Prototype technician vs engineering technician lead

The differences between prototype technicians and engineering technician leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a prototype technician and an engineering technician lead. Additionally, an engineering technician lead has an average salary of $107,373, which is higher than the $45,071 average annual salary of a prototype technician.

The top three skills for a prototype technician include CAD, hand tools and CNC. The most important skills for an engineering technician lead are java, python, and C++.

Prototype technician vs engineering technician lead overview

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician Lead
Yearly salary	$45,071	$107,373
Hourly rate	$21.67	$51.62
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	48,310	102,504
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	12	12

Prototype technician vs engineering technician lead salary

Prototype technicians and engineering technician leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician Lead
Average salary	$45,071	$107,373
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $58,000	Between $80,000 And $142,000
Highest paying City	-	Palo Alto, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between prototype technician and engineering technician lead education

There are a few differences between a prototype technician and an engineering technician lead in terms of educational background:

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician Lead
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Purdue University	Stanford University

Prototype technician vs engineering technician lead demographics

Here are the differences between prototype technicians' and engineering technician leads' demographics:

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician Lead
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7%	Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between prototype technician and engineering technician lead duties and responsibilities

Prototype technician example responsibilities.

Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Wire and solder all connections to FDA standards.
Finish SLA and SLS parts for mold development.
Experience in reading micrometers, calipers, and blueprints.
Assist purchasing department in outside vendor (PCB fabrication) operations
Use precision measuring tools including calipers, gages, and torques.

Engineering technician lead example responsibilities.

Lead and install CCTV systems and equipment specializing in Vicon.
Manage cost savings initiatives with lean implementation and reduce risks via PFMEA and SPC.
Implement and maintain site telephony infrastructure; organize and manage high-level enterprise-scale voice deployment projects.
Design and develop automation framework using python and perforce API to automate daily integration work.
Mount telecommunication equipment such as cable trays, routers and switches by following set industry standards.
Perform data analysis and troubleshoot system failure utilizing oscilloscope, function generator and calibration devices.

Prototype technician vs engineering technician lead skills

Common prototype technician skills

CAD, 11%
Hand Tools, 10%
CNC, 7%
Prototyping, 6%
Calipers, 6%
Autoclaves, 6%

Common engineering technician lead skills

Java, 16%
Python, 9%
C++, 5%
Project Management, 4%
Azure, 4%
JavaScript, 4%

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Prototype Technician
Prototype Technician vs Engineering Technician Lead

Updated January 8, 2025

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