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The differences between principal technologists 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 principal technologist, becoming a technical manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a principal technologist has an average salary of $124,965, which is higher than the $116,619 average annual salary of a technical manager.
The top three skills for a principal technologist include java, cloud and infrastructure. The most important skills for a technical manager are project management, infrastructure, and architecture.
| Principal Technologist | Technical Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $124,965 | $116,619 |
| Hourly rate | $60.08 | $56.07 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 90,060 | 116,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 2 |
A principal technologist is responsible for developing and delivering innovative solutions and providing contributions technically to various projects. Your duties will include providing assistance in improving the chemical supply chain that will benefit key product units (KPU), managing and creating user accounts, directory access, and server permissions, and managing the in-house services related to the internet. In addition, you will train and educate customers on how to use certain software and hardware as requested and performing development and architecture for database, software, and infrastructure.
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.
Principal technologists and technical managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Technologist | Technical Manager | |
| Average salary | $124,965 | $116,619 |
| Salary range | Between $95,000 And $163,000 | Between $84,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | A.T. Kearney |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a principal technologist and a technical manager in terms of educational background:
| Principal Technologist | Technical Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between principal technologists' and technical managers' demographics:
| Principal Technologist | Technical Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.1% Female, 16.9% | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.8% White, 65.1% 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% |