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The differences between manufacturing technicians and operations technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an operations technician has an average salary of $40,899, which is higher than the $37,853 average annual salary of a manufacturing technician.
The top three skills for a manufacturing technician include GMP, continuous improvement and hand tools. The most important skills for an operations technician are customer service, hand tools, and preventative maintenance.
| Manufacturing Technician | Operations Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,853 | $40,899 |
| Hourly rate | $18.20 | $19.66 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 76,490 | 191,960 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A manufacturing technician, or often called a manufacturing production technician, is an individual who is responsible for setting and testing manufacturing machinery or equipment. To set up the machines, manufacturing technicians will use electronic, electrical, mechanical, or computer technologies. They are responsible for gathering data from their part in the manufacturing process and reporting it to their production or manufacturing engineers. When handling machines or equipment, manufacturing technicians must strictly follow their health and safety procedures and protocols.
An operations technician is a plant employee responsible for monitoring and operating facilities of work platforms in a firm. To ensure supply availability and reduce rig downtime, operations technicians collaborate with engineers to troubleshoot mechanical problems and perform maintenance. They promote production safety by implementing instructions and procedures following the company's safety and environmental standards. They also maintain records of equipment history and report accidents to the appropriate personnel.
Manufacturing technicians and operations technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Technician | Operations Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,853 | $40,899 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $52,000 | Between $30,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Framingham, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Qorvo | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Energy |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing technician and an operations technician in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Technician | Operations Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between manufacturing technicians' and operations technicians' demographics:
| Manufacturing Technician | Operations Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 8.9% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.3% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 4% |