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The differences between lead technicians and junior technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a lead technician and a junior technician. Additionally, a lead technician has an average salary of $90,615, which is higher than the $39,417 average annual salary of a junior technician.
The top three skills for a lead technician include java, architecture and digital transformation. The most important skills for a junior technician are customer service, HVAC, and fall protection.
| Lead Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $90,615 | $39,417 |
| Hourly rate | $43.56 | $18.95 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 250,590 | 103,780 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
A junior technician is responsible for supporting senior technicians on maintaining the efficiency and optimal performance of various hardware and software systems and applications. Junior technicians assist the end-users and employees on troubleshooting inconsistent programs, identifying its complexities, and reporting findings to the management for resolution. They also update the systems' features to increase its operational productivity and maintain system recoveries. A junior technician must have excellent knowledge of the technology industry, as well as a strong command on programming language and system codes, especially on conducting system analysis and installing applications.
Lead technicians and junior technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Average salary | $90,615 | $39,417 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $121,000 | Between $26,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Alexandria, VA |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Meta | Citi |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead technician and a junior technician in terms of educational background:
| Lead Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead technicians' and junior technicians' demographics:
| Lead Technician | Junior Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% | Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |