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The differences between assembly & test technicians and repair technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become an assembly & test technician, becoming a repair technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a repair technician has an average salary of $41,643, which is higher than the $38,774 average annual salary of an assembly & test technician.
The top three skills for an assembly & test technician include mechanical assembly, aerospace and dexterity. The most important skills for a repair technician are customer service, hand tools, and customer satisfaction.
| Assembly & Test Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $38,774 | $41,643 |
| Hourly rate | $18.64 | $20.02 |
| Growth rate | - | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 64,354 | 162,051 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 47% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
An assembly & test technician works at manufacturing facilities where they are in charge of assembling product components and subjecting them to various tests, ensuring compliance with standards and regulations. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their organization of employment, it usually includes understanding diagrams and project requirements, establishing and implementing test parameters, operating tools and equipment, maintaining records, and producing detailed reports. There are also times when they must coordinate with quality control teams, working together in a joint effort to improve production processes and results.
A repair technician's role focuses on assessing the problem or damage of a device and implementing solutions for it to function again. Although the extent of a technician's tasks will depend on the device or industry of employment, most of it revolves around troubleshooting, providing technical support, installing and writing programs, detaching and re-attaching wirings, welding, and even thoroughly discussing problems and solutions to clients. Furthermore, there are instances when a repair technician must work in a team setting that requires coordination and communication.
Assembly & test technicians and repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assembly & Test Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $38,774 | $41,643 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $49,000 | Between $27,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Beverly, MA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | BWX Technologies | SoCalGas |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an assembly & test technician and a repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Assembly & Test Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 47% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | - |
Here are the differences between assembly & test technicians' and repair technicians' demographics:
| Assembly & Test Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 50 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6% | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 2% |