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The differences between manufacturing technicians and packaging technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a manufacturing technician has an average salary of $37,853, which is higher than the $35,973 average annual salary of a packaging technician.
The top three skills for a manufacturing technician include GMP, continuous improvement and hand tools. The most important skills for a packaging technician are basic math, GMP, and math.
| Manufacturing Technician | Packaging Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,853 | $35,973 |
| Hourly rate | $18.20 | $17.29 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 76,490 | 64,859 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| 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.
A packaging technician is responsible for planning the packaging design of various products, creating attractive outputs by utilizing software tools and applications, and ensuring that the deliverables adhere to the product's features. Packaging technicians generate new designs according to market trends and public demands. They discuss their product samples to the management team and adjust plans based on the requirements and suggestions. A packaging technician also considers the sales performance of the products to develop outputs that show high innovations, attracting customers to purchase the items, and generating more resources for revenues.
Manufacturing technicians and packaging technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Technician | Packaging Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,853 | $35,973 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $52,000 | Between $28,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Framingham, MA | Moorhead, MN |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Minnesota |
| Best paying company | Qorvo | Dairy Farmers of America |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing technician and a packaging technician in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Technician | Packaging Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between manufacturing technicians' and packaging technicians' demographics:
| Manufacturing Technician | Packaging Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 62.9% Female, 37.1% |
| 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, 11.9% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 8.4% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |