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Emission technician vs alignment technician

The differences between emission technicians and alignment 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 emission technician and an alignment technician. Additionally, an emission technician has an average salary of $41,765, which is higher than the $38,020 average annual salary of an alignment technician.

The top three skills for an emission technician include ladders, test results and air emissions. The most important skills for an alignment technician are customer service, hand tools, and power steering.

Emission technician vs alignment technician overview

Emission TechnicianAlignment Technician
Yearly salary$41,765$38,020
Hourly rate$20.08$18.28
Growth rate1%1%
Number of jobs86,700143,585
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 31%High School Diploma, 40%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

Emission technician vs alignment technician salary

Emission technicians and alignment technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Emission TechnicianAlignment Technician
Average salary$41,765$38,020
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $59,000Between $25,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between emission technician and alignment technician education

There are a few differences between an emission technician and an alignment technician in terms of educational background:

Emission TechnicianAlignment Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 31%High School Diploma, 40%
Most common majorAutomotive TechnologyAutomotive Technology
Most common college--

Emission technician vs alignment technician demographics

Here are the differences between emission technicians' and alignment technicians' demographics:

Emission TechnicianAlignment Technician
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 84.6% Female, 15.4%Male, 95.9% Female, 4.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 4.9% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage2%2%

Differences between emission technician and alignment technician duties and responsibilities

Emission technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage daily repair activities for high-volume Honda repair facility.
  • Utilize SRI GC, MCA, PTS and Bioscan TLC.
  • Create AutoCAD drawings for various systems.
  • Utilize portable analyzers to detect VOC leaks from individual sources.
  • Compound chemicals used by the synthesis module and for solvents during QC procedures.
  • work requires carrying backpack and ladders, climbing tanks, towers, structures, operating aerial lifts and climbing in piperack
  • Show more

Alignment technician example responsibilities.

  • Repair wheels using grinders, sanders and paint equipment.
  • Straighten bend or damage alloy wheels.
  • Assist with MIG welding and exhaust work.
  • Perform all general lube and oil filter changes.
  • Used a grinder and DA sanders to remove damage from rims.
  • Clean and resize bearing fillet and dust guard seat using various grinders.
  • Show more

Emission technician vs alignment technician skills

Common emission technician skills
  • Ladders, 16%
  • Test Results, 14%
  • Air Emissions, 10%
  • Test Equipment, 9%
  • Federal Regulations, 9%
  • Radiation Safety, 7%
Common alignment technician skills
  • Customer Service, 39%
  • Hand Tools, 34%
  • Power Steering, 10%
  • Customer Vehicles, 6%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 4%
  • Diagnosis, 1%

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