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The differences between finishing technicians and fabrication technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a fabrication technician has an average salary of $35,582, 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 a fabrication technician are hand tools, math, and customer service.
| Finishing Technician | Fabrication Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $35,050 | $35,582 |
| Hourly rate | $16.85 | $17.11 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 14% |
| Number of jobs | 43,972 | 109,734 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
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.
Fabrication technicians are skilled employees who are responsible for using specialized equipment to assemble components for a variety of products or finished products. These technicians are required to perform inspections on the tools and mechanical equipment as well as provide maintenance and repair. They are required to complete the assembly of equipment by following the engineering drawings and specifications. Fabrication technicians must also follow established safety procedures when maintaining work areas and troubleshooting problems with machinery.
Finishing technicians and fabrication technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finishing Technician | Fabrication Technician | |
| Average salary | $35,050 | $35,582 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $43,000 | Between $26,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Baton Rouge, LA | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | Montana | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | Promega | Westinghouse Appliances Australia |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Finance |
There are a few differences between a finishing technician and a fabrication technician in terms of educational background:
| Finishing Technician | Fabrication Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | - |
Here are the differences between finishing technicians' and fabrication technicians' demographics:
| Finishing Technician | Fabrication Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6% | Male, 85.1% Female, 14.9% |
| 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, 12.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 9.6% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |