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The differences between automotive service technicians and auto 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 automotive service technician and an auto technician. Additionally, an automotive service technician has an average salary of $43,077, which is higher than the $41,435 average annual salary of an auto technician.
The top three skills for an automotive service technician include customer service, hand tools and dexterity. The most important skills for an auto technician are taking care, preventive maintenance, and customer vehicles.
| Automotive Service Technician | Auto Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $43,077 | $41,435 |
| Hourly rate | $20.71 | $19.92 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 177,784 | 131,515 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 2 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Automotive service technicians, often called service technicians, have a duty to inspect, maintain, and repair cars and even light trucks. It is their job as automotive service technicians to find problems, often by computerized diagnostic equipment. They do test parts and systems to guarantee that they work properly and follow checklists to ensure that every critical part is examined. Performing basic care and maintenance is also part of their main tasks, including changing oil, rotating tires, and checking fluid levels.
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.
Automotive service technicians and auto technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Automotive Service Technician | Auto Technician | |
| Average salary | $43,077 | $41,435 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $74,000 | Between $28,000 And $59,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alexandria, VA | Sterling, VA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Washington |
| Best paying company | Cypress | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Retail |
There are a few differences between an automotive service technician and an auto technician in terms of educational background:
| Automotive Service Technician | Auto Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between automotive service technicians' and auto technicians' demographics:
| Automotive Service Technician | Auto Technician | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4% | Male, 95.1% Female, 4.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 5.0% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |