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The differences between staff engineers and lead technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a staff engineer, becoming a lead technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a staff engineer has an average salary of $107,530, which is higher than the $90,615 average annual salary of a lead technician.
The top three skills for a staff engineer include java, python and architecture. The most important skills for a lead technician are java, architecture, and digital transformation.
| Staff Engineer | Lead Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $107,530 | $90,615 |
| Hourly rate | $51.70 | $43.56 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 277,011 | 250,590 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
Staff engineers are responsible for designing, developing, and inspecting various products, equipment, or structures. These professionals may perform varied duties depending on their specialization that includes overseeing the design and construction of buildings, bridges, sewer systems, and other infrastructure, estimating the financial costs of construction projects, and ensuring compliance with health and safety laws and regulations. Other duties include designing and developing machinery, tools, and engines, solving design problems, and building the manufacturing equipment needed to create their products.
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.
Staff engineers and lead technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Engineer | Lead Technician | |
| Average salary | $107,530 | $90,615 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $167,000 | Between $67,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Flexport | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Retail |
There are a few differences between a staff engineer and a lead technician in terms of educational background:
| Staff Engineer | Lead Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between staff engineers' and lead technicians' demographics:
| Staff Engineer | Lead Technician | |
| Average age | 41 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.9% Female, 12.1% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.8% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 5% | 11% |