Padded products finisher vs smt operator

The differences between padded products finishers and smt operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an smt operator has an average salary of $33,647, which is higher than the $32,275 average annual salary of a padded products finisher.

The top three skills for a padded products finisher include hand tools, air tools and drill press. The most important skills for an smt operator are hand tools, PCB, and reflow oven.

Padded products finisher vs smt operator overview

	Padded Products Finisher	SMT Operator
Yearly salary	$32,275	$33,647
Hourly rate	$15.52	$16.18
Growth rate	7%	2%
Number of jobs	3,714	54,826
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	Associate Degree, 32%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	-	-

Padded products finisher vs smt operator salary

Padded products finishers and smt operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Padded Products Finisher	SMT Operator
Average salary	$32,275	$33,647
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $39,000	Between $25,000 And $44,000
Highest paying City	-	Monterey, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Sanmina
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between padded products finisher and smt operator education

There are a few differences between a padded products finisher and an smt operator in terms of educational background:

	Padded Products Finisher	SMT Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 46%	Associate Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	-	-

Padded products finisher vs smt operator demographics

Here are the differences between padded products finishers' and smt operators' demographics:

	Padded Products Finisher	SMT Operator
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%	Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 5.5% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 7.7% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between padded products finisher and smt operator duties and responsibilities

Padded products finisher example responsibilities.

Hand assemble custom book covers utilizing heavy industrial binding machinery, in compliance with safety protocols and quality control standards.
Hand assemble custom book covers utilizing heavy industrial binding machinery, in compliance with safety protocols and quality control standards.

Smt operator example responsibilities.

Lead pace lines in packaging OEM products.
Comply with company's standards of ESD, IPC-A-610, work instructions and ISO procedures and policies.
Hand assemble and run diagnostic tests on various electronic components.
Follow practices to ensure AIB, ISO standards are being meet and excel.
Replace damage, missing, misplace and wrong used/mount resistors and capacitors and other different components.
Mount components such as transformers, resistors, capacitors, integrate circuits and sockets on panel or print circuit board.

Padded products finisher vs smt operator skills

Common padded products finisher skills

Hand Tools, 43%
Air Tools, 29%
Drill Press, 15%
Customer Specifications, 9%
Assembly Line, 4%

Common smt operator skills

Hand Tools, 8%
PCB, 6%
Reflow Oven, 6%
Troubleshoot, 5%
IPC-A-610, 5%
Circuit Board Assemblies, 4%

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Padded Products Finisher
Padded Products Finisher vs SMT Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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