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The differences between finishing technicians and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a finishing technician, becoming an engineering technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an engineering technician has an average salary of $60,273, which is higher than the $35,050 average annual salary of a finishing technician.
The top three skills for a finishing technician include hand tools, grinders and pallets. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.
| Finishing Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $35,050 | $60,273 |
| Hourly rate | $16.85 | $28.98 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 43,972 | 111,343 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 44 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
With great attention to detail, a finishing technician must have the ability to use all the machinery provided to finish a job. Finishing technicians must work long hours on sketches, blueprints, and other specifications. They must execute quality work to deadlines and adapt to changes that might occur between process implementations. They are responsible for training staff on machines and troubleshooting when issues arise. They are also responsible for quality control on finished products.
An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.
Finishing technicians and engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finishing Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average salary | $35,050 | $60,273 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $43,000 | Between $37,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Baton Rouge, LA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Montana | Washington |
| Best paying company | Promega | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a finishing technician and an engineering technician in terms of educational background:
| Finishing Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between finishing technicians' and engineering technicians' demographics:
| Finishing Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 8.4% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 6% |