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The differences between field 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 field service technician, becoming a repair technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a field service technician has an average salary of $54,339, which is higher than the $41,643 average annual salary of a repair technician.
The top three skills for a field service technician include customer service, preventative maintenance and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a repair technician are customer service, hand tools, and customer satisfaction.
| Field Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $54,339 | $41,643 |
| Hourly rate | $26.12 | $20.02 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 167,298 | 162,051 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 40% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
Field service technicians are skilled professionals who manage the technical needs of their clients outside the company's physical office space. They are usually on the field to visit their clients and check up on clients' equipment. Field service technicians are dispatched to provide technical support. They oversee installations, repairs, or maintenance activities. They ensure that all the work needed is done well. They also conduct diagnostic activities and troubleshooting. Field service technicians also supervise any updating or changes needed to be done in their clients' offices. They are expected to have good analytical skills, communication skills, and highly technical skills.
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.
Field service technicians and repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $54,339 | $41,643 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $82,000 | Between $27,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | SoCalGas | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a field service technician and a repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Field Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 40% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between field service technicians' and repair technicians' demographics:
| Field Service Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7% | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 72.2% 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% |