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The differences between field technicians and requirements engineers 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 technician, becoming a requirements engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a requirements engineer has an average salary of $87,170, which is higher than the $37,520 average annual salary of a field technician.
The top three skills for a field technician include customer service, ladders and test equipment. The most important skills for a requirements engineer are java, software development, and powerpoint.
| Field Technician | Requirements Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $37,520 | $87,170 |
| Hourly rate | $18.04 | $41.91 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 123,149 | 166,444 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
A field technician is responsible for providing technical and maintenance support for the customers by area visits. Field technicians' duties include diagnosing technical problems, replacing malfunction components, upgrading systems for efficiency, running equipment tests to ensure stability, creating draft reports of performed processes, utilizing vehicles and other tools safely, following client's specifications on operating equipment, and adhering to the safety standards. A field technician must have excellent communication and decision-making skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the technological industry.
Requirements engineers are responsible for the analysis, documentation, coordination, and management of requirements regarding new software projects. They identify and understand the customer's project-specific demands and document them in a clear and binding way. Their duties and responsibilities also include preparing well-written and detailed documentation of the project and ensuring the project is designed and built within the legal parameters.
Field technicians and requirements engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Technician | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average salary | $37,520 | $87,170 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $48,000 | Between $62,000 And $120,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | California |
| Best paying company | DCP Midstream | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a field technician and a requirements engineer in terms of educational background:
| Field Technician | Requirements Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between field technicians' and requirements engineers' demographics:
| Field Technician | Requirements Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.5% Female, 11.5% | Male, 64.5% Female, 35.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 71.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 1% | 8% |