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The differences between engineering technician leads and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become an engineering technician lead, becoming an engineering technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an engineering technician lead has an average salary of $107,373, which is higher than the $60,273 average annual salary of an engineering technician.
The top three skills for an engineering technician lead include java, python and C++. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.
| Engineering Technician Lead | Engineering Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $107,373 | $60,273 |
| Hourly rate | $51.62 | $28.98 |
| Growth rate | - | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 102,504 | 111,343 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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.
An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.
Engineering technician leads and engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Engineering Technician Lead | Engineering Technician | |
| Average salary | $107,373 | $60,273 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $142,000 | Between $37,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an engineering technician lead and an engineering technician in terms of educational background:
| Engineering Technician Lead | Engineering Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between engineering technician leads' and engineering technicians' demographics:
| Engineering Technician Lead | Engineering Technician | |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 6% |