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The differences between lead technicians and software support 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 software support technician. Additionally, a lead technician has an average salary of $90,615, which is higher than the $79,670 average annual salary of a software support technician.
The top three skills for a lead technician include java, architecture and digital transformation. The most important skills for a software support technician are customer service, troubleshoot, and java.
| Lead Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $90,615 | $79,670 |
| Hourly rate | $43.56 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 250,590 | 117,059 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| 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 software support technician is responsible for resolving software application issues, diagnosing related system failures, and writing resolution reports for reference. Software support technicians must be highly-familiarized with the system's infrastructure and interface to immediately diagnose malfunctions and identify maintenance techniques to prevent the reoccurrence of downtimes and delays. They also assist the system engineers in the configuration and optimization of networks, including the installment of upgrades and patch updates. A software support technician must have excellent organizational and communication skills, especially in navigating computer tools and applications to create support tickets and fix the customers' issues efficiently.
Lead technicians and software support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average salary | $90,615 | $79,670 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $121,000 | Between $55,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | RSM US |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Finance |
There are a few differences between a lead technician and a software support technician in terms of educational background:
| Lead Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead technicians' and software support technicians' demographics:
| Lead Technician | Software Support Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| 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, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 12.4% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |