How To Become A Lead Field Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lead field technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Alison Graettinger

A lead field technician performs various tasks, depending on their company and industry. They set up, test, and adjust a company's production machinery and equipment. They also engage in maintenance work on such machinery. In this position, one must also supervise and ensure the junior technician's working environment as they are specifically working under your command.

To become a lead field technician, you must have a bachelor's degree. Typically, this degree is in business, electrical engineering, or computer science. Companies also hire people holding bachelor's degree or high school diplomas.

A field service technician's average salary is $47,128 per year, with a recorded salary range of $29,731 to $65,914. However, this figure can vary significantly depending upon your experience and skills.

What general advice would you give to a lead field technician?

Dr. Alison Graettinger

Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri - Kansas City

Some common challenges for field based positions is the amount of travel involved or working in extreme weather conditions.

ScoreLead Field TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,838

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.98%

Asian 10.44%

Black or African American 9.65%

Hispanic or Latino 17.05%

Unknown 5.68%

White 56.20%

Gender

female 12.79%

male 87.21%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lead field technician

Explore lead field technician education requirements

Most common lead field technician degrees

Bachelor's

45.2 %

Associate

24.8 %

High School Diploma

15.6 %

Start to develop specific lead field technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	33.74%
Data Collection	13.37%
GPS	6.72%
Technical Support	6.22%
Preventative Maintenance	3.75%

Complete relevant lead field technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead field technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a lead field technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead field technician resumes.

Research lead field technician duties and responsibilities

Lead training, operations, user hardware and software support, and logbook oversight.
Work directly with Crestron representatives to insure proper deployment and operations of all control devices and A/V systems.
Navigate in remote forest habitat with compass, aerial map, and GPS unit.
Call in on a very complex issue involving some RF interference at a local TV station.

Get lead field technician experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a lead field technician. The most common roles before becoming a lead field technician include field technician, technician team lead and lead technician.

Prepare your lead field technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead field technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a lead field technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable lead field technician resume templates

Build a professional lead field technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your lead field technician resume.