Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between research and development managers and research and development technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a research and development manager, becoming a research and development technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a research and development manager has an average salary of $117,507, which is higher than the $83,552 average annual salary of a research and development technician.
The top three skills for a research and development manager include R, customer service and project management. The most important skills for a research and development technician are R, project management, and product management.
| Research And Development Manager | Research And Development Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $117,507 | $83,552 |
| Hourly rate | $56.49 | $40.17 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 125,447 | 111,268 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 48 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A research and development manager is responsible for supervising project development procedures to support business operations and identify business opportunities that would pave the way for more revenue resources and profits. Research and development managers monitor the production plans from the conceptualization to the final outputs, inspecting inconsistencies and flaws in every phase and revising strategies as needed to achieve the required specifications and requirements. They delegate tasks to the staff, oversee progress, and conduct research and development programs to maximize productivity and team efforts.
A research and development technician specializes in performing mathematical and laboratory operations to support projects concerning products and development. Usually functioning as an assistant to a more experienced researcher, a research and development technician's responsibilities revolve around conducting analysis, building models and prototypes, producing reports, and performing various experiments. Furthermore, as a technician, it is crucial to coordinate with all team members, keeping an accurate record of all processes while adhering to the company's standards and regulations.
Research and development managers and research and development technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Research And Development Manager | Research And Development Technician | |
| Average salary | $117,507 | $83,552 |
| Salary range | Between $78,000 And $174,000 | Between $55,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Meta | PayPal |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a research and development manager and a research and development technician in terms of educational background:
| Research And Development Manager | Research And Development Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Chemistry | Business |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Duke University |
Here are the differences between research and development managers' and research and development technicians' demographics:
| Research And Development Manager | Research And Development Technician | |
| Average age | 48 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7% | Male, 72.5% Female, 27.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 17.9% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 15.4% White, 50.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |