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

What is a senior technical associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Experts

Alanah Mitchell Ph.D.,

Christian Hansen Ph.D.

A Senior Technical Associate usually works under a Technical Director and is responsible for assisting them in overseeing and managing various processes, projects, and staff members. Depending on their exact position in the company, their duties might vary. Some Associates are just generally responsible for all of the projects and planning in the company. Some, however, might be more specialized, working exclusively on a single or just a few elements of the company, such as research, finances, or communications.

They might help implement new policies and methodologies, act as a guide and mentor for personnel, monitor and maintain computer systems and other machinery and tools, install new ones, and work with engineers and other technical employees to fix issues and install new networks.

A person hoping to work in this position generally needs to have a Bachelor's degree in a subject applicable to the job and the industry, often meaning Finance, Computer Science, and similar, and some previous experience in a position relevant to this one. On average, the Senior Technical Associate earns $47.34 an hour or $98,468 a year.

What general advice would you give to a Senior Technical Associate?

Alanah Mitchell Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Drake University

I recommend students work on developing a portfolio of technology knowledge, skills, and tools. Early project and internship experiences can also be very helpful in finding the first career opportunity after graduation.

ScoreSenior Technical AssociateUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $95,321

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.7

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.41%

Asian 14.79%

Black or African American 10.47%

Hispanic or Latino 14.77%

Unknown 5.28%

White 54.28%

Gender

female 27.11%

male 72.89%

Age - 41

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 - 41

Stress Level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.5

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.4

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior technical associate

Explore senior technical associate education requirements

Most common senior technical associate degrees

Bachelor's

60.4 %

Master's

18.8 %

Associate

14.5 %

Start to develop specific senior technical associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	17.51%
Hyperion	11.04%
Client Facing	6.94%
Business Processes	5.64%
Emerging Technologies	4.50%

Complete relevant senior technical associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior technical associates 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 senior technical associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior technical associate resumes.

Gain additional senior technical associate certifications

Senior technical associate certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific senior technical associate certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for senior technical associates include Master Certified Electronics Technician (CETma) and IT Information Library Foundations Certification (ITIL).

More About Certifications

Research senior technical associate duties and responsibilities

Collaborate with other CSS team leads to ensure overall success of CSS.
Create supporting data mapping documentation for use by QA and project managers to achieve customer sign-off of the new data source.
Manage PowerPoint presentations using MediaShout.
Develop responsive design in single page application by bootstrap CSS.

Get senior technical associate experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior technical associate. The most common roles before becoming a senior technical associate include software engineer, technical associate team lead and senior software engineer.

Apply for senior technical associate jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a senior technical associate 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 senior technical associates rate their job?

-/5

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Senior Technical Associate reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Cons

It is very difficult to make everyone happy, everyday.