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The differences between office technicians and program technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an office technician, becoming a program technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a program technician has an average salary of $42,891, which is higher than the $34,956 average annual salary of an office technician.
The top three skills for an office technician include data entry, patients and office equipment. The most important skills for a program technician are customer service, math, and technical support.
| Office Technician | Program Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $34,956 | $42,891 |
| Hourly rate | $16.81 | $20.62 |
| Growth rate | -5% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 82,512 | 83,881 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 47 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
An Office Technician handles installation and repair tasks by using power tools and manual equipment safely and effectively. Besides installing, maintaining, and repairing central office equipment, an office technician also installs, tests, and labels cable lines. They deactivate, activate, and maintain office equipment. Other duties performed by office technicians include removing non-functional and unused office equipment, managing equipment stations and telecommunication rooms cabling, and maintaining inspection, repair, maintenance, and installation documents. Also, these professionals work as per environmental, safety, and health policies.
A program technician is responsible for resolving computer software and application issues and performing administrative duties for customer support. Program technicians keep a record of resolution reports and customer files, process payments for program installations and updates, and offer new services to the customers according to their needs and account eligibility. A program technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in navigating computer systems, to guide the clients with troubleshooting and improving the optimization of applications.
Office technicians and program technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Office Technician | Program Technician | |
| Average salary | $34,956 | $42,891 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $48,000 | Between $25,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | Bellingham, WA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Motorola Solutions | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Government |
There are a few differences between an office technician and a program technician in terms of educational background:
| Office Technician | Program Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between office technicians' and program technicians' demographics:
| Office Technician | Program Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0% | Male, 34.4% Female, 65.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 11% |