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The differences between product technicians and senior manufacturing associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a product technician and a senior manufacturing associate. Additionally, a product technician has an average salary of $67,026, which is higher than the $62,504 average annual salary of a senior manufacturing associate.
The top three skills for a product technician include customer service, troubleshoot and product support. The most important skills for a senior manufacturing associate are GMP, cell culture, and lean six sigma.
| Product Technician | Senior Manufacturing Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $67,026 | $62,504 |
| Hourly rate | $32.22 | $30.05 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 99,755 | 28,223 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Product technicians are skilled professionals who are responsible for evaluating manufactured goods to ensure quality and functionality before they are marketed to the general public. These technicians are required to perform equipment setup and adjustments while conducting minor preventative maintenance tasks to test for safety and productivity before they are put into production. By using their technical knowledge, they must identify problems such as mechanical issues and safety issues while providing potential solutions to the issues. Product technicians must also ensure that finished products conform to specifications and codes.
To become a senior manufacturing associate, you need to have structured ideas for the manufacturing process. You need to have excellent analytical skills to look after the manufacturing process of the company. As a senior manufacturing associate, you have to manage the raw materials for manufacturing operations, especially for GMP. Moreover, you need to ensure compliance with the ISO 9001/1400. You should also have the ability to run a variety of CNC machines for prototyping and production. Being a manufacturing associate, you also have the responsibility to assess the marketing applications to help the company get approval from the FDA.
Product technicians and senior manufacturing associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Technician | Senior Manufacturing Associate | |
| Average salary | $67,026 | $62,504 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $123,000 | Between $43,000 And $90,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Vacaville, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Boehringer Ingelheim |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a product technician and a senior manufacturing associate in terms of educational background:
| Product Technician | Senior Manufacturing Associate | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Biology |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between product technicians' and senior manufacturing associates' demographics:
| Product Technician | Senior Manufacturing Associate | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% | Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 9.5% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |