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Break-fix technician vs hardware technician

The differences between break-fix technicians and hardware technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a break-fix technician and a hardware technician. Additionally, a hardware technician has an average salary of $47,851, which is higher than the $40,309 average annual salary of a break-fix technician.

The top three skills for a break-fix technician include desktop support, hand tools and PC. The most important skills for a hardware technician are customer service, technical support, and network printers.

Break-fix technician vs hardware technician overview

Break-Fix TechnicianHardware Technician
Yearly salary$40,309$47,851
Hourly rate$19.38$23.01
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs66,06185,174
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 35%Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Break-fix technician vs hardware technician salary

Break-fix technicians and hardware technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Break-Fix TechnicianHardware Technician
Average salary$40,309$47,851
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $67,000Between $32,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Delaware
Best paying company-Apple
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between break-fix technician and hardware technician education

There are a few differences between a break-fix technician and a hardware technician in terms of educational background:

Break-Fix TechnicianHardware Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 35%Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common majorInformation TechnologyComputer Science
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyUniversity of Pennsylvania

Break-fix technician vs hardware technician demographics

Here are the differences between break-fix technicians' and hardware technicians' demographics:

Break-Fix TechnicianHardware Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 89.8% Female, 10.2%Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 10.8% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 12.0% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between break-fix technician and hardware technician duties and responsibilities

Break-fix technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage backups, replications and disaster recovery plans of company mission critical servers and database files to ensure redundancy.
  • Install Microsoft SCCM on workstations.
  • Advise on hardware diagnosis and solution.
  • Stay up with old and new POS technologies.
  • Configure workstation IP addresseses and solve IP conflicts.
  • Replace any routers or switches that go bad.
  • Show more

Hardware technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage resource allocation and work scheduling for UNIX restatement administrators across all the shifts.
  • Manage all customer network equipment including routers, switches, WLC's, AP's, and firewalls.
  • Manage trouble ticket queues in order to keep tickets within SLA's and to expedite high level issues.
  • Work to troubleshoot OS and hardware issue on many computers and peripherals.
  • Test and troubleshoot: reset bios and perform power-on-self-test on servers and PCs, perform power on tests on various electronics.
  • Update LAN spreadsheets with appropriate computer information.
  • Show more

Break-fix technician vs hardware technician skills

Common break-fix technician skills
  • Desktop Support, 10%
  • Hand Tools, 9%
  • PC, 8%
  • Network Connectivity, 8%
  • Laptop Computers, 7%
  • Network Printers, 6%
Common hardware technician skills
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Technical Support, 5%
  • Network Printers, 5%
  • Desktop Support, 5%
  • Test Equipment, 4%
  • Switches, 4%

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