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Production specialist vs production technician

The differences between production specialists and production 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 $37,550 average annual salary of a production technician.

The top three skills for a production specialist include food handling, customer service and preventative maintenance. The most important skills for a production technician are hand tools, preventative maintenance, and quality checks.

Production specialist vs production technician overview

Production SpecialistProduction Technician
Yearly salary$42,090$37,550
Hourly rate$20.24$18.05
Growth rate-3%
Number of jobs76,288135,266
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age3845
Years of experience-2

What does a production specialist do?

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.

What does a production technician do?

A production technician is an individual who is responsible for assembling and testing manufactured goods before they are marketed to the general public. Production technicians usually work with manufacturing and quality assurance personnel to ensure that high-quality work standards are implemented by workers. By maintaining high-quality work, production technicians must implement up-to-date, efficient methods of production as well as production equipment maintenance procedures. They also schedule training for workers and educate them regularly on health and safety regulations.

Production specialist vs production technician salary

Production specialists and production technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Production SpecialistProduction Technician
Average salary$42,090$37,550
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $73,000Between $28,000 And $49,000
Highest paying CitySan Jose, CAFrederick, MD
Highest paying stateCaliforniaMaryland
Best paying companyAppleCornerstone Research
Best paying industryHealth CareHealth Care

Differences between production specialist and production technician education

There are a few differences between a production specialist and a production technician in terms of educational background:

Production SpecialistProduction Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 50%Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college-Stanford University

Production specialist vs production technician demographics

Here are the differences between production specialists' and production technicians' demographics:

Production SpecialistProduction Technician
Average age3845
Gender ratioMale, 62.4% Female, 37.6%Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6%
Race ratioBlack 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, 16.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage9%6%

Differences between production specialist and production technician duties and responsibilities

Production specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage and refine the metadata system for a photography database -communicate with customers over e-mail with regards to advertisement proofs
  • Labele individual components assuring accuracy in order to meet GMP and FDA guidelines.
  • Host and handle VIP lists and Facebook marketing, assist production crew during shows ,
  • Produce and cast several videos for the main Facebook page that reach millions of views.
  • Review and modify BOM's, assembly prints, and schematics prior to release to production.
  • Work in conjunction with engineering team on ECO's B.O.M's to identify and resolve material shortages.
  • Show more

Production technician example responsibilities.

  • Relay to the oncoming shift everything accomplish and the projected workload through use of PowerPoint and excel.
  • Implement and develop safety standards and operations exceeding those require by OSHA.
  • Can demonstrate good manual dexterity.
  • Analyze QC test samples using multisizer machine.
  • Implement and oversee plant's safety program including LOTO program.
  • Test and repair rf system compponents of cellular test set.
  • Show more

Production specialist vs production technician skills

Common production specialist skills
  • Food Handling, 36%
  • Customer Service, 11%
  • Preventative Maintenance, 8%
  • Math, 8%
  • Production Process, 8%
  • Production Equipment, 7%
Common production technician skills
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Preventative Maintenance, 6%
  • Quality Checks, 5%
  • Production Equipment, 5%
  • Basic Math, 5%
  • Safety Procedures, 5%

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