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The differences between commercial service 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 a commercial service technician, becoming a repair technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a commercial service technician has an average salary of $49,463, which is higher than the $41,643 average annual salary of a repair technician.
The top three skills for a commercial service technician include OSHA, service vehicle and ladders. The most important skills for a repair technician are customer service, hand tools, and customer satisfaction.
| Commercial Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $49,463 | $41,643 |
| Hourly rate | $23.78 | $20.02 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 216,958 | 162,051 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
A commercial service technician is responsible for maintaining and repairing mechanical equipment and machinery for private households and commercial establishments. Commercial service technicians inspect the conditions and stability of mechanical components to identify defects and possible part replacements. They also install and assemble equipment, requiring them to have critical analysis to follow blueprints and schematics. A commercial service technician must have excellent mechanical and organizational skills, especially in recommending efficient resources and prevent breakdown reoccurrence.
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.
Commercial service technicians and repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $49,463 | $41,643 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $74,000 | Between $27,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Broken Arrow, OK | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | SoCalGas | SoCalGas |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a commercial service technician and a repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 29% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Heating And Air Conditioning | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between commercial service technicians' and repair technicians' demographics:
| Commercial Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.6% Female, 3.4% | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 1.7% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 1% | 2% |