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The differences between mission managers and technical managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a mission manager, becoming a technical manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a technical manager has an average salary of $116,619, which is higher than the $95,276 average annual salary of a mission manager.
The top three skills for a mission manager include collection management, ISR and DOD. The most important skills for a technical manager are project management, infrastructure, and architecture.
| Mission Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $95,276 | $116,619 |
| Hourly rate | $45.81 | $56.07 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 76,826 | 116,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 2 |
A mission manager is in charge of daily team operations as well as actual missions. They serve as a command center during real time incidents, ensure their team's mission readiness, coordinate resources, oversee the execution of collection operations, and ensure objectives are met. They need to be familiar with making tactical plans to help execute missions in an efficient and effective manner.
A technical manager is responsible for maintaining the company's information systems database and analyzing technology system matters to ensure its efficiency and accuracy in supporting business operations. Technical managers perform network checks regularly to assess any possible malfunctions that might compromise the company's cybersecurity. They carefully analyze business and clients' specifications on working with systems integration, responding to end-users' concerns and inquiries. A technical manager must have excellent knowledge of the information technology systems industry, as well as a strong command on network codes to conduct adjustments and manage network infrastructure.
Mission managers and technical managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Mission Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Average salary | $95,276 | $116,619 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $139,000 | Between $84,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | A.T. Kearney |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a mission manager and a technical manager in terms of educational background:
| Mission Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between mission managers' and technical managers' demographics:
| Mission Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2% | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 12.6% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 14% |