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The differences between finishing technicians and professional technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a finishing technician and a professional technician. Additionally, a professional technician has an average salary of $81,726, 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 professional technician are customer service, cloud, and project management.
| Finishing Technician | Professional Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $35,050 | $81,726 |
| Hourly rate | $16.85 | $39.29 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 43,972 | 123,659 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 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.
A professional technician is responsible for handling the complexities of technical and mechanical systems, repair defective components, and recommend technical solutions to enhance the company's productivity and efficiency in delivering high-quality deliverables. Professional technicians must be highly skilled in analyzing schematics and blueprints to assemble components and perform troubleshooting. They also manage the adequacy of inventories, create purchase requests, and identify costs and expenses for repairs and installations. A professional technician must be highly communicative and organization, especially in handling tasks with utmost adherence to safety protocols and regulations.
Finishing technicians and professional technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finishing Technician | Professional Technician | |
| Average salary | $35,050 | $81,726 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $43,000 | Between $64,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | Baton Rouge, LA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Montana | California |
| Best paying company | Promega | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Energy |
There are a few differences between a finishing technician and a professional technician in terms of educational background:
| Finishing Technician | Professional Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between finishing technicians' and professional technicians' demographics:
| Finishing Technician | Professional Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6% | Male, 72.1% Female, 27.9% |
| 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, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 12.8% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 11% |