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Technical support manager vs lead support technician

The differences between technical support managers and lead support technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a technical support manager and a lead support technician. Additionally, a technical support manager has an average salary of $106,760, which is higher than the $95,420 average annual salary of a lead support technician.

The top three skills for a technical support manager include customer service, customer satisfaction and project management. The most important skills for a lead support technician are database, customer service, and customer satisfaction.

Technical support manager vs lead support technician overview

Technical Support ManagerLead Support Technician
Yearly salary$106,760$95,420
Hourly rate$51.33$45.88
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs149,977115,952
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does a technical support manager do?

A Technical Support Manager is responsible for supervising the overall technical aspects of an organization to ensure efficient business solutions to support functions and operations. Technical support managers evaluate technical networks and systems, coordinating with the engineering team to identify techniques that would maximize the staff's productivity and enhance operational performance. They also review resolution reports and handle resource allocations to execute business plans according to company requirements and specifications. A Technical Support Manager must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in identifying process gaps and upgrading system infrastructures.

What does a lead support technician do?

Lead support technicians test and troubleshoot onboard systems by using various interface tools and proprietary software. Besides following instructions, lead support technicians also work hand-in-hand with managers to ensure all quality standards are implemented. Lead support technicians also oversee and support different technical tasks, including brackets, building weldments, fabricating, and modifying support structures. Moreover, lead support technicians troubleshoot and resolve hardware and software problems.

Technical support manager vs lead support technician salary

Technical support managers and lead support technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Technical Support ManagerLead Support Technician
Average salary$106,760$95,420
Salary rangeBetween $76,000 And $148,000Between $64,000 And $140,000
Highest paying CityNovato, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyBitGoGoogle
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between technical support manager and lead support technician education

There are a few differences between a technical support manager and a lead support technician in terms of educational background:

Technical Support ManagerLead Support Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common majorBusinessComputer Science
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Technical support manager vs lead support technician demographics

Here are the differences between technical support managers' and lead support technicians' demographics:

Technical Support ManagerLead Support Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 81.4% Female, 18.6%Male, 81.1% Female, 18.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 11.1% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 12.0% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between technical support manager and lead support technician duties and responsibilities

Technical support manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage Compellent SAN and VMware environment.
  • Advertise and manage packages and collections in SCCM environment.
  • Manage fast-pace service desk according to ITIL best practices and standard operating procedures.
  • Authore and manage training guide updates for department best practices store on the department's SharePoint portal.
  • Manage development of next generation product with extensive geometry details and testing, in collaboration with an OEM.
  • Administer LINUX operating systems servers creating regions, users, installing products and applications to manage the servers and user needs.
  • Show more

Lead support technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage communications capabilities, including FTP, TCP/IP, direct connect, and modem.
  • Manage user problems with Citrix XenApp by clearing problematic connections to allow users to reconnect and use their applications.
  • Work with multiple virtualization software programs (Citrix XenCenter, ESXI vSphere); utilize Salesforce to manage support tickets.
  • Install network LAN equipment by running Cat5e cabling and setting up network switches and routers.
  • Used UNIX script for compiling and deployment.
  • Provide support to DoD secure project areas.
  • Show more

Technical support manager vs lead support technician skills

Common technical support manager skills
  • Customer Service, 16%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 10%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Customer Support, 4%
  • Customer Complaints, 4%
  • Technical Assistance, 3%
Common lead support technician skills
  • Database, 8%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 5%
  • Java, 4%
  • Customer Support, 4%
  • OS, 4%

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