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Lead technician vs engineer technical staff

The differences between lead technicians and engineers technical staff can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a lead technician, becoming an engineer technical staff takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an engineer technical staff has an average salary of $102,286, which is higher than the $90,615 average annual salary of a lead technician.

The top three skills for a lead technician include java, architecture and digital transformation. The most important skills for an engineer technical staff are RF, java, and technical support.

Lead technician vs engineer technical staff overview

Lead TechnicianEngineer Technical Staff
Yearly salary$90,615$102,286
Hourly rate$43.56$49.18
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs250,590174,870
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age4242
Years of experience24

Lead technician vs engineer technical staff salary

Lead technicians and engineers technical staff have different pay scales, as shown below.

Lead TechnicianEngineer Technical Staff
Average salary$90,615$102,286
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $121,000Between $76,000 And $136,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaCruise Automation
Best paying industryRetailTelecommunication

Differences between lead technician and engineer technical staff education

There are a few differences between a lead technician and an engineer technical staff in terms of educational background:

Lead TechnicianEngineer Technical Staff
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorComputer ScienceElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Lead technician vs engineer technical staff demographics

Here are the differences between lead technicians' and engineers technical staff' demographics:

Lead TechnicianEngineer Technical Staff
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 83.4% Female, 16.6%Male, 88.5% Female, 11.5%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.2% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage11%4%

Differences between lead technician and engineer technical staff duties and responsibilities

Lead technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage and support the Cisco base corporate remote access VPN solution.
  • Manage the third party IP provider relationship and implement all the bridges between AXI4 and internal buses.
  • Used JIRA to manage the product backlog, tasks assignments, project burn-down rate and for velocity tracking purposes.
  • Manage product test support of new designs used for testing, write technical documentation in HTML improving department processes and procedures.
  • Manage customer functional areas of desktop support, field service, office services and network support to coordinate timely issue resolution.
  • Configure and manage JGroup multicasting communication for apache tomcat web servers.
  • Show more

Engineer technical staff example responsibilities.

  • Engage in developing database for efficiently managing and tracking work orders within departments.
  • Conduct FM/CDMA testing to verify RF performance of handset designs.
  • Generate a technician's handbook for AMPS/FM manual RF testing in accordance with federal standards.
  • Provide high level database operational support and ensure data consistency and integrity across all systems.
  • Re-Define prior system network synchronization and timing distribution architecture, and work with hardware & software design engineers to implement.
  • Conduct preventive maintenance, perform carpentry, plumbing and electrical repairs.

Lead technician vs engineer technical staff skills

Common lead technician skills
  • Java, 10%
  • Architecture, 7%
  • Digital Transformation, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Database, 4%
  • HTML, 3%
Common engineer technical staff skills
  • RF, 17%
  • Java, 13%
  • Technical Support, 9%
  • Test Procedures, 7%
  • Logistics, 6%
  • Product Development, 5%

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