Flight technician vs bench technician

The differences between flight technicians and bench 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 flight technician, becoming a bench technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a flight technician has an average salary of $42,931, which is higher than the $41,317 average annual salary of a bench technician.

The top three skills for a flight technician include troubleshoot, FAA and preventive maintenance. The most important skills for a bench technician are troubleshoot, PC, and windows.

Flight technician vs bench technician overview

	Flight Technician	Bench Technician
Yearly salary	$42,931	$41,317
Hourly rate	$20.64	$19.86
Growth rate	6%	-
Number of jobs	27,302	79,375
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 55%
Average age	45	50
Years of experience	2	12

Flight technician vs bench technician salary

Flight technicians and bench technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Flight Technician	Bench Technician
Average salary	$42,931	$41,317
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $58,000	Between $29,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between flight technician and bench technician education

There are a few differences between a flight technician and a bench technician in terms of educational background:

	Flight Technician	Bench Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Associate Degree, 55%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Purdue University	Northeastern University

Flight technician vs bench technician demographics

Here are the differences between flight technicians' and bench technicians' demographics:

	Flight Technician	Bench Technician
Average age	45	50
Gender ratio	Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%	Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between flight technician and bench technician duties and responsibilities

Flight technician example responsibilities.

Recognize for enhancing EDP operations to boost productivity and meet schedules.
Resolve discrepancies report by training crews, the FAA, and support staff.
Perform require tasks to inspect, install, troubleshoot, maintain, repair, modify, and operate training devices.
Read schematics to troubleshoot and repair digital and analog electronics.
Perform in-flight avionics/communication systems operation.
Print and cut stripcharts on plotters.

Bench technician example responsibilities.

Lead small teams in the development and installation of residential and commercial electrical and HVAC systems to include smart home systems.
Trouble-shoot and repair all boards to component level using oscilloscopes DMM's and spectrum analyzers.
Place fine pitch IC's and other parts as needed.
Repair pads and trace connectors on modems.
Repair and replace components within all iPhone models.
Experience reworking fine pitch devices and BGA components.

Flight technician vs bench technician skills

Common flight technician skills

Troubleshoot, 15%
FAA, 11%
Preventive Maintenance, 7%
In-Flight, 7%
Aircraft Systems, 6%
Aircraft Maintenance, 5%

Common bench technician skills

Troubleshoot, 13%
PC, 8%
Windows, 6%
Circuit Boards, 6%
Test Equipment, 5%
Component Level Repair, 4%