What is a technical director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Neil Eldin PhD, PE

A technical director oversees the technical aspects of a project, production, or event. They often work in film, television, theater, and gaming. Technical directors manage teams of technicians and collaborate with creative teams to ensure that the technical elements complement and enhance the creative vision. These directors are responsible for managing budgets, timelines, and resources to ensure technical projects are completed on time and within budget.

What general advice would you give to a technical director?

Dr. Neil Eldin PhD, PE

Professor, Website

Things don’t just happen. You must develop a career plan to maximize your salary potential when starting your career. Find the right employer for yourself. For example, if you are mobile and willing to travel, target employers with international projects. After working for a few years, you can request a transfer to an overseas assignment, and this will instantaneously almost double your salary. If you are not mobile and your circumstances do not allow your travel, seek employment with major corporations and seek positions that are done at the home office (e.g., estimating, procurement, and contracting).

ScoreTechnical DirectorUS Average

Salary

8.4

Avg. Salary $131,719

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 6.39%

Black or African American 7.93%

Hispanic or Latino 14.57%

Unknown 5.59%

White 65.36%

Gender

female 17.63%

male 82.37%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a technical director?

Pros

High salary and benefits
Ability to lead and direct a team
Opportunities for creativity and problem-solving
Possibility for advancement in the industry
Potential for international travel

Cons

Long hours, including evenings and weekends
Responsibility for the success or failure of a project
High level of accountability for budget and resources
Limited job security due to project-based work
Risk of burnout due to intense workload and pressure

Key steps to become a technical director

Explore technical director education requirements

Most common technical director degrees

Bachelor's

66.0 %

Master's

14.0 %

Associate

12.4 %

Start to develop specific technical director skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Development	9.55%
Architecture	7.77%
Technical Expertise	6.91%
Project Management	5.94%
Digital Transformation	4.60%

Complete relevant technical director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New technical directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a technical director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real technical director resumes.

Research technical director duties and responsibilities

Manage the support team upgrade of SalesForce SupportForce ERP app.
Manage live telephone calls including sound quality and VoIP phone set-up.
Optimize window rendering of Java SDK that lead to additional HP-UX sales.
Manage junior developers and SharePoint support desk.

Get technical director experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a technical director. The most common roles before becoming a technical director include project manager, internship team lead and consultant.

Prepare your technical director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your technical director resume.

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