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The differences between forklift technicians and shop 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 shop technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a forklift technician has an average salary of $43,589, which is higher than the $36,798 average annual salary of a shop technician.
The top three skills for a forklift technician include troubleshoot, preventative maintenance and safety procedures. The most important skills for a shop technician are preventative maintenance, routine maintenance, and diagnosis.
| Forklift Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $43,589 | $36,798 |
| Hourly rate | $20.96 | $17.69 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 179,388 | 150,349 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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.
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.
Forklift technicians and shop technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Forklift Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Average salary | $43,589 | $36,798 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $60,000 | Between $25,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Leandro, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between a forklift technician and a shop technician in terms of educational background:
| Forklift Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between forklift technicians' and shop technicians' demographics:
| Forklift Technician | Shop Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4% | Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1% |
| 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, 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 | 1% | 2% |