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The differences between alignment technicians and shop technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an alignment technician and a shop technician. Additionally, an alignment technician has an average salary of $38,020, which is higher than the $36,798 average annual salary of a shop technician.
The top three skills for an alignment technician include customer service, hand tools and power steering. The most important skills for a shop technician are preventative maintenance, routine maintenance, and diagnosis.
| Alignment Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $38,020 | $36,798 |
| Hourly rate | $18.28 | $17.69 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 143,585 | 150,349 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Alignment Technicians are responsible for the alignment process of wheels and tires of a vehicle. Their duties include completing work repair orders, driving vehicles to the wheel alignment rack, and administering regular tests of the bent axle, bent steering rods, worn ball joints, and faulty wheel alignment. They are also involved in straightening axles, adjusting shims, straightening steering rods, and joining pins to undertake new parts installation or wheel alignment. They also perform counterweights hammering, shock absorber installations, and frame straightening. Other duties may include ensuring work complies with factory standards, attending product training by the manufacturer, and safely operating equipment and tools.
Shop Technicians are skilled workers assigned to a retail store. Their main activities depend on the nature of the business their company is in. Usually, Shop Technicians work with machines in the shop. They conduct repair and maintenance work for machines that have long been in the shop. They are also in charge of installing and building new machines as well. Shop Technicians are assigned to manage records of such machines or s other mechanical items in the store. This is part of the administrative activities they may do for the shop.
Alignment technicians and shop technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Alignment Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Average salary | $38,020 | $36,798 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $57,000 | Between $25,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Leandro, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between an alignment technician and a shop technician in terms of educational background:
| Alignment Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between alignment technicians' and shop technicians' demographics:
| Alignment Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.9% Female, 4.1% | Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |