Microwave technician vs bench technician

The differences between microwave technicians and bench technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a microwave technician and a bench technician. Additionally, a microwave technician has an average salary of $47,493, which is higher than the $41,317 average annual salary of a bench technician.

The top three skills for a microwave technician include test equipment, power meters and level troubleshooting. The most important skills for a bench technician are troubleshoot, PC, and windows.

Microwave technician vs bench technician overview

	Microwave Technician	Bench Technician
Yearly salary	$47,493	$41,317
Hourly rate	$22.83	$19.86
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	15,225	79,375
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Associate Degree, 55%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	12	12

Microwave technician vs bench technician salary

Microwave technicians and bench technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Microwave Technician	Bench Technician
Average salary	$47,493	$41,317
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $60,000	Between $29,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between microwave technician and bench technician education

There are a few differences between a microwave technician and a bench technician in terms of educational background:

	Microwave Technician	Bench Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Associate Degree, 55%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Northeastern University	Northeastern University

Microwave technician vs bench technician demographics

Here are the differences between microwave technicians' and bench technicians' demographics:

	Microwave Technician	Bench Technician
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4%	Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between microwave technician and bench technician duties and responsibilities

Microwave technician example responsibilities.

Assist in managing CDMA network, Voice/EVDO circuit's layouts, CDM circuit inventory and roll over's for cell sites.
Perform FCC proof of performance testing.
Measure insertion loss, isolation and VSWR.
Check quality of transmit signals and verify FCC compliance.
Conduct testing, tuning and troubleshooting of PC boards.
Maintain the operation of several active microwave and fiber systems by Nortel, Alcatel and Glenayre.

Bench technician example responsibilities.

Lead small teams in the development and installation of residential and commercial electrical and HVAC systems to include smart home systems.
Trouble-shoot and repair all boards to component level using oscilloscopes DMM's and spectrum analyzers.
Place fine pitch IC's and other parts as needed.
Repair pads and trace connectors on modems.
Repair and replace components within all iPhone models.
Experience reworking fine pitch devices and BGA components.

Microwave technician vs bench technician skills

Common microwave technician skills

Test Equipment, 20%
Power Meters, 11%
Level Troubleshooting, 10%
MW, 7%
Frequency Counters, 5%
Antenna Systems, 4%

Common bench technician skills

Troubleshoot, 13%
PC, 8%
Windows, 6%
Circuit Boards, 6%
Test Equipment, 5%
Component Level Repair, 4%

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Microwave Technician vs Bench Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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