Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between fleet mechanics and shop 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 fleet mechanic and a shop technician. Additionally, a fleet mechanic has an average salary of $50,065, which is higher than the $36,798 average annual salary of a shop technician.
The top three skills for a fleet mechanic include CDL, DOT and diagnosis. The most important skills for a shop technician are preventative maintenance, routine maintenance, and diagnosis.
| Fleet Mechanic | Shop Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $50,065 | $36,798 |
| Hourly rate | $24.07 | $17.69 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 90,785 | 150,349 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A fleet mechanic is responsible for inspecting and maintaining the safety and efficiency of vehicles for various industrial operations and services. Fleet mechanics conduct regular maintenance of the engines, repairing its malfunctioning components, and upgrading its system for optimal performance. They oversee the overall management of fleet operations, keeping an organized record of resolutions for reference to avoid reoccurrence of defects. A fleet mechanic coordinates with the fleet supervisor for necessary replacements of vehicles to avoid delays in operations and prevent potential hazards on the road.
Shop Technicians are skilled workers assigned to a retail store. Their main activities depend on the nature of the business their company is in. Usually, Shop Technicians work with machines in the shop. They conduct repair and maintenance work for machines that have long been in the shop. They are also in charge of installing and building new machines as well. Shop Technicians are assigned to manage records of such machines or s other mechanical items in the store. This is part of the administrative activities they may do for the shop.
Fleet mechanics and shop technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Fleet Mechanic | Shop Technician | |
| Average salary | $50,065 | $36,798 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $66,000 | Between $25,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | San Leandro, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | OGE Energy | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Energy |
There are a few differences between a fleet mechanic and a shop technician in terms of educational background:
| Fleet Mechanic | Shop Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between fleet mechanics' and shop technicians' demographics:
| Fleet Mechanic | Shop Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.9% Female, 2.1% | Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 2.4% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |