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The differences between ndt technicians and inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an ndt technician has an average salary of $46,805, which is higher than the $38,757 average annual salary of an inspector.
The top three skills for an ndt technician include PT, non-destructive and destructive testing. The most important skills for an inspector are sketch, good communication, and magnetic particle.
| NDT Technician | Inspector | |
| Yearly salary | $46,805 | $38,757 |
| Hourly rate | $22.50 | $18.63 |
| Growth rate | - | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 47,520 | 17,670 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 32% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A non-destructive testing (NDT) technician specializes in inspecting and identifying structural flaws on products and equipment through non-destructive test procedures such as particle examination, ultrasound, and visual testing. As an NDT technician, they must develop a particular test structure depending on the test subject, liaise with clients and external parties, set and operate testing equipment and devices, identify inconsistencies, understand and interpret the results, and produce progress reports and presentations in adherence with the company's policies and regulations.
An inspector is responsible for overseeing the overall condition of the site, ensuring that it complies with the safety standards and regulations. Inspectors' duties include monitoring the quality of the materials used, inspecting any defects and discrepancies that might compromise the operations, generating reports to assess the product costing if it meets the budget goals, and utilizing available resources in the market for the highest quality project. An inspector must have excellent decision-making and critical-thinking skills to perform comprehensive actions on risk management and service delivery.
Ndt technicians and inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| NDT Technician | Inspector | |
| Average salary | $46,805 | $38,757 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $76,000 | Between $27,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Louisiana |
| Best paying company | - | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an ndt technician and an inspector in terms of educational background:
| NDT Technician | Inspector | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 32% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Most common major | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, And Research | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between ndt technicians' and inspectors' demographics:
| NDT Technician | Inspector | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.4% Female, 6.6% | Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 4% |