Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between process control technicians and product development technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a process control technician, becoming a product development technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a product development technician has an average salary of $82,950, which is higher than the $52,452 average annual salary of a process control technician.
The top three skills for a process control technician include PLC, control systems and logic controllers. The most important skills for a product development technician are R, product development, and lab equipment.
| Process Control Technician | Product Development Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $52,452 | $82,950 |
| Hourly rate | $25.22 | $39.88 |
| Growth rate | 3% | - |
| Number of jobs | 90,615 | 131,939 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 45 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
Process control technicians require strong skills in PLC, process control systems, troubleshooting, calibration, and a desire for continuous improvement in addition to other skills. Those who choose this career path will be called to work with automated process control systems and assist in designing, creating, testing, and implementing process control panels.
Product development technicians are responsible for expanding and providing improvement to new products and implementing appropriate tests. They help grow a team framework for the organization. Their duties include arranging oral and written reports for each product development projects and examine their performance. Also, they preserve a clean and neat laboratory area and make sure of the viability of all equipment. Additionally, they create drafts for each product and work instructions documents, as well as install and examine all test equipment for modification.
Process control technicians and product development technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Process Control Technician | Product Development Technician | |
| Average salary | $52,452 | $82,950 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $67,000 | Between $61,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | Odessa, TX | Austin, TX |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Texas |
| Best paying company | Stanford University | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a process control technician and a product development technician in terms of educational background:
| Process Control Technician | Product Development Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Biology |
| Most common college | Purdue University | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between process control technicians' and product development technicians' demographics:
| Process Control Technician | Product Development Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.1% Female, 18.9% | Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |