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The differences between forklift technicians and service 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 forklift technician, becoming a service technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a forklift technician has an average salary of $43,589, which is higher than the $40,379 average annual salary of a service technician.
The top three skills for a forklift technician include troubleshoot, preventative maintenance and safety procedures. The most important skills for a service technician are plumbing, customer service, and preventative maintenance.
| Forklift Technician | Service Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $43,589 | $40,379 |
| Hourly rate | $20.96 | $19.41 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 179,388 | 254,533 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
Primarily, a forklift technician services and monitors forklifts and any other heavy industrial vehicles. Forklift technicians maintain tools, communicate with the salespeople, handle inventory, and utilize computer-based diagnostics on any equipment. Typically, they work in repair shops doing repair and troubleshooting tasks. They repair, rewire, and troubleshoot the electrical, electronic, and mechanical problems of vehicles. Among their other duties and responsibilities are shop analysis, equipment modification, diagnostics, electronic system troubleshooting.
Service technicians are assigned in the field to address the concerns of their clients. Service technicians are responsible for the installation, maintenance, or repair of different units or items related to their company's products or services. They should be familiar with their company's products so that they can properly install, maintain, or repair them. They conduct diagnostics and analysis to assess the condition of the unit they are servicing and properly address problems. They also do routine maintenance check-ups. Service technicians are expected to be trustworthy, have good analytical skills, and have good decision-making skills.
Forklift technicians and service technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Forklift Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average salary | $43,589 | $40,379 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $60,000 | Between $28,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | IBM |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a forklift technician and a service technician in terms of educational background:
| Forklift Technician | Service Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between forklift technicians' and service technicians' demographics:
| Forklift Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 1.7% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 1% | 1% |