Compositor vs press technician

The differences between compositors and press technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a compositor and a press technician. Additionally, a compositor has an average salary of $45,101, which is higher than the $37,064 average annual salary of a press technician.

The top three skills for a compositor include VFX, visual effects and animation. The most important skills for a press technician are safety rules, press machine, and quality products.

Compositor vs press technician overview

	Compositor	Press Technician
Yearly salary	$45,101	$37,064
Hourly rate	$21.68	$17.82
Growth rate	-	-5%
Number of jobs	154	31,851
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	High School Diploma, 35%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

Compositor vs press technician salary

Compositors and press technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Compositor	Press Technician
Average salary	$45,101	$37,064
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $85,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Pittsfield, MA	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Dassault Systèmes	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between compositor and press technician education

There are a few differences between a compositor and a press technician in terms of educational background:

	Compositor	Press Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	High School Diploma, 35%
Most common major	Animation	Business
Most common college	-	-

Compositor vs press technician demographics

Here are the differences between compositors' and press technicians' demographics:

	Compositor	Press Technician
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3%	Male, 86.5% Female, 13.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between compositor and press technician duties and responsibilities

Compositor example responsibilities.

Work closely with lighting and fx leads to help achieve an efficient workflow.
Work include matte extractions, tracking, color correction, paint fixesand integrating cg elements.
Direct a small VFX team, create consistent, realistic 3D environments/effects; integrate live-action (film) into the CGI.
Apply FX stage makeup efficiently and quickly for several characters using stage blood, liquid latex, and other FX materials.
Install signs, and apply graphics to cars, vans, trucks, semi-trucks, boats, and windows.
Hand cut stencils and hand letter signs.

Press technician example responsibilities.

Perform machining, including but not limit to components using mills, lathes and surface grinders to accomplish repairs.
Build, test and troubleshoot electrical and mechanical systems for prototype water distillation equipment.
Press operator on misc multicolore Heidelberg and Komori presses

Compositor vs press technician skills

Common compositor skills

VFX, 19%
Visual Effects, 13%
Animation, 11%
CG, 11%
Maya, 7%
Mocha, 6%

Common press technician skills

Safety Rules, 20%
Press Machine, 17%
Quality Products, 11%
Quality Checks, 10%
Machine Operation, 5%
Routine Maintenance, 5%