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The differences between production technicians and manufacturing technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a production technician and a manufacturing technician. Additionally, a manufacturing technician has an average salary of $37,853, which is higher than the $37,550 average annual salary of a production technician.
The top three skills for a production technician include hand tools, preventative maintenance and quality checks. The most important skills for a manufacturing technician are GMP, continuous improvement, and hand tools.
| Production Technician | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,550 | $37,853 |
| Hourly rate | $18.05 | $18.20 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 135,266 | 76,490 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
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 technicians and manufacturing technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Technician | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,550 | $37,853 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $49,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Frederick, MD | Framingham, MA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Cornerstone Research | Qorvo |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Finance |
There are a few differences between a production technician and a manufacturing technician in terms of educational background:
| Production Technician | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between production technicians' and manufacturing technicians' demographics:
| Production Technician | Manufacturing Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6% | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 6% | 6% |