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The differences between fire technicians and system technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a fire technician, becoming a system technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a fire technician has an average salary of $47,578, which is higher than the $43,410 average annual salary of a system technician.
The top three skills for a fire technician include fire protection, customer service and NFPA. The most important skills for a system technician are customer service, hand tools, and preventative maintenance.
| Fire Technician | System Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $47,578 | $43,410 |
| Hourly rate | $22.87 | $20.87 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 27,638 | 137,121 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 49 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
Fire technicians conduct safety inspections and planning for fire protection systems. Fire technicians recognize fire hazards, apply technical knowledge, and perform services to control and prevent fires. Their job includes assessing the safety of the buildings or at-risk areas, works with various protection measures, such as fire systems, exit signage, flame retardant building materials. The main purpose of a fire technician is to prevent fires as much as possible.
A system technician is an individual responsible for supporting users with issues related to the computer system. System technicians conduct appropriate diagnostics on computer issues and must be able to explain technical issues to clients or team members. They should carry out tests on the system so that they can generate error reports to identify and fix any computer system problems. System technicians also can write and maintain computer programs and work with computers and electronics, including circuit boards, computer hardware and software, and computer processors.
Fire technicians and system technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Fire Technician | System Technician | |
| Average salary | $47,578 | $43,410 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $62,000 | Between $27,000 And $67,000 |
| Highest paying City | Salt Lake City, UT | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | Jefferson Lab | Bristol-Myers Squibb |
| Best paying industry | Government | Government |
There are a few differences between a fire technician and a system technician in terms of educational background:
| Fire Technician | System Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | Associate Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between fire technicians' and system technicians' demographics:
| Fire Technician | System Technician | |
| Average age | 49 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% | Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 7.3% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 1.2% White, 72.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9% | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 18% | 9% |