Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between reliability 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 reliability technician and an engineering technician lead. Additionally, an engineering technician lead has an average salary of $107,373, which is higher than the $50,168 average annual salary of a reliability technician.
The top three skills for a reliability technician include troubleshoot, preventative maintenance and hand tools. The most important skills for an engineering technician lead are java, python, and C++.
| Reliability Technician | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $50,168 | $107,373 |
| Hourly rate | $24.12 | $51.62 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 38,743 | 102,504 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Reliability technicians are responsible for helping enhance quality, improve safety, and implement the constant development of projects to maximize output. They collaborate with engineers and lead maintenance technicians to do continuing the system development. Their duties include giving technical assistance and input in engineering project management services. Also, they systematize and direct work assigned to make certain immediate feedback to repairs, fast identification of faults, and prompt action to repairs. Additionally, they plan, establish, and coordinate work by contractors and other associates.
Engineering technician leads are technical professionals who lead a team to design and build prototypes of a planned product or equipment. These technician leads are required to provide advice and technical support to the engineering team to resolve technical issues as well as oversee system maintenance and enhancement. They must work with both product development and manufacturing engineers to improve the existing manufacturing processes. Engineering technician leads must also participate in activities related to maintenance and troubleshooting of equipment.
Reliability technicians and engineering technician leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Reliability Technician | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Average salary | $50,168 | $107,373 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $67,000 | Between $80,000 And $142,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a reliability technician and an engineering technician lead in terms of educational background:
| Reliability Technician | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between reliability technicians' and engineering technician leads' demographics:
| Reliability Technician | Engineering Technician Lead | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9% | 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% |