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The differences between production specialists and manufacturing technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a production specialist has an average salary of $42,090, which is higher than the $37,853 average annual salary of a manufacturing technician.
The top three skills for a production specialist include food handling, customer service and preventative maintenance. The most important skills for a manufacturing technician are GMP, continuous improvement, and hand tools.
| Production Specialist | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $42,090 | $37,853 |
| Hourly rate | $20.24 | $18.20 |
| Growth rate | - | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 76,288 | 76,490 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 38 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
Production specialists are responsible for planning and managing the production activities of a company based on job orders. They provide support to the operations department and collaborate with supervisors to create production plans and identity workflow requirements. Other responsibilities may include managing existing workflow, organizing job training to the production team, and monitoring and reporting job status to customers. Production specialists are also expected to respond to customer concerns and inquiries, ensure the timely delivery of products, and ensure that products meet quality standards.
A manufacturing technician, or often called a manufacturing production technician, is an individual who is responsible for setting and testing manufacturing machinery or equipment. To set up the machines, manufacturing technicians will use electronic, electrical, mechanical, or computer technologies. They are responsible for gathering data from their part in the manufacturing process and reporting it to their production or manufacturing engineers. When handling machines or equipment, manufacturing technicians must strictly follow their health and safety procedures and protocols.
Production specialists and manufacturing technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Specialist | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Average salary | $42,090 | $37,853 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $73,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Framingham, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Apple | Qorvo |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Finance |
There are a few differences between a production specialist and a manufacturing technician in terms of educational background:
| Production Specialist | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between production specialists' and manufacturing technicians' demographics:
| Production Specialist | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.4% Female, 37.6% | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 8.9% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |