Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between product development technicians and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a product development technician, becoming an engineering technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product development technician has an average salary of $82,950, which is higher than the $60,273 average annual salary of an engineering technician.
The top three skills for a product development technician include R, product development and lab equipment. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.
| Product Development Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $82,950 | $60,273 |
| Hourly rate | $39.88 | $28.98 |
| Growth rate | - | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 131,939 | 111,343 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
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.
An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.
Product development technicians and engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Development Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average salary | $82,950 | $60,273 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $111,000 | Between $37,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Austin, TX | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Texas | Washington |
| Best paying company | Western Digital | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product development technician and an engineering technician in terms of educational background:
| Product Development Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Biology | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Purdue University | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between product development technicians' and engineering technicians' demographics:
| Product Development Technician | Engineering Technician | |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 6% |