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The differences between auto technicians and service technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an auto technician, becoming a service technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an auto technician has an average salary of $41,435, which is higher than the $40,379 average annual salary of a service technician.
The top three skills for an auto technician include taking care, preventive maintenance and customer vehicles. The most important skills for a service technician are plumbing, customer service, and preventative maintenance.
| Auto Technician | Service Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $41,435 | $40,379 |
| Hourly rate | $19.92 | $19.41 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 131,515 | 254,533 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 38% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
An auto technician specializes in performing inspections, repairs, and maintenance on different automotive vehicles ranging from small cars to light trucks. Their responsibilities revolve around identifying issues using various diagnostic tools to determine which course of action to take, discussing the extent of repairs to clients, and ordering car parts from suppliers. There are also instances when an auto technician may have the task of maintaining the cleanliness of the workplace, or participate in record-keeping and monitoring the inventory.
Service technicians are assigned in the field to address the concerns of their clients. Service technicians are responsible for the installation, maintenance, or repair of different units or items related to their company's products or services. They should be familiar with their company's products so that they can properly install, maintain, or repair them. They conduct diagnostics and analysis to assess the condition of the unit they are servicing and properly address problems. They also do routine maintenance check-ups. Service technicians are expected to be trustworthy, have good analytical skills, and have good decision-making skills.
Auto technicians and service technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Auto Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,435 | $40,379 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $59,000 | Between $28,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sterling, VA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Deloitte | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between an auto technician and a service technician in terms of educational background:
| Auto Technician | Service Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 38% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between auto technicians' and service technicians' demographics:
| Auto Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.1% Female, 4.9% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 5.0% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 1% |