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The differences between manufacturing process technicians and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a manufacturing process technician and an engineering technician. Additionally, an engineering technician has an average salary of $60,273, which is higher than the $43,212 average annual salary of a manufacturing process technician.
The top three skills for a manufacturing process technician include GMP, standard operating procedure and autoclaves. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.
| Manufacturing Process Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $43,212 | $60,273 |
| Hourly rate | $20.77 | $28.98 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 85,379 | 111,343 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A manufacturing process technician, also referred to as a manufacturing operator or manufacturing associate, is responsible for all the stages of manufacturing. They work with industrial engineers to implement designs that permit the use of machines and materials effectively. They also need to prepare equipment and machine layout, plan workflow, analyze data, observe workers, and ensure the equipment in use is always in good working order.
An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.
Manufacturing process technicians and engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Process Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average salary | $43,212 | $60,273 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $60,000 | Between $37,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing process technician and an engineering technician in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Process Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Purdue University | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between manufacturing process technicians' and engineering technicians' demographics:
| Manufacturing Process Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |