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The differences between packaging associates and packaging technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a packaging technician has an average salary of $35,973, which is higher than the $31,519 average annual salary of a packaging associate.
The top three skills for a packaging associate include pallets, defective products and basic math. The most important skills for a packaging technician are basic math, GMP, and math.
| Packaging Associate | Packaging Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $31,519 | $35,973 |
| Hourly rate | $15.15 | $17.29 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 40,179 | 64,859 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Packaging associates are skilled employees who are responsible for wrapping material around consumer items. This serves to protect and clean products, making them marketable. These associates must perform maintenance on the packaging equipment to ensure that they are running efficiently with minimal downtime. They must inspect completed products for defects and abnormalities to satisfy their customers. Packaging associates must also communicate with technicians and supervisors to rectify problems and ensure that the products are with standards and following their customers' requirements.
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.
Packaging associates and packaging technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Packaging Associate | Packaging Technician | |
| Average salary | $31,519 | $35,973 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $39,000 | Between $28,000 And $44,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Moorhead, MN |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Minnesota |
| Best paying company | PepsiCo | Dairy Farmers of America |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a packaging associate and a packaging technician in terms of educational background:
| Packaging Associate | Packaging Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between packaging associates' and packaging technicians' demographics:
| Packaging Associate | Packaging Technician | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% | Male, 62.9% Female, 37.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 7.9% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | 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 | 5% | 5% |