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The differences between engineering directors and engineering technician leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become an engineering director, becoming an engineering technician lead takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an engineering director has an average salary of $162,252, which is higher than the $107,373 average annual salary of an engineering technician lead.
The top three skills for an engineering director include java, architecture and infrastructure. The most important skills for an engineering technician lead are java, python, and C++.
| Engineering Director | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $162,252 | $107,373 |
| Hourly rate | $78.01 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | 2% | - |
| Number of jobs | 63,868 | 102,504 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 48 | 50 |
| Years of experience | - | 12 |
An engineering director or director of engineering is an individual who manages a team of engineering managers and coordinates all the engineering activities within the organization. Engineering directors work closely with the organization's executives to develop new strategies to reduce unnecessary costs and time to complete their projects. They must understand and interpret complex sets of data such as profits, losses, or value of liabilities to identify problems and come up with solutions. Engineering directors must also ensure that safety protocols are implemented in the workforce.
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.
Engineering directors and engineering technician leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Engineering Director | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Average salary | $162,252 | $107,373 |
| Salary range | Between $109,000 And $239,000 | Between $80,000 And $142,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Brookfield Properties | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an engineering director and an engineering technician lead in terms of educational background:
| Engineering Director | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between engineering directors' and engineering technician leads' demographics:
| Engineering Director | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Average age | 48 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4% | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 13.1% White, 69.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 Percentage | 9% | 8% |