Lead
Average salary$72,504$107,373
Salary rangeBetween $49,000 And $105,000Between $80,000 And $142,000
Highest paying City-Palo Alto, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between commissioning technician and engineering technician lead education

There are a few differences between a commissioning technician and an engineering technician lead in terms of educational background:

Commissioning TechnicianEngineering Technician Lead
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeNortheastern UniversityStanford University

Commissioning technician vs engineering technician lead demographics

Here are the differences between commissioning technicians' and engineering technician leads' demographics:

Commissioning TechnicianEngineering Technician Lead
Average age5050
Gender ratioMale, 95.1% Female, 4.9%Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between commissioning technician and engineering technician lead duties and responsibilities

Commissioning technician example responsibilities.

  • Train and develop employees to accomplish work assignments with focus on GMP compliance and best safety practices.
  • Lead a team of 10 engineers to develop an infrare telescope that are launched on the NASA high-altitude balloonproject BRRISON/BOPPS.
  • Work on valves, switches, and transmitters.
  • Loop check field devices to HMI with clients.
  • Stroke shutdown and control valves, check vibration to compressor HMI.
  • Adhere to all cGMP requirements as defined by plant principles and FDA guidelines.
  • Show more

Engineering technician lead example responsibilities.

  • Lead and install CCTV systems and equipment specializing in Vicon.
  • Manage cost savings initiatives with lean implementation and reduce risks via PFMEA and SPC.
  • Implement and maintain site telephony infrastructure; organize and manage high-level enterprise-scale voice deployment projects.
  • Design and develop automation framework using python and perforce API to automate daily integration work.
  • Mount telecommunication equipment such as cable trays, routers and switches by following set industry standards.
  • Perform data analysis and troubleshoot system failure utilizing oscilloscope, function generator and calibration devices.
  • Show more

Commissioning technician vs engineering technician lead skills

Common commissioning technician skills
  • Start-Up, 17%
  • HVAC, 14%
  • Cooling Towers, 7%
  • Control Systems, 7%
  • Leed, 6%
  • PLC, 5%
Common engineering technician lead skills
  • Java, 16%
  • Python, 9%
  • C++, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Azure, 4%
  • JavaScript, 4%

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