Network technician lead vs network support technician

The differences between network technician leads and network 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 network technician lead and a network support technician. Additionally, a network technician lead has an average salary of $106,974, which is higher than the $48,622 average annual salary of a network support technician.

The top three skills for a network technician lead include troubleshoot, switches and network operations. The most important skills for a network support technician are troubleshoot, technical support, and customer service.

Network technician lead vs network support technician overview

	Network Technician Lead	Network Support Technician
Yearly salary	$106,974	$48,622
Hourly rate	$51.43	$23.38
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	74,021	120,245
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Network technician lead vs network support technician salary

Network technician leads and network support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Network Technician Lead	Network Support Technician
Average salary	$106,974	$48,622
Salary range	Between $74,000 And $153,000	Between $38,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Troy, NY
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Meta	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Retail	Technology

Differences between network technician lead and network support technician education

There are a few differences between a network technician lead and a network support technician in terms of educational background:

	Network Technician Lead	Network Support Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Network technician lead vs network support technician demographics

Here are the differences between network technician leads' and network support technicians' demographics:

	Network Technician Lead	Network Support Technician
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 84.5% Female, 15.5%	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 64.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between network technician lead and network support technician duties and responsibilities

Network technician lead example responsibilities.

Manage everything from DNS to VPN and everything in between.
Install, configure and manage multiple VoIP phone systems for clients.
Recommend, engineer and manage office systems, including centralize productivity and communication systems such as e-mail and centralize desktop environments.
Install, setup, configure and maintain LAN routers, hubs, switches, network printers and peripherals.
Advance quickly to lead a technical crew in turnkey network implementations to include wiring, switches, routers and firewalls.
Support firewalls and routers (including Cisco), and various LAN/WAN setups.

Network support technician example responsibilities.

Assist in managing Nortel CS1000 phone system.
Manage a technician scheduling system base on Linux.
Manage SQL database moves, updates, backups, for end users ,.
Manage circuit provisioning, customer contact, order tracking, IP allocation and task management databases.
Manage all VoIP technology and phone configuration.
Manage security solutions, including firewall, anti-virus, and intrusion detection systems.

Network technician lead vs network support technician skills

Common network technician lead skills

Troubleshoot, 6%
Switches, 5%
Network Operations, 4%
Customer Service, 4%
Technical Support, 4%
Routers, 3%

Common network support technician skills

Troubleshoot, 9%
Technical Support, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Network Support, 6%
Switches, 5%
Desk Support, 4%

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Network Technician Lead
Network Technician Lead vs Network Support Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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