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The differences between operations technicians and equipment technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an equipment technician has an average salary of $41,004, which is higher than the $40,899 average annual salary of an operations technician.
The top three skills for an operations technician include customer service, hand tools and preventative maintenance. The most important skills for an equipment technician are preventative maintenance, patients, and equipment maintenance.
| Operations Technician | Equipment Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $40,899 | $41,004 |
| Hourly rate | $19.66 | $19.71 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 17% |
| Number of jobs | 191,960 | 127,258 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Associate Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 43 | 46 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
An equipment technician is responsible for handling the operations of company equipment and machinery, inspecting for any malfunctions, and immediately repairing defective components to prevent delays in productivity. Equipment technicians create a report of system failures, referencing documentation to develop consistency with the equipment, and suggest corrective actions. They should also analyze schematics and blueprints for guides on how to maintain the equipment's reliability. An equipment technician must have excellent knowledge of the mechanical industry, especially on enhancing equipment's performance and maximizing operational productivity.
Operations technicians and equipment technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Technician | Equipment Technician | |
| Average salary | $40,899 | $41,004 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $55,000 | Between $29,000 And $56,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | Westinghouse Appliances Australia |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Construction |
There are a few differences between an operations technician and an equipment technician in terms of educational background:
| Operations Technician | Equipment Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Associate Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between operations technicians' and equipment technicians' demographics:
| Operations Technician | Equipment Technician | |
| Average age | 43 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.5% Female, 20.5% | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 6.0% White, 69.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 9% |