What skills do you need to be a technical manager?

The skills you need to be a technical manager are analytical skills, technical skills, and leadership skills. These skills are usually gained either by on-the-job experience and/or by pursuing a master's degree.

How To Become A Technical Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a technical manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

A technical manager oversees the technical aspects of a project or team. They are typically skilled in both technical and managerial areas, and serve as a liaison between technical teams and upper management. Technical managers plan, coordinate, and execute projects, as well as manage budgets and timelines. They may also recruit and train technical staff. Additionally, technical managers stay up-to-date on technologies and industry trends. Overall, a technical manager serves as a leader and problem-solver.

ScoreTechnical ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.0

Avg. Salary $116,619

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 6.40%

Black or African American 7.97%

Hispanic or Latino 14.64%

Unknown 5.60%

White 65.22%

Gender

female 16.31%

male 83.69%

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 Manager?

Pros

Opportunities for career advancement
Influence over the direction of technical projects
Flexibility in work hours and location
Possibility for travel and international assignments
Opportunity to work with a variety of teams and stakeholders

Cons

High stress and pressure to meet deadlines
Risk of burnout from long hours and heavy workload
Challenges in motivating and managing diverse personalities and skill levels
Potential for conflict with other departments or stakeholders
Possibility of layoffs or downsizing affecting job security

Key steps to become a technical manager

Explore technical manager education requirements

Most common technical manager degrees

Bachelor's

61.3 %

Master's

15.2 %

Associate

13.4 %

Start to develop specific technical manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	6.79%
Infrastructure	5.86%
Architecture	5.61%
Java	5.23%
Customer Service	5.21%

Complete relevant technical manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New technical managers 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 manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real technical manager resumes.

Research technical manager duties and responsibilities

Lead efforts to establish asset and desktop /server management best practices.
Provide project management and KPIs development to ensure service levels are achieve and improve upon.
Project manage WebEx's customer call flow (IVRU) structure to meet both business and customer needs.
Lead project to implement Salesforce.com.

Prepare your technical manager resume

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

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a technical manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Technical Manager Resume templates

Build a professional Technical Manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Technical Manager resume.

Apply for technical manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a technical manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do technical managers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Technical Manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

not applicable because I dont work as a technical project manager

Cons