Tool technician vs lead machinist

The differences between tool technicians and lead machinists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a tool technician, becoming a lead machinist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a lead machinist has an average salary of $51,691, which is higher than the $42,908 average annual salary of a tool technician.

The top three skills for a tool technician include grinders, hand tools and CNC. The most important skills for a lead machinist are cnc lathes, grinders, and calipers.

Tool technician vs lead machinist overview

	Tool Technician	Lead Machinist
Yearly salary	$42,908	$51,691
Hourly rate	$20.63	$24.85
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	78,258	10,892
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 34%
Average age	54	48
Years of experience	6	4

Tool technician vs lead machinist salary

Tool technicians and lead machinists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Tool Technician	Lead Machinist
Average salary	$42,908	$51,691
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $61,000	Between $39,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Fort Wayne, IN	-
Highest paying state	Indiana	-
Best paying company	Rivian	-
Best paying industry	Energy	-

Differences between tool technician and lead machinist education

There are a few differences between a tool technician and a lead machinist in terms of educational background:

	Tool Technician	Lead Machinist
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 34%
Most common major	Business	Precision Metal Working
Most common college	-	-

Tool technician vs lead machinist demographics

Here are the differences between tool technicians' and lead machinists' demographics:

	Tool Technician	Lead Machinist
Average age	54	48
Gender ratio	Male, 92.0% Female, 8.0%	Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.4% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 6.5% Asian, 2.7% White, 84.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 6.5% White, 70.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between tool technician and lead machinist duties and responsibilities

Tool technician example responsibilities.

Use specialize tools and machinery (CNC milling machine, manual lathe, manual milling machine and surface grinders . )
Program and operate wire EDM machine, milling machines, drill presses, surface grinders, lathes and jig grinders.
Perform mig, tig, and stick welds.
Skil welder utilizing TIG, MIG and stick welding processes.
Work on and troubleshoot the press machinery using calipers, micrometers and other precision tools.
Learned to use a TIG welder . )

Lead machinist example responsibilities.

Manage and perform programming of CNC mills, lathes and EDM equipment, instrumentation, data acquisition and control systems.
Experience with cutting different materials (aluminum, titanium, inconel, mild and stainless steels).
Program, edit, and setup of CNC lathe with Fanuc control.
Work machines such as; Haas CNC vertical and horizontal mills and lathes.
Perform gluing, soldering, brazing and gas, arc, welding operations.
Lead setup/ supervisor for a cell of two Haas lathes and two Haas mills.

Tool technician vs lead machinist skills

Common tool technician skills

Grinders, 11%
Hand Tools, 10%
CNC, 9%
Calipers, 7%
Micrometers, 6%
Jigs, 6%

Common lead machinist skills

CNC Lathes, 9%
Grinders, 8%
Calipers, 8%
Machine Tools, 6%
Aluminum, 6%
Troubleshoot, 5%