Product engineering technician vs test technician

The differences between product engineering technicians and test 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 product engineering technician, becoming a test technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a product engineering technician has an average salary of $88,802, which is higher than the $43,171 average annual salary of a test technician.

The top three skills for a product engineering technician include troubleshoot, product development and test procedures. The most important skills for a test technician are test procedures, test results, and hand tools.

Product engineering technician vs test technician overview

	Product Engineering Technician	Test Technician
Yearly salary	$88,802	$43,171
Hourly rate	$42.69	$20.76
Growth rate	3%	-
Number of jobs	125,268	71,414
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 45%
Average age	45	50
Years of experience	4	12

Product engineering technician vs test technician salary

Product engineering technicians and test technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Product Engineering Technician	Test Technician
Average salary	$88,802	$43,171
Salary range	Between $67,000 And $116,000	Between $30,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	Fremont, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Maryland	Hawaii
Best paying company	Apple	Nokia
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between product engineering technician and test technician education

There are a few differences between a product engineering technician and a test technician in terms of educational background:

	Product Engineering Technician	Test Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Associate Degree, 45%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Purdue University	Northeastern University

Product engineering technician vs test technician demographics

Here are the differences between product engineering technicians' and test technicians' demographics:

	Product Engineering Technician	Test Technician
Average age	45	50
Gender ratio	Male, 84.6% Female, 15.4%	Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 11.5% White, 58.3% 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%

Differences between product engineering technician and test technician duties and responsibilities

Product engineering technician example responsibilities.

Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Design development and bill of materials in accordance with ISO standards.
Function as a resource for team members to analyze and troubleshoot issues for new and existing customers.
Standardize test execution in accordance with ANSI, ASME, SAE, ISO, and European test standards.
Test and calibrate metrology equipment including but not limit to oscilloscopes, multimeters, ESD certify tables/equipment, and standardize tools.
Communicate with military officials and research material on GPS receivers and satellites.

Test technician example responsibilities.

Install and manage windows applications for the user, maintain servers and manage help desk operations.
Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Perform in-circuit emulation and boundary scan testing (JTAG).
Perform extensive testing on CVD, PVD, display and solar tooling.
Configure bios to better suit the operating system, motherboard and CPU's needs and requirements.
Use of micrometers, calipers, torque wrenches, rivet and crimping tools, electrical test equipment, drill presses.

Product engineering technician vs test technician skills

Common product engineering technician skills

Troubleshoot, 8%
Product Development, 6%
Test Procedures, 5%
Test Equipment, 5%
Data Collection, 5%
Product Quality, 4%

Common test technician skills

Test Procedures, 8%
Test Results, 8%
Hand Tools, 7%
Test Data, 5%
RF, 5%
Engineering Drawings, 4%

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Product Engineering Technician vs Test Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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