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The differences between professional technicians and lead 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 professional technician and a lead technician. Additionally, a lead technician has an average salary of $90,615, which is higher than the $81,726 average annual salary of a professional technician.
The top three skills for a professional technician include customer service, cloud and project management. The most important skills for a lead technician are java, architecture, and digital transformation.
| Professional Technician | Lead Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $81,726 | $90,615 |
| Hourly rate | $39.29 | $43.56 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 123,659 | 250,590 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A professional technician is responsible for handling the complexities of technical and mechanical systems, repair defective components, and recommend technical solutions to enhance the company's productivity and efficiency in delivering high-quality deliverables. Professional technicians must be highly skilled in analyzing schematics and blueprints to assemble components and perform troubleshooting. They also manage the adequacy of inventories, create purchase requests, and identify costs and expenses for repairs and installations. A professional technician must be highly communicative and organization, especially in handling tasks with utmost adherence to safety protocols and regulations.
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.
Professional technicians and lead technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Technician | Lead Technician | |
| Average salary | $81,726 | $90,615 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $104,000 | Between $67,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Retail |
There are a few differences between a professional technician and a lead technician in terms of educational background:
| Professional Technician | Lead Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between professional technicians' and lead technicians' demographics:
| Professional Technician | Lead Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.1% Female, 27.9% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 12.8% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |