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The differences between senior technical system engineers and technical managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior technical system engineer and a technical manager. Additionally, a technical manager has an average salary of $116,619, which is higher than the $107,278 average annual salary of a senior technical system engineer.
The top three skills for a senior technical system engineer include infrastructure, cloud and architecture. The most important skills for a technical manager are project management, infrastructure, and architecture.
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Technical Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $107,278 | $116,619 |
| Hourly rate | $51.58 | $56.07 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 173,061 | 116,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 43 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Senior Technical System Engineers manage the company's network systems and computers, including creating solutions to handle performance goals, network issues, and complex applications. They enhance the company's performance by planning and putting into practice infrastructure changes. These professionals oversee the daily operation support for network, storage, and server infrastructure. Other duties performed by Senior Technical System Engineers include building, patching, testing, and deploying complex channels and systems to meet the client's specifications and requirements. They also configure security settings for people and groups.
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.
Senior technical system engineers and technical managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Technical Manager | |
| Average salary | $107,278 | $116,619 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $139,000 | Between $84,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Mayo Clinic | A.T. Kearney |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior technical system engineer and a technical manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Technical Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between senior technical system engineers' and technical managers' demographics:
| Senior Technical System Engineer | Technical Manager | |
| Average age | 43 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 11.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 9% | 14% |