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The differences between development technicians and lead developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a development technician and a lead developer. Additionally, a lead developer has an average salary of $116,340, which is higher than the $92,109 average annual salary of a development technician.
The top three skills for a development technician include java, C++ and C #. The most important skills for a lead developer are java, javascript, and architecture.
| Development Technician | Lead Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $92,109 | $116,340 |
| Hourly rate | $44.28 | $55.93 |
| Growth rate | 21% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 82,959 | 274,208 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A development technician is an individual who manages technology development for hardware used in the server systems of an organization. Development technicians are required to organize tasks and resources so that they can complete work and meet deadlines that are according to departmental procedures. They must train production personnel on the standard operating procedures for manufacturing equipment as well as train colleagues in standard operating procedures. Development technicians must also assist Java developers in characterizing and debugging technical problems.
A lead developer is responsible for creating software programs and applications, following the client and the business's software quality standards and design specifications. Lead developers assist a team of developers in implementing strategic procedures, managing system codes, debugging applications, running diagnostic tests, and troubleshooting defects to ensure its smooth performance. They also respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, performing feature adjustments as needed. A lead developer must have strong knowledge of the technology industry and command on programming languages and software design processes.
Development technicians and lead developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Development Technician | Lead Developer | |
| Average salary | $92,109 | $116,340 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $134,000 | Between $83,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between a development technician and a lead developer in terms of educational background:
| Development Technician | Lead Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between development technicians' and lead developers' demographics:
| Development Technician | Lead Developer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.6% Female, 32.4% | Male, 76.4% Female, 23.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 30.0% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |