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

What is a lead mechanical technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a lead mechanical technician. For example, did you know that they make an average of $40.54 an hour? That's $84,323 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLead Mechanical TechnicianUS Average

Salary

6.6

Avg. Salary $84,323

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.69%

Asian 7.45%

Black or African American 9.57%

Hispanic or Latino 16.89%

Unknown 4.89%

White 60.51%

Gender

female 5.57%

male 94.43%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.5

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lead mechanical technician

Explore lead mechanical technician education requirements

Most common lead mechanical technician degrees

Associate

38.0 %

Bachelor's

22.6 %

High School Diploma

19.7 %

Start to develop specific lead mechanical technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	54.01%
Electrical Systems	35.38%
Preventative Maintenance	1.32%
Safety Procedures	1.14%
Hand Tools	0.64%

Complete relevant lead mechanical technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead mechanical 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 mechanical technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead mechanical technician resumes.

Research lead mechanical technician duties and responsibilities

Dispatch work accordingly, manage and assist team members with more complex repairs and diagnosis.
Lead electro/mechanical technician on PLC, CNC, robotics on night shift.
Start off as CNC machine operator.
Perform cost studies for industrial HVAC systems.

Get lead mechanical technician experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a lead mechanical technician. The most common roles before becoming a lead mechanical technician include mechanical technician, mechanic team lead and maintenance technician.

Prepare your lead mechanical technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead mechanical 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 mechanical 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 mechanical technician resume templates

Build a professional lead mechanical 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 mechanical technician resume.