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The differences between functional leads and lead technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a functional lead, becoming a lead technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a functional lead has an average salary of $113,422, which is higher than the $90,615 average annual salary of a lead technician.
The top three skills for a functional lead include ERP, client facing and enterprise solutions. The most important skills for a lead technician are java, architecture, and digital transformation.
| Functional Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $113,422 | $90,615 |
| Hourly rate | $54.53 | $43.56 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 33,917 | 250,590 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
Functional leads are professionals who analyze business requirements and provide system design while implementing system solutions for various business initiatives. These professionals must work with clients and internal stakeholders to identify and understand the functional or business requirements. They must analyze and solve complex system problems so that they can improve the organization's overall Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) development and support process. Functional leads must also facilitate a team to design document control procedures that can significantly reduce process cycle time and cost.
Lead technicians are technicians who oversee the technical needs of a specific project or department. They are usually tenured employees, and their familiarity with the company's technical and technological processes, software, and hardware would be a great advantage in succeeding in their role. Lead technicians are responsible for installing, updating, and maintaining various software and hardware components in the office. They often manage a group of technicians, and they ensure that the group they manage is properly trained and well-versed on the processes of the company. Lead technicians are expected to have strong analytical skills and decision-making skills.
Functional leads and lead technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Average salary | $113,422 | $90,615 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $149,000 | Between $67,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a functional lead and a lead technician in terms of educational background:
| Functional Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between functional leads' and lead technicians' demographics:
| Functional Lead | Lead Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.1% Female, 31.9% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 24.9% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 15.1% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |