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The differences between technical operations managers and technical managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a technical operations manager, becoming a technical manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a technical manager has an average salary of $116,619, which is higher than the $115,501 average annual salary of a technical operations manager.
The top three skills for a technical operations manager include technical operations, customer service and project management. The most important skills for a technical manager are project management, infrastructure, and architecture.
| Technical Operations Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $115,501 | $116,619 |
| Hourly rate | $55.53 | $56.07 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 290,052 | 116,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A technical operations manager is an upper management position in the technical department of an organization; they are considered leaders. They are responsible primarily for planning, coordinating, and executing company technical processes from the beginning to the end. It is part of their responsibility to sustain the technical goals of the company and handle any future potential needs. Typically, they create and sustain the best practice standards for technical operations and set the direction to technical staff in times of uncertainty.
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.
Technical operations managers and technical managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Operations Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Average salary | $115,501 | $116,619 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $152,000 | Between $84,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | PayPal | A.T. Kearney |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a technical operations manager and a technical manager in terms of educational background:
| Technical Operations Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between technical operations managers' and technical managers' demographics:
| Technical Operations Manager | Technical Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.5% Female, 13.5% | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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 | 10% | 14% |