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The differences between lead test technicians and functional testers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a lead test technician and a functional tester. Additionally, a lead test technician has an average salary of $81,566, which is higher than the $76,647 average annual salary of a functional tester.
The top three skills for a lead test technician include java, QA and test strategy. The most important skills for a functional tester are java, test cases, and web application.
| Lead Test Technician | Functional Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $81,566 | $76,647 |
| Hourly rate | $39.21 | $36.85 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 51,060 | 37,146 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Lead test technicians are professionals who are responsible for leading a group of test professionals to test products and report their findings to engineers or product developers. These technicians are required to design and develop test plans and procedures so that they can validate the requirements of products. They are required to use various test equipment as well as to conduct maintenance to ensure the product's functionality and quality. Lead test technicians must also gather and analyze user feedback to improve the overall user experience and satisfaction.
A functional tester's main responsibility is to validate the behavior of an application and analyzed the requirements of the clients. They are skilled in Java and database design for software development. The tasks they do are complex, including scanning IDs of the receiver and serial numbers on each unit, testing the units to make sure they work properly, and checking for any defects and damages. They are also trained in using numerical codes for passing or failing each unit and writing serial numbers on the production tracker.
Lead test technicians and functional testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Test Technician | Functional Tester | |
| Average salary | $81,566 | $76,647 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $101,000 | Between $61,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | Washington |
| Best paying company | Macy's | Cerner |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead test technician and a functional tester in terms of educational background:
| Lead Test Technician | Functional Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between lead test technicians' and functional testers' demographics:
| Lead Test Technician | Functional Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.3% Female, 29.7% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |